Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1925, Volume I

574.D3/121

The Secretary of State to the French Ambassador (Daeschner)

Washington, July 17, 1925.

Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note dated May 14, 1925,¹ with which you were good enough to send me a memorandum setting forth a list of the principal questions concerning wireless telegraphy that it is proposed to discuss at the International Telegraph Conference at Paris beginning September 1, 1925. You state that you are informed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of your Government that these questions are set forth in a book published by the International Telegraph Bureau at Berne^1a and that a copy of it has been delivered to the Minister of the United States to Switzerland for transmission to this Government. You inquire whether this Government agrees not to call the International Radiotelegraph Conference^1b until the spring of 1926 and what the program of that Conference will be.

I have referred these matters to the other interested Departments of this Government for their consideration and I now desire to set forth the considered views of this Government regarding these subjects.

Conferences of parties to the International Telegraph Convention are held pursuant to the provisions of Article 15 of the Telegraph Convention, which reads as follows:

“The Tariffs and Regulations provided for by Articles 10 and 13 are annexed to the present Convention. They possess the same authority and come into operation at the same time as the Convention.

“They will be subject to revisions, at which all adhering States will have the right to be represented.

“With this object, Administrative Conferences will take place periodically, each Conference fixing the time and place of the next meeting.”^1c

The provision for conferences of parties to the International Radiotelegraph Convention is found in Article 11 of that Convention, which reads in part as follows:

“… Conferences of plenipotentiaries having power to modify the Convention and the Regulations, shall take place from time to time; each conference shall fix the time and place of the next meeting.”²

It will be observed that the Telegraph Convention provides that the “Tariffs and Regulations” shall be revised at the administrative conferences, whereas the International Radiotelegraph Convention provides for the revision of the “Convention and the Regulations”. It is, therefore, evident that it was intended that the periodic conferences to revise the Radiotelegraph Convention and Regulations annexed to it might add to the subjects which are dealt with in the present Convention.

The limitations upon the work of the Telegraph Conference were recognized by the International Telegraph Bureau at Berne when it issued its circular telegram No. 99/12 dated July 12, 1924, requesting Governments to submit their proposals. This telegram reads as follows:

“French Service reports that as unanimity could not be secured for meeting of mixed conference about which the offices were told in Circular No. 744, of June 12, 1922, the French Government invites countries in the Telegraphic Union to an International Telegraphic Conference at Paris in the spring of 1925. The exact date of opening will be given later. The International Bureau, therefore, begs the several services to kindly forward to it within four months their propositions for that conference based exclusively on the telegraph regulations now in force. Circular letter follows.” (Underscoring added.)

Also the Bureau’s Circular Letter No. 766, dated July 15, 1924, reads in part as follows:

“… It now appears from a communication of the French Service, of the eighth instant, that the French Government which had sought the consent of the Governments interested, concerning the expediency of calling the earliest possible Conference of electric communications, which was to revise the telegraph and radio Conventions and Regulations now in force in Paris, was unable, although the proposition was well received, to secure unanimous consent.

“Under the circumstances it (The French Government) thought it best to adhere to the decisions arrived at in the Telegraphic Conference of Lisbon in 1908, and to call the International Telegraphic Conference which should have taken place in 1915 to a meeting in Paris in the spring of 1925.

“Therefore, the French Government instructed its diplomatic officers abroad to invite the countries in the Telegraphic Union to send representatives to the said Conference, the date of the opening of which will be later announced.

“By reason of that call, on the one hand, and in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 11 of Article LXXXIV of the Lisbon Regulations on the other hand, the International Bureau has the honor to beg you jointly with the French Service, kindly to forward to it, up to and not later than November 15, next, the additions or modifications that your office would like to introduce in the International Service Regulations (Revised at Lisbon) and the tariffs now in force. (Underscoring added)³

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“With a view to preventing any misunderstanding we lay stress on the fact that the propositions to be brought before the Conference, through the International Bureau, shall not, as stated in the circular above mentioned, No. 744, rest on documents already mailed to the Offices dealing with the drafts worked out by the Preliminary Conference at Washington.”⁴

