711.0012Anti-War/154: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Herrick)
247. Before I leave I plan to send a telegram, substantially in form which will be quoted below, to all of our diplomatic missions with the exception of those in the countries signing the anti-war treaty in the first instance. All the correspondence to July 20 has already been mailed in pamphlet form to all missions with the exceptions stated and should be available to most, if not all, of them by time note is delivered. Please mail five copies of pamphlet to Legation at Teheran from supply sent you last week.
Wish you and Marriner to consult French Government confidentially on this program for requesting all countries to adhere to [Page 137] treaty; at same time inquire whether French Government would be disposed to notify Russia of signature of treaty and invite her adherence to it. Let me know immediately whether France has any suggestions or objections in regard to this procedure.
Text of proposed telegram reads as follows:13
“According to present plans the multilateral anti-war treaty negotiated by the United States will be signed in Paris on August 27, 1928. I will telegraph you through the American Embassy at Paris as soon as the treaty is signed and immediately upon receipt of that telegram you should deliver the following note to the Foreign Office dating it the date of the day of the signature of the treaty. In the meantime you will seek an interview with the Foreign Minister and informally acquaint him with the contents of the note.
“‘I have the honor to inform you that the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, the Irish Free State, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and the United States of America have this day signed in Paris a treaty binding them to renounce war as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another and to seek only by pacific means the settlement or solution of all disputes which may arise among them.
“‘This treaty, as Your Excellency is aware, is the outcome of negotiations which commenced on June 20, 1927, when M. Briand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic submitted to my Government a draft of a pact of perpetual friendship between France and the United States. In the course of the subsequent negotiations this idea was extended so as to include as original signatories of the anti-war treaty not only France and the United States but also Japan, the British Empire and all the Governments which participated with France and Great Britain in the Locarno agreements, namely Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy and Poland. This procedure met the point raised by the British Government in its note of May 19, 1928, where it stated that the treaty from its very nature was not one which concerned that Government alone, but was one in which that Government could not undertake to participate otherwise than jointly and simultaneously with the Governments in the Dominions and the Government of India; it also settled satisfactorily the question whether there was any inconsistency between the new treaty and the treaties of Locarno.
“‘The decision to limit the original signatories to the powers named above, that is, to the United States, Japan, the parties to the Locarno treaties, the British Dominions and India, was based entirely upon practical considerations. It was the desire of the United States that the negotiations be successfully concluded at the earliest possible moment and that the treaty become operative without the delay that would inevitably result were prior universal acceptance made a condition precedent to its coming into force. My Government felt, moreover, that [Page 138] if these powers could agree upon a simple renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy there could be no doubt that most, if not all, of the other powers of the world would find the formula equally acceptable and would hasten to lend their unqualified support to so impressive a movement for the perpetuation of peace. The United States has, however, been anxious from the beginning that no State should feel deprived of an opportunity to participate promptly in the new treaty and thus not only align itself formally and solemnly with this new manifestation of the popular demand for world peace but also avail itself of the identical benefits enjoyed by the original signatories. Accordingly in the draft treaty proposed by it the United States made specific provision for participation in the treaty by any and every power desiring to identify itself therewith, and this same provision is found in the definitive instrument signed today in Paris. It will also be observed that the powers signing the treaty have recorded in the preamble their hope that every nation of the world will participate in the treaty and in that connection I am happy to be able to say that my Government has already received from several Governments informal indications that they are prepared to do so at the earliest possible moment. This convincing evidence of the world-wide interest and sympathy which the new treaty has evoked is most gratifying to all the Governments concerned.
“‘In these circumstances I have the honor formally to communicate to Your Excellency for your consideration and for the approval of your Government, if it concurs therein, the text of the above-mentioned treaty as signed today in Paris, omitting only that part of the preamble which names the several plenipotentiaries. The text is as follows:
(Here follows the text of the treaty).
“‘The provisions regarding ratification and adherence are, as Your Excellency will observe, found in the third and last article. That article provides that the treaty shall take effect as soon as the ratifications of all the powers named in the preamble shall have been deposited in Washington, and that it shall be open to adherence by all the other powers of the world. Any power desiring to participate in the treaty may thus avail itself of its benefits just as soon as it comes into force since the treaty expressly stipulates that when it has come into force as between the original signatories it shall take effect as between them and an adhering power immediately upon the deposit in Washington of the latter’s instrument of adherence. In this manner it is hoped the beneficent influence of the new treaty may rapidly spread throughout the world.
“‘I shall shortly transmit for Your Excellency’s convenient reference a printed pamphlet containing the text in translation of M. Briand’s original proposal to my Government of June 20, 1927, and the complete record of the subsequent diplomatic correspondence on the subject of a multilateral treaty for the renunciation of war. I shall also transmit, as soon as received from my Government, a certified copy of the signed treaty.
[Page 139]“‘In view of the fact that the treaty provides that instruments evidencing adherence are to be deposited at Washington, I have been instructed to state in conclusion that the Government of the United States would appreciate receiving Your Excellency’s assurance that the multilateral treaty for the renunciation of war signed today in Paris is acceptable to your Government, and that an appropriate instrument of adherence thereto will in due course be deposited in Washington.’
“When delivering the foregoing note please state that an identic note, mutatis mutandis, is being delivered simultaneously in the other world capitals and that pursuant to the procedure which has been followed throughout the present negotiations the text thereof is being promptly released for publication. It will be given out in Washington for publication in the morning papers of Wednesday, August 29, and you should arrange for publication in the local press at the corresponding time.
“If when you deliver this note you have already received a supply of the pamphlet containing the Briand proposal and the correspondence ending with the Japanese note of July 20, 1928, please make a copy immediately available to the Foreign Office. Otherwise transmit a copy as soon as received from the Department.”
- Text not paraphrased.↩