711.4112Anti-War/154: Telegram
The Chargé in Great Britain (Atherton) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:11 p.m.]
168. This morning Chamberlain handed me the British reply to our note, together with the replies of Governments of Australia, India, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Chamberlain stated that he was fully in sympathy with this movement initiated by France, and that his careful study of the pact and his “methods” leading up to its acceptance were for purpose of insuring whole-hearted cooperation with the United States. He said that the British Government was delighted to join with that of the United States in this movement especially as he felt that it marked the definite participation by the United States in the question of world peace. Furthermore he felt that the potentialities of the pact were very great.
I replied that I thought that the conclusion of the pact would mark a new era. Chamberlain said that his feeling was that force of the pact lay in attitude of the United States towards any nation breaking it; if, he said, the utterances of our leading statesmen, writers, and the American press should indicate that any nation which violated the pact would be condemned as merely “naughty” and the United States should continue at the same time to export material to the country breaking the pact, its effect would be slight. On the other hand, if the American attitude were to be indicated by the statesmen, the press, [Page 112] and the people of the United States as condemning to the last utterance a nation which broke the pact, then the potentialities of its force were very great.
My reply was that this was an election year in the United States, as he was aware; that both the Republican and Democratic parties had included a plank on outlawry of war in their platforms, and that many different prominent men and organizations had already enthusiastically endorsed attitude of President Coolidge and the Secretary of State.
I have been informed that Foreign Office has already notified British Embassy at Washington to inform you that the British reply will be laid before Parliament on July 19 at 10 p.m., and will be published in British press the next day.