File No. 811.2222/1715a
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page )
5918. Department’s November 10, your November 20,1 conscription agreement.
1. Upon reconsideration, I am willing to consider changing agreement so that British subjects in the United States will be subject to military draft under United States law except as to age limits, which will be those of the British law, reciprocal treatment to be accorded United States citizens in Great Britain. Article 1 of the United States draft changed to conform to this view would read as follows:
All male subjects of Great Britain in the United States and all male citizens of the United States in Great Britain shall, unless they return within the periods laid down in this agreement to Great Britain or the United States respectively for the purpose of military service in their own country, be subject to military service and entitled to exemption therefrom under the laws of the country in which they are; Provided, That in respect to such citizens of the United States in Great Britain, the age limits for compulsory military service shall be the age limits for the time being specified for compulsory military service under the laws of the United States; and reciprocally, in respect to such subjects of Great Britain in the United States, the age limits for compulsory military service shall be the age limits for the time being specified for compulsory military service under the laws of Great Britain.
2. In order to avoid difficulty from large numbers of British subjects taking out first papers and becoming thereby subject to draft in the United States only if between 20 and 31 years, I would suggest omission of article 4 of United States draft.
3. In order to cover the question of deserters I would suggest that the article on that subject in my first draft be retained.
4. The Embassy here states that delay in reaching an agreement is due to legal difficulties in making the agreement conform to Canadian law. I would earnestly suggest that the self-governing Dominions be not included in this agreement, as it would cause unnecessary delay to meet their wishes and might make any agreement [Page 656] arrived at useless as a model for an agreement between the United States and France, Italy, Belgium, et cetera. Canada and the other Dominions can be treated in a separate agreement which can be negotiated immediately. I am most anxious to have the agreement with Great Britain simple, concise, and clear-cut, so that agreements with the other countries may be as nearly like it as possible in the interest of efficient execution of the agreements in the United States.
5. In order to make the final article of the agreement somewhat more flexible, it is suggested that the latter part be changed to read as follows: “whereupon any citizen or subject of that country incorporated into the military service under this agreement shall be forthwith discharged from such service.”
6. Insert “regulations “after “prescribed by the laws” in article 2 of United States draft.
- Latter not printed.↩