In a note dated January 15, 1925, addressed to Mr. Hughes,⁵ Mr. Jusserand referred to the fact that at the last conference of the Telegraphic Union held in Lisbon in 1908 it was decided that the next Telegraph Conference would meet in Paris, and that at the last conference of the parties to the International Radiotelegraph Convention, held in London in 1912, it was agreed that the next International Radiotelegraph Conference would be held at Washington. Mr. Jusserand then referred to the proposal that one conference should be held to deal with all the problems concerning electrical communications and stated that the French Government had caused the Governments to be approached as to the expediency of calling as soon as possible a universal conference on electrical communications in Paris but that, although the proposition was generally well received, unanimous consent to it could not be obtained. Mr. Jusserand stated that the French Government therefore believed that it was advisable to adhere to the decisions of the conference at Lisbon in 1908 and of the Conference at London in 1912 and had instructed him to inform Mr. Hughes that France would be glad if the United States would take part in the Conference of the Telegraphic Union which was scheduled to meet in Paris in the spring of 1925. In the circumstances this Government took the necessary steps with a view to holding the International Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington and, on February 16, 1925, Mr. Hughes instructed the American Ambassador at Paris⁶ to inquire whether some time in the autumn would be agreeable to your Government for holding the Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington in accordance with the decision reached at London in 1912. On February 26, 1925, Mr. Herrick conferred with a representative of the Foreign Office regarding arrangements for the Radiotelegraphic Conference and he was then informed that the Telegraph Conference had been postponed until September and that, as it was understood that the purpose of the conference at Washington was the establishment of a much broader convention, information was desired regarding the exact program of this Government so that it could be studied. The Foreign Office expressed the opinion that, in the circumstances, your Government would probably be prevented from being ready to attend the Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington in the autumn.⁷ On March 4, 1925, the Congress of the United States passed an Act, which was approved by the President, authorizing this Government to make provision for holding the International Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington.⁸ Two copies of this Act of Congress are enclosed for your information.

In your note dated March 23, 1925,⁹ you referred to the plan of this Government to call the International Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington and suggested that, as the date for the opening of the International Telegraph Conference had been postponed until September 1, 1925, it would be advisable to postpone the date of the meeting of the International Radiotelegraph Conference to the spring of 1926. In response to requests in my notes dated March 24, and April 18, 1925,⁹ for a statement setting forth the subjects which it was proposed to take up for discussion at the forthcoming conference at Paris, you were good enough to refer me, in your note dated May 14, 1925,¹⁰ to the document issued by the International Telegraph Bureau at Berne and stated that the five proposals listed in the enclosure with your note are set forth in the document. Copies of the document, which consists of 437 printed pages of technical matter, were received by the American Legation at Berne and forwarded to me on April 18, 1925.¹⁰

It seems that the Bureau considered it advisable to print all the statements for proposals submitted by the various administrations, even though they did not relate to the Telegraph Regulations or Tariffs. However, the fact that the International Telegraph Bureau considered that these proposals were not subjects for action at the Telegraph Conference is evidenced by the following statement on the title page of the Document:

“Note: Although, as indicated by the telegram-circular No. 99/12 of July 12, 1924, and by circular No. 766 of July 15, 1924, the international office, according to instructions received from the French Government, solicited from the offices of the Union, only motions concerning the international service regulation (The Lisbon Revision), certain governments have sent in motions referring to the Convention of St. Petersburg.”¹¹

The International Telegraph Bureau also printed the following preliminary statement in connection with Parts III and IV of the Document:

“Certain Administrations have proposed to incorporate in various articles of the Regulations, provisions relating to the exchange of messages by radio. Therefore, these suggestions appear in their respective places in this part of the present Document. Certain other Administrations, however, have grouped these new provisions and proposed to make Special Articles of them. These new Articles have been printed in the IVth Part of this Document.”

