767.68119P/64: Telegram
The Special Mission at Lausanne to the Secretary of State
[Received June 23—3:45 p.m.]
451. Your telegram 192 of June 21. It is my understanding that the formula suggested in your point 3 does not refer to the declaration to be attached to the Turkish treaty with the Allies but to the declaration which the Department proposes should be addressed to us by the Turkish delegation. For reasons set forth in our telegram of June 13, 10 p.m., I fear that it would not be advisable or useful to try to have the former modified.
Nothing which I can do will be left undone in endeavoring to have the Turkish delegation make the desired communication to us of the proposed judicial declaration with the modifications suggested in the second and third points of your telegram no. 192. I left the way open for this in my remarks to Ismet during conversations on April 26, and May 1, 10, and 31, in all of which I elaborated the importance which we attached to judicial safeguards. I must admit, however, that it will be hard to persuade him to take this action. I foresee that he will steadily evade the issue in all probability until our treaty is ready to be signed. Then will arise the question whether we are ready to require this as a condition of signature. Considering the present uncompromising temper of Ismet and of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, we must face the question as to whether the treaty itself might not be endangered by insistence upon our part.
If I find that Ismet is firmly opposed to communicating a separate declaration to us concerning judicial safeguards, with or without the desired changes, it might be practicable for me to arrange an exchange of notes with him. In my letter I would ask that the general applicability of the judicial declaration be confirmed. He would reply confirming the general application of the declaration of which he would attach a copy and would state that in a large measure its form and content are a result of the participation in the conference by American representatives, and that therefore he does not consider it necessary to give to us separate assurances in the sense of the declaration.
I would like instruction as to whether such an exchange of notes would be considered by the Department as serving the purpose indicated in the second point of your telegram no. 192. On such an exchange of notes mention might also be made of the general applicability of the minority clauses.