711.6212Anti-War/18
The Ambassador in Germany (Schurman) to the Secretary of
State
Berlin, April 17,
1928.
[Received April 30.]
No. 3411
Sir: Confirming my telegram No. 72 of April
13, 7 p.m.,34 I have
the honor to transmit herewith, in copy and translation, Dr.
Stresemann’s
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formal
acknowledgment of the receipt together with his reply to the Note
proposing a multilateral treaty to prevent war and its enclosures
and the draft treaty presented by me on the 13th instant.
As stated in my telegram, Dr. Stresemann has requested that this
communication from him be not given to the press.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure—Translation]
The German Minister for Foreign Affairs
(Stresemann) to the
American Ambassador (Schurman)
My Dear Mr. Ambassador: I beg to
enclose herewith the text of the statement which I had the honor
of making to you today when, in the name of the American
Government, you handed me the text of the notes regarding the
pact to renounce war.
May I request that you be so kind as not to give any of these
statements to the press.
I avail myself [etc.]
[Subenclosure—Translation]
Statement Made by the German Minister for
Foreign Affairs (Stresemann) to the American Ambassador (Schurman)
[Berlin, April 13, 1928.]
- 1.
- We have followed currently with the greatest interest the
exchange of notes, the text of which has indeed already been
known from the press and has also been placed unofficially
at our disposal by the American Government, so that we are
already informed as to the position of the matter in its
essentials.
- 2.
- Since it was at the outset a question of Franco-American
negotiations, we have refrained from publicly taking any
position in order to avoid creating the impression that we
wished to mix in any way in the negotiations. I nevertheless
thought it appropriate to give expression in a general way
in my last formal speech in the Reichstag to our great
interest in the matter.
- 3.
- We have welcomed it in an extraordinary degree that the
American Government has from the first been determined not
to content itself with a treaty between America and France
but has taken the initiative of M. Briand as an occasion to
work out a fundamental structure of peace among the most
important world powers. The exchange of notes seems indeed
to have already achieved at least the result that France and
America are agreed upon this point.
- 4.
- The two underlying thoughts of the original Briand
proposal are completely identical with the underlying
conceptions of German
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foreign policy. It is indeed one of the most essential
foundations of German foreign policy to eliminate all armed
conflicts and to create instead, so far as it is at all
possible, a regulated pacific procedure for all kinds of
State conflicts. For Germany it is a question of an ideal
motive: to secure peace and on the other hand to establish
regular processes for the settlement of conflicts. I
therefore hope most assuredly that the plan so energetically
furthered by the American Government will actually be
realized.
- 5.
- I can candidly say that I do not understand in all points
the difficulties which the French Government apparently
finds and has set out in its numerous reservations. Without
going into details, I believe that I can say even now that
to my mind there seems to be in the American pact idea no
contradiction to the League of Nations. Nor is Germany
hindered by any of the treaties concluded by her from
adhering to a general pact of this kind. Some of the French
reservations, it seems to me, are self-explanatory. It is
perfectly clear that it is not intended to deprive a State
of the right of defense against attack. It is no doubt
likewise clear that if a State violates the antiwar pact the
other parties to the pact are no longer under obligation to
the peace breaker. That the pact shall be open also to all
States not included among those invited to participate at
this time seems to me entirely reasonable. However, it will
surely suffice if the states first concluding the treaty
make it possible for the other countries to adhere
later.
- 6.
- We will expedite our answer to the American note as much
as possible. I take it for granted also that it will not be
necessary to await the eventual formation of the new
Cabinet. In these fundamental questions there can be no
difference of opinion among the various German political
parties.