700.00116/206
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Herrick)76
Sir: Reference is made to the Department’s instruction No. 829 of January 26, 1924, in which you were informed of the results achieved by a Commission of Jurists representative of the United States, the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands, at The Hague, from December 11, 1922, to February 19, 1923, with regard to the codification of rules for the control of radio in time of war and also a set of rules for aerial warfare. You were requested in the instruction under reference to make clear to the Government to which you are accredited that the Government of the United States is ready, in conjunction with the powers above mentioned, to accept the two sets of rules reported by the Commission of Jurists. You were further instructed to inquire whether the French Government would be disposed to conclude with the United States and the powers above mentioned two conventions such as were proposed by the American delegation at The Hague February 12, 1923, to one of which the rules for the control of radio in time of war should be annexed and to the other, the rules for aerial warfare [Page 97] should be annexed; both conventions to be ratified according to the constitutional requirements of the signatory states.
The Department’s records do not indicate that any reply has been received from the French Government to this matter, which this Government considers highly important and a step which may have a far-reaching and beneficial effect in the future.
The Japanese Government has informed this Government that it is happy to acquiesce in the proposals of the United States Government to conclude the two conventions substantially on the lines suggested by the American delegation at The Hague on February 12, 1923, believing, as it does, that the work of revising the rules of warfare promoted by the Commission of Jurists at The Hague is a matter for sincere congratulation in the interest of humanity. The Department desires that you avail yourself of an early opportunity to bring this matter again to the attention of the Foreign Office, referring to the favorable action taken by the Government of Japan, and emphasizing this Government’s sincere hope that the French Government will now find itself in a position to give an affirmative reply to the suggestion conveyed in the Department’s instruction of January 26, 1924.
I am [etc.]
- Similar instructions were sent on the same date to the Ambassadors in Great Britain and Italy, and to the Minister in the Netherlands.↩