As the circular telegram dated July 12, 1924, issued by the International Telegraph Bureau at Berne, pointed out that the proposals to be submitted by the respective administrations for consideration at the International Telegraph Conference at Paris were to be “based exclusively on the telegraph regulations now in force” and as the circular letter dated July 15, 1924, issued by the Bureau jointly with the French Administration, requested the administrations to forward “the additions or modifications that your office would like to introduce in the International Service Regulations (Revised at Lisbon) and the tariffs now in force”, it is surprising to find that the administrations concerned have submitted a large number of propositions dealing with the regulation of communication by means of radio and that the Berne Bureau printed these proposals relating to radio in the Document.

I feel that it is of great importance to emphasize the fact that, in determining what subjects shall be discussed at the conferences, care should be exercised to have the discussions limited to subjects that properly fall within the scope of the conference. At present there are two wholly independent conventions, each dealing with a separate general subject, first, the Telegraph Convention, dealing with communication by means of wire, and, second, the Radiotelegraph Convention, dealing with communication by means of radio. Since the Paris Conference is to be held first, I am strongly of the opinion that it should not concern itself with subjects which properly would come before the Radiotelegraph Conference to be held at Washington. And in as much as your Government has agreed to the holding of the International Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington, I have no doubt that your Government is of the same opinion that radio matters should be taken up at the Washington Conference and that the printing of these proposals relating to radio does not involve their consideration at the Paris Conference.

From such examination as it has been possible to make of the Document issued by the International Telegraph Bureau at Berne, it seems clear that if the Conference at Paris takes up the consideration of all of the subject matter contained in the above mentioned Document it will take into consideration a great many matters which, in fact, relate only to the use of radio and, in so doing, will invade the field that should properly be reserved for study and discussion at the Washington Conference. This observation applies particularly to Part IV of the Document.

A study of the five questions which you submitted makes this fact clearer and, with the exception of the fourth question, I beg to suggest that your Government should, in the light of the foregoing comments, consider carefully the propriety of taking them up at the Telegraph Conference at Paris.

The first proposal stated in the enclosure with your note is that the Paris Conference consider the advisability of the use of high efficiency [speed] apparatus on radiotelegraphic communications having a large business [considerable traffic]¹² to dispose of. Apparently this refers to the installation of automatic sending machines, perforators, direct writers, printers and similar equipment in the large radio stations. If this understanding is correct, it would appear that the installation of such apparatus is purely a wireless telegraph matter for consideration at the Washington Conference and having no direct connection, either as a matter of regulation or in its technical aspects, with the revision of the Regulations annexed to the Telegraph Convention.

Similarly, with respect to the proposal that the Paris Conference discuss the question of the fixing of radiotelegraph rates between fixed points, I wish to point out that consideration of rates on messages handled between fixed points by radiotelegraph would not fall properly within a conference to consider the revision of the Regulations annexed to the International Telegraph Convention and the Tables of International Telegraph Tariffs established under Article XV of the Convention and Service Regulation XXIV. If consideration of this question is proposed, it is believed that it should be dealt with at the Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington.

With regard to the proposal that the Paris Conference shall consider changes to be made in the transmitting regulations to make the rules applicable to wireless and wire communication uniform, it would seem that this proposal should be understood to apply to those articles of the International Telegraph Convention and Regulations which are incorporated in the International Radiotelegraph Convention and Regulations by Article 17 of the Radiotelegraph Convention and Article L of the Regulations annexed to it. These articles read as follows:

Article 17 of Convention

“The provisions of Articles 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 17 of the International Telegraph Convention of St. Petersburg of July 10–22, 1875, shall be applicable to international radiotelegraphy.”

Article L of Regulations

“The provisions of the International Telegraph Regulations shall be applicable analogously to radio correspondence in so far as they are not contrary to the provisions of the present regulations. The following provisions of the Telegraph Regulations, in particular, shall be applicable to radio correspondence: Article XXVII, paragraphs 3 to 6, relating to the collection of charges; Articles XXVI and XLI relating to the indication of the route to be followed; Article LXXV, paragraph 1, LXXVIII, paragraphs 2 to 4, and LXXIX, paragraphs 2 and 4, relating to the preparation of accounts. However:— (1) The period of six months provided by paragraph 2 of Article LXXIX of the Telegraph Regulations for the verification of accounts shall be extended to nine months in the case of radiograms; (2) The provisions of Article XVI, paragraph 2, shall not be considered as authorizing gratuitous transmission, through radio stations, of service telegrams relating exclusively to the telegraph service, nor the free transmission over the telegraph lines of service telegrams relating exclusively to the radio service; (3) The provisions of Article LXXIX, paragraphs 3 and 5, shall not be applicable to radio accounts. As regards the application of the provisions of the Telegraph Regulations, coastal stations shall be considered as offices of transit except when the Radio Regulations expressly stipulate that such stations shall be considered as offices of origin or of destination.”

