711.5112France/360: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Herrick) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:30 p.m.]
183. Department’s No. 193, June 29. I have just talked with Briand, who made the following statements:
Press despatches which you mentioned in your telegram were wholly inaccurate. Briand read your note of June 2388a to Council of Ministers at its meeting last Thursday. The note was received with satisfaction, and on Briand’s suggestion the Government gave its approval in principle to the draft treaty attached thereto. No exhaustive discussion of the peace pact was undertaken as several [Page 102] of the Ministers were absent and as the Cabinet were preoccupied with the parliamentary situation. Briand told his colleagues that he would continue examination of situation with France’s cosignatories to the Locarno treaties, by which statement presumably he meant, although he did not say so, those other than Germany, and also that the powers bound to France by treaties of neutrality must verify these conversations; that when they had reached a harmony of views he would bring the question before the Cabinet again.
These conversations, Briand made it clear, are dealing inter alia with feasibility of having powers mentioned above sign a protocol at same time the treaty is signed specifying that the obligations of existing treaties are contravened by nothing in the anti-war treaty. Briand said that he quite understood that, as you stated in your telegram No. 193, you cannot go any further in this respect than you have already gone.
He stated frankly that preoccupation of France was possibility that Germany would contend that the peace pact constitutes a novation of the treaties of Versailles and of Locarno, particularly of articles 42 and 43 of the Versailles treaty which are also incorporated in Locarno treaty. Although he did not think that Germany was intending to take this position, the French Government felt obliged to eliminate all possibility of it.
Briand said in conclusion that he will see that the conversations in question do not lag, by which I assume he means that he will have more time to devote to them now that Parliament is quieter and adjournment near; he feels that, as he phrased it himself, a successful solution cannot be many days distant.
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