500.A15a3/177: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Dawes)
252. There has now been time for me to study Mr. MacDonald’s complete draft of his proposed invitation to the other three powers for a Naval Disarmament Conference, and for me to confer on the subject with the President. The Prime Minister’s reasons for issuing immediate invitations and his proposed date for the Conference are acceptable to us. However, the form which he proposes, according to your telegram, has serious objections from our point of view. It is, we think, a grave mistake to bring up before the other powers the divergencies which still exist as a result of our discussions. You undoubtedly