Although it is recognized that, in the discussion of the Articles of the Telegraph Convention and the Regulations mentioned in the above quoted articles, it would be very desirable to consider their effect on communication by radio, I desire to make it clear that I understand that it is not contemplated that changes in the Regulations annexed to the Radiotelegraph Convention will be brought up for discussion at the Paris Conference. The transmitting regulations for radio appear to be a subject of especial interest to the representatives of the Governments who will participate in the Washington Conference. In the interest of uniformity it is suggested that the Telegraph Conference at Paris might desire to consider communication by radio to the extent that any transmitting regulations for wire should be so framed as not to preclude the possibility of their adoption by the Washington Conference and thus being made applicable to radio should the Radiotelegraph Conference deem it desirable to do so.

Respecting the fourth proposal to discuss at the Paris Conference the use of the word “fil” on European telegrams when the sender does not wish the message forwarded by wireless, I am of the opinion that this matter is a proper subject for consideration at the Paris Conference and, if the action taken on the subject is limited to the European regime, it would not be of direct concern to the United States.

In regard to the fifth proposal that the Conference at Paris shall consider the drafting of regulations respecting telegrams without address sent by radio, I desire to make it clear that, if this statement refers to the broadcasting of information by radio, I am of the opinion that the regulation of this new means of communication is purely a radio matter with which it would seem that a telegraph conference should not properly concern itself. The new problems raised by this new means of communication seem to be closely related to the use of radio and I believe it would be more appropriate to consider this subject at the Washington Conference.

Respecting your inquiry whether the United States would agree to the postponement of the Radiotelegraph Conference until the spring of 1926, I am pleased to state that this Government will be happy to make the necessary arrangements to hold the International Radiotelegraph Conference at Washington in the spring of 1926, and formal invitations for this Conference will be issued at an early date.¹³ The agenda for the Washington Conference is being studied and, although I cannot at this time furnish you a detailed statement of the subjects that I believe should be considered at the Conference, it is believed that, in addition to the revision of the present Convention and Regulations, the Conference should consider the transmission by radiotelegraph of communications between fixed points, the broadcasting of communications, and communications by radiotelephony, and other related subjects which the developments of the art since 1912 make it advisable to consider.

In view of the considerations set forth in this note, I confidently encourage the hope that you will find it possible at an early date to assure me that, as I have suggested above, questions relating to radio will not be considered at the Paris Conference so that I may be in a position promptly to inform the interested agencies of this Government with a view to making the necessary arrangements looking to the participation of the United States in the Conference at Paris.

Accept [etc.]

Frank B. Kellogg

1. Not printed.
2. Documents de la Conference Télégraphique Internationale de Paris, 1925 (Berne, Bureau International de l’Union Télégraphique, 1925), tome i.
3. See pp. 297 ff.
4. Documents de la Conference Télégraphique Internationale de Lisbonne, pp. 15, 121.
2. Foreign Relations, 1913, p. 1377.
3. Omission which follows indicated in original note.
4. Convened Oct. 8, 1920; Foreign Relations, 1920, vol. i, p. 132.
5. Not printed.
6. Instruction not printed.
7. Correspondence not printed.
8. 43 Stat. 1340.
9. Not printed.
9. Not printed.
10. Not printed.
10. Not printed.
11. The Convention of St. Petersburg (1875) is printed in Documents de la Conference Télégraphique Internationale de Lisbonne, p. 1.
12. Corrections supplied from a revised translation of Mr. Daeschner’s note of May 14 (file No. 574.D3/121).
13. Issued on Aug. 18, 1925; see telegram No. 263, Aug. 18, to the Ambassador in Great Britain, p. 297.