711.60 c 12Anti-War/1: Telegram
The Minister in Poland (Stetson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 11:44 p.m.]
29. With reference to the Kellogg plan for renunciation of war which has been presented to the five great powers, I desire to submit to the Department the Polish point of view which Tarnowski, chief of League of Nations section of the Foreign Office, expressed unofficially and informally to me on Saturday.
The Government of Poland regrets that it was not equally associated with the five powers for the following reasons: [Page 64]
- 1.
- A proposal of a similar nature was made last year to the League of Nations by Poland;
- 2.
- By reason of her geographical and political situation Poland can contribute greatly to peace of Europe, and without her cooperation any peace plan would fail;
- 3.
- A proposal such as the one named made to Germany and not to Poland complicates the latter’s position by lessening her prestige;
- 4.
- Because of Poland’s alliance with France the proposal creates an annoying juridical situation.
In regard to the first point, Mr. Tarnowski contends that Poland’s original proposal made last September was almost identical with the Kellogg proposal, but that before it reached the League of Nations it had been greatly modified under French and British influence. Copy of this original Polish plan has been promised me for this week, and upon receipt I shall forward it to the Department.63
In regard to the fourth point, Poland contends that if the Kellogg plan is accepted by the five powers Germany could then attack Poland, and France would not be able to comply with the terms of her military alliance with Poland.
Belief held by Polish Government is that if the Kellogg plan is to accomplish the greatest possible amount of good, the United States should include in the invitation not only the Governments which were allies during the World War but also the Governments signatories of the Locarno pact; in other words, Czechoslovakia and Poland should be included in the invitation.
The foregoing statements were confirmed to a large extent this morning by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who added that the Government was more partial to the plan put forth by the United States than to that put forward by the French, and that it did not wish to criticize the United States for not having invited Poland to participate.
Sometime during the present week the Minister for Foreign Affairs is expected to give expose of Polish foreign policy before Committee of Foreign Affairs in Diet at which time he will probably allude to the Kellogg proposal along the lines indicated above.
- Forwarded with despatch No. 1754, May 31; not printed.↩