<--PREV Doc #551  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #553 Document #552; January 27, 1958 To Christian Archibald Herter Series: Dulles Papers, White House Memoranda Series ; Category: Personal. Eyes only The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVIII - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part III: The Space Age Begins; October 1957 to January 1958 Chapter 7: NATO and the Cold War   Dear Chris: I am more than happy to make a statement about the agreement contemplating certain exchanges with the Soviets in the cultural, technical and educational fields. I would be even happier if we could implement a program of getting some of these contacts based upon thousands rather than upon scores.1 One thought that occurs to me is this: agreements on a quid pro quo basis are one thing, but suppose we should just issue an invitation that would go up to the order of five or ten thousand, where there would be no obligation on the part of the Soviets to reciprocate beyond the degree to which they desired. The only thing we would need would be the consent of their government to allow these students to study in one of our universities for a year. Please do not by any manner of means circulate this to anybody in your Department. I have already talked about it informally with Foster, but the difference between a unilateral invitation as opposed to a head for head exchange may have some appeal to the Communist officials.2 With warm regard, As ever 1 For background on student exchanges see no. 535. Earlier this same day Eisenhower had called for a vast expansion of the exchange of students from Communist countries. At a ceremony to celebrate the tenth anniversary of legislation providing for the government's information and cultural exchange programs (the Smith-Mundt Act), Eisenhower had endorsed these exchanges as "a sure way to increase understanding and secure a just peace" (Public Papers of the Presidents: Eisenhower, 1958, pp. 125 - 26). After the ceremony Eisenhower had endorsed a suggestion that the United States admit Russian students whether or not the Soviet Union reciprocated. He also suggested that private contributions finance the visits (Ann Whitman memorandum, Jan. 27, 1958, AWF/AWD; and New York Times, Jan. 28, 1958). 2 On this same day after negotiations between U.S. and Soviet officials, the two nations issued a joint communiqué that established a program of student exchanges between Moscow and Leningrad universities and American schools. Twenty students from each country would participate in the program in the 1958 - 1959 academic year, and this number would increase to thirty in 1959 - 1960 (U.S. Department of State Bulletin 38, no. 973 [February 17, 1958], 243 - 48). On January 30 Eisenhower would tell Kevin McCann, who had brought an exchange proposal to the President's attention, that he might offer scholarships to the Russians "within two weeks" (Ann Whitman memorandum, Jan. 30, 1958, AWF/AWD). For developments see no. 618. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. Personal. Eyes only To Christian Archibald Herter, 27 January 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 552. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/552.cfm <--PREV Doc #551  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #553

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