767.68119T&M/49: Telegram
The Special Mission at Lausanne to the Secretary of State
[Received 2:05 p.m.]
210. At the end of the 22nd meeting of the first commission on military and territorial questions held yesterday, copies of the following statement by Mr. Child were handed to the chairman; the secretary general for the records; as [and?] to the various delegations:
“Lord Curzon has expressed the detachment from the British claim to continue as administrators of the mandate of Mesopotamia, of questions pertaining to resources of the country. In the course of his remarks he expressed also the attitude of himself and of his Government toward certain concessions in that territory in a manner clearly to indicate that the British Government would hold aloof so far as possible from making such concessions the subject of diplomatic interest and restated his belief in the principle that large factors in the world’s resources should not become the subject for monopolistic development.
[Page 958]The American representatives taking no part in the territorial settlement nevertheless are glad to associate themselves with the intent of Lord Curzon’s remarks upon this subject. The American representatives have expressed their Government’s policy of the Open Door and Lord Curzon has stated his adherence to this policy, but neither the statement nor the adherence had reference to any particular resource or field of economic activity and only those who wilfully perverted these declarations have read into them meanings which suit their own political ends.
The American representatives feel it their duty to refer to Lord Curzon’s specific mention of the validity of the claims of the Turkish Petroleum Company and to remind the conference that without seeking special privilege or favor the Government of the United States has not assented to the principle that it may be dissociated in the rights of peace from the usual consequence of association in war nor in other cases where another principle is involved will it abandon the policy of the Open Door. We refer to a substantial correspondence by our Government already accumulated under two successive political administrations in the United States.
So far as means to furnish protection to legitimate American interests is at their hands it is always [does not affect] the duty of the American representatives whether the identity of the American rights is associated with a commercial or any other American interest. For this reason the mention by Lord Curzon of a certain corporation and its claims is one giving the American representatives appropriate opportunity to suggest that where there are conflicting claims already in existence in respect to legal rights to resources there should be provided a means for a juridical settlement of these rights which would give full and complete assurance of impartiality. Such impartiality cannot be provided for specifically in Turkey [in advance?]. Under a general principle the interested parties should be satisfied as to the impartiality of the juridical determination at the time of the reference of the conflicting claims.”