500.A4a/51a: Circular telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain ( Harvey )62
Inform Government to which you are accredited that Senate has advised ratification of the treaty signed on December 13, 1921 between the United States, the British Empire, France and Japan, relating to their insular possessions and insular dominions in the Pacific Ocean, the treaty supplementary thereto, signed February 6, 1922, and the four treaties signed at the Washington Conference on February 6, 1922, namely the Treaty to Limit Naval Armament, the Treaty relating to Submarines and Noxious Gases, the Treaty relating to the Revision of the Chinese Customs Tariff and the Treaty of policy towards China, without amendment or reservation except with respect to the four power treaty and supplementary treaty, to which, [Page 379] in addition to the declaration signed by the plenipotentiaries of the four powers on December 13, 1921, the advice and consent of the Senate is given with the reservation and understanding that “The United States understands that under the statement in the preamble or under the terms of this treaty there is no commitment to armed force, no alliance, no obligation to join in any defense.”
Instructions concerning formal notice follow by mail.
- The same to the diplomatic representatives in France and Japan and, with the omission of the last sentence, to those in Belgium, China, Italy, Netherlands, and Portugal.↩