711.3212Anti-War/3: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Brazil (Morgan)
24. Your 27, June 28, 3 p.m. Reason why Brazil and other countries were not included in this Government’s original invitation is as follows:
[Page 99]The French Government originally proposed that France and the United States enter into a treaty in the same language that I have proposed for a multilateral treaty. After giving very careful thought to the subject, I was convinced that the United States could not enter into a treaty with France that it would not be equally willing to enter into with all the other powers, and I made a counterproposal that in the first instance the Governments of the United States, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan enter into a multilateral treaty which should be open to adherence to any other power in the world. The object of this restriction at the beginning to a few powers was to narrow the field of negotiation and to expedite conclusion of a treaty; if we undertook negotiations with all the world powers, result would be indefinite delay. The present fear of war, moreover, is principally in Europe, and it was deemed most important to get the leading European powers to sign the treaty and set forth this principle. Great Britain did not wish to sign for the Dominions and India and requested that they be invited as a part of the British Empire, so the proposal was extended to them. It was also afterward extended to Czechoslovakia, Belgium and Poland, as they are the only powers parties to the Locarno treaties of guarantee in addition to the powers originally invited. Question was raised by France of whether her signature to this treaty renouncing war would conflict with the obligations of the Locarno treaties and other similar guaranty treaties in Europe which France asserted required her to come to the defense of any nation a party to these treaties if it is attacked by any other party. In order to obviate question raised by France I acquiesced in the suggestion that the Locarno countries be made parties to this treaty so that there could not be any conflict between proposed treaty and the treaties of Locarno. If the latter should be broken by one of the parties it would likewise break the multilateral treaty; the other parties would be released and could go to the rescue of the party attacked.
From the start, the United States has been insisting on a formula which would include Brazil as well as other states. Never has there been any intention of restricting it to the original signatories alone. The plan has been to submit the treaty when it has been signed to every country together with an invitation to become a party to it.
I am sending you by mail complete copies of all correspondence on the treaty from the beginning down to the present. If it is finally agreed to and signed by the above-mentioned powers, an invitation will undoubtedly be sent to Brazil.