463.00 R 29/174: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Herrick) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 4—4 p.m.]
262. Your 99, February 24, 4 p.m., and my 150, March 3, noon. British Embassy has sent me copy of a memorandum which it is presenting to the Conference of Ambassadors which after referring to our memorandum of March 3 states that
“The British Embassy is now instructed to inform the Conference that His Majesty’s Government would prefer, at this stage, not to raise at all the question of the governments which might be entitled to share in payments made in respect of these bonds. In the opinion of His Majesty’s Government, it would be preferable merely to deliver the bonds to the Reparation Commission without requesting it to hold the bonds as trustee for any particular governments and the British Embassy accordingly has the honor to propose that the memorandum which it communicated to the Conference on January 8th should be modified accordingly. The British Embassy has also the honor to suggest that the Conference should give an assurance to the representative of the United States of America that, should a decision be taken in this sense, it would in no way prejudice any claim which the United States Government might desire hereafter to make, to share in the payments made under these bonds., The Conference would merely defer any expression of opinion in regard to any such claim until it was actually raised and the grounds on which it might be made were more fully stated.[”]
[Paraphrase.] Both Hill and I think this unsatisfactory and Hill is of the opinion that we should not agree to the British proposal but that we should insist upon a decision whereby the Reparation Commission would be instructed to hold the bonds as trustee for the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy. Hill points out that the agreement of September 10, 1919, as amended December 8, 1919, contains no provision for ratification and that its ratification by the United States is not in fact necessary; that the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy are accorded alike precisely the same rights under the agreement, and that no one of those states can be deprived of them without its consent.
Respectfully request instructions. [End paraphrase.]