500.A15a3/176: Telegram
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Dawes) to the Secretary of State
[Received 2:52 p.m.]
273. The Japanese Ambassador came to see me again yesterday for the purpose of discussing the situation along the lines already reported in my telegram of September 16, No. 272.
Yesterday evening I had a further conference with MacDonald. MacDonald, realizing that, owing to the substantial agreement now arrived at between the United States and Great Britain, a growing restiveness for similar preliminary adjustments will develop on the part of other powers, is preparing a letter for transmission to the British Ambassadors in France, Italy, and Japan instructing them to inform those powers that he wishes to begin informal preliminary conversations with each of them along the same lines as those which have been going on with the United States. After the preparation of this letter and prior to its transmission he intends to hand me a copy for the purpose of submitting it to you for such suggestions or modifications as you desire to make.
With reference to your suggestion that the memorandum of agreement between our two countries should not be made public until the time of the Five-Power Conference, MacDonald, while realizing that the situation may be altered by conditions, tends to agree with you particularly since after the submission of this memorandum to his official advisers he was presented with a large damn fool exposition of several pages concerning your error in making use of the term “armament” in place of something else in the first proposition of your No. 225, August 28, 7 p.m.59 He added that unimportant comments of a similar sort were made on almost all paragraphs of the memorandum; however, he had made use of your suggestion that the memorandum should not be given out until the conference as an excuse for not prolonging the discussions with his official advisers and [Page 235] in this connection he manifested a feeling of gratitude for your suggestion.
I think, after my talk with the Prime Minister, that, in view of his attitude, you may well consider as undisturbed your statement of policy in your telegram of September 12, No. 245,60 unless you yourself desire to make a change. The official public statements concerning the remaining difference have, as a matter of fact, been prepared so admirably that the man in the street has been able to understand them and this particular matter has lost its public importance to a large extent as a result. However, in connection with the attitude of Japan and possibly of the Italian and French Governments, it remains very important.
I have received word from the French Ambassador that he desires to call on me after noon today.