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

574.D7/82: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Houghton)

Washington, August 18, 1925—4 p.m.

263. This Government is making arrangements to hold Radiotelegraph Conference in Washington in accordance provision made in Act of Congress approved March 4, 1925.¹⁷ You are accordingly instructed to extend an invitation to the Government to which you are accredited, reading in substance as follows:

Article XI of the Convention signed at London on July 5, 1912,¹⁸ provides that each conference shall fix the time and place of the next meeting. It will be recalled that at the close of the Radiotelegraph Conference held in London in July, 1912, the delegates that represented the United States invited the governments to hold the next radiotelegraph conference at Washington. The invitation of the United States was accepted and it was agreed that the next conference should take place at Washington in 1917. Later proposals were made with a view to holding a joint conference of parties to the Telegraph Convention and parties to the Radiotelegraph Convention and a draft for a universal communications union was prepared and circulated. As unanimity could not be obtained for these proposals, the French Government has proceeded with arrangements to hold the Telegraph Conference at Paris beginning September 1, 1925.¹⁹

Accordingly the United States has taken the necessary steps for holding the Radiotelegraph Conference and I hereby, pursuant to instructions of my Government, have the honor to extend to you, as one of the parties to the Radiotelegraph Convention, a courteous invitation to participate in a radiotelegraph conference to be held in the spring of 1926 at Washington, the exact date for the holding of the conference to be communicated to you later.

As regards the subjects to be considered at the conference at Washington, I am instructed to refer to the fact that the provisions of the Radiotelegraph Convention signed at London deal with communication between ships and between ship and shore and do not cover many uses of radio which have been developed since 1912. Furthermore, many of the provisions of the 1912 Convention with respect to communication between ships and between ship and shore are not in general practice followed to a considerable extent.

In the circumstances I am instructed to state that the Government of the United States believes that at the forthcoming conference to be held at Washington the following subjects should be taken up for consideration:

1. Revision of the Convention and Regulations signed at London July 5, 1912.

2. Preparation of new articles and modification of present articles of convention and regulations so that they will be applicable to and regulate

(a) Comnmnication by radio between fixed points;

(b) Radiotelegraph broadcasting, including press messages;

(c) Radio telephony, including broadcasting;

(d) Allocation of frequencies to classes of service, such as fixed stations, mobile stations, broadcasting stations, etc.

(e) Elimination of interference as far as practicable.

(f) Distress messages so as to take cognizance of increased uses and classes of service.

(g) Radio aids to navigation.

(h) All other international uses of radio.

A more complete program amplifying the statements above made will be forwarded by my Government as soon as possible for your consideration and an expression of your views.

[Here follow instructions to repeat invitation to the American missions in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Free City of Danzig, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.]²⁰

In repeating invitation to mission accredited to government having dominions, mandates, colonies or possessions for which ratification or adherence has been deposited, state that invitation contained in third paragraph should be amended to include these dominions, mandates, colonies and possessions. Set forth in your message repeating the invitation the dominions, mandates, colonies or possessions of each government as stated in your 255, August 15, 11 a.m.²¹

Mail report stating action taken.

Kellogg

17. 43 Stat. 1340.
18. Foreign Relations, 1913, p. 1375.
19. See ante, p. 287.

20. By a telegram dated August 27, the Ambassador was instructed to repeat the invitation to Albania. The invitation was also sent as a circular telegram on August 18 to the American missions in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

    The invitation was extended pro forma to all countries (except Ecuador and Russia) which were then, or before the Conference convened, parties to the Conference of 1912. Invitations were not sent to Ecuador and Russia because those countries did not have governments which were recognized by the United States. At later dates the invitation (without the right to vote) was extended to non-adhering governments and to certain private companies. On September 29, the invitation (without the right to vote) was extended to the Radiotelegraph Section of the International Bureau at Berne.

21. Not printed.