512.4 A 1a/222½
The Secretary of State to President Coolidge
My Dear Mr. President: As you are aware, in response to an invitation from the President of the Health Committee of the League of Nations Surgeon General H. S. Cumming of the United States Public Health Service was appointed by this Government on January 20, 1923, to cooperate with the Health Committee of the League in an advisory and consultative capacity.
As you are also aware an international arrangement was concluded at Rome on December 9, 1907, providing for the establishment of an International Office of Public Health with headquarters at Paris, under the authority of a Committee composed of delegates of the contracting governments. The United States was a party to the arrangement and is a member of the organization created thereby.
In June, 1923, the Surgeon General attended a mixed meeting of the International Office of Public Health and the Health Committee of the League of Nations at Paris, assembled to draw up a scheme for the cooperation of the two bodies. The Surgeon General was nominated as one of the seven members to represent the League Health Committee, but in accordance with directions of this Department, he informed the Mixed Committee that he would be unable to represent the League in that capacity, whereupon he was appointed a Delegate of the International Office. I attach the scheme as drawn up by this Special Mixed Committee, according to which the cooperation of these two bodies may be summarized as follows:
- (1)
- A general Advisory Health Council consisting of the Committee of the International Office. The International Office will remain autonomous and retain its seat in Paris without any modification of its constitution or functions.
- (2)
- A Standing Health Committee to consist of the President of the Committee of the International Office and fifteen other members. Nine of these will be appointed individually for three years by the Committees [Committee] of the International Office in such a way that each State, which is a permanent member of the Council of the League, is represented on the Standing Health Committee. The remaining six members will be appointed also for a period of three years by the Council of the League of Nations after consultation with the Standing Health Committee. This Committee may be supplemented by the addition of not more than four public health experts as assessors; these assessors will be appointed by the Council of the League on the nomination of the Standing Health Committee and will be considered as fully effective members.
- (3)
- A Health Section of the Secretariat of the League will form the Secretariat of the Health Organization of the League. The functions and duties of the Health Sections will be those laid down by the Standing Health Committee subject to approval by [Page 114] the Secretary General of the League.
This Government naturally would oppose any scheme which would destroy the independence of action of the International Office or which would place its activities under the control of the League of Nations. In my opinion, however, the present independent status of the International Office will not be impaired by the scheme which it is now contemplated to put into effect. It is true that nine of the members of the Standing Health Committee provided for by this scheme must be directly appointed by the States which are permanent members of the Council of the League, but there are six remaining members who will be appointed by the Council after consultation with the Standing Health Committee and this will permit a satisfactory American representation. Furthermore, not being a member of the League of the Nations, the United States is not bound by any final decision of the Council of the League or of the Health Section of the Secretariat of the League. Vessels and commerce of the United States might, however, be affected by the measures adopted in pursuance of the decisions of the League by other States thereof and in this way questions of maritime commerce, American shipping and commercial interests might be affected by decisions as to sanitary procedure in any part of the world. This, nevertheless, would be the case irrespective of whether the contemplated plan is approved by this Government or not.
I am now in receipt of a note from the French Chargé d’Affaires in Washington inquiring whether or not this Government would perceive any objection to making effective the scheme in question. As pointed out above, it is my view that the scheme will not adversely affect American interests nor will it impair the independent activities of the International Office which have in the past been of great service to sanitary improvement throughout the world. Before informing the French Chargé d’Affaires, however, that this Government perceives no objection to the proposed scheme, I beg to request an expression of your views.
Faithfully yours,