– July 24, 1951 – Edward R. Murrow and The News With Don Hollenbeck – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
July 24, 1951 – Negotiations in the Korean War were continuing this day in their 9th Installment – hopeful, but realistic – demands were on the table and some of them practically impossible to meet. Latest of the demands on the part of North Korea before any discussion could begin, was the immediate withdrawal of all Foreign troops before any sort of peace proposal would be considered. Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall responded by re-affirming the U.S. position, saying the U.S. would not discuss the withdrawal of troops and that any withdrawal would take place “naturally”. So far, no peace points had been agreed-on by North Korea. According to Marshall; they hadn’t reached an agenda – there wasn’t even a package yet. It was a very long way to go before anything resembling a truce could be discussed – but you couldn’t fault the parties for trying.
Meanwhile, brewing trouble of another sort – the continuing situation in Iran and the Anglo-Iranian Oil dispute. Averell Harriman reported that “real progress’ had been made in efforts toward a compromise in negotiations; Iran’s terms for reopening discussions were sent to London along with some proposals by Harriman after his 10 days of consultation, and Harriman himself was expected to go to London to follow through. The British cabinet was called in special session to study the new Iranian terms, and the possibility a British mission, headed by Lord Jowitt, the Lord Chancellor, to go to Tehran. Exactly what the new terms included weren’t known, but a British Spokesman said they were not “wholly discouraging” – and considering the situation as it was unfolding, many considered that to be good news. The London Stock Exchange thought so, as Petroleum shares staged a rebound.
And while everyone was holding their breath over Korea, that’s just a small slice of what happened, this July 23, 1951 as reported by Edward R. Murrow and The News with Don Hollenbeck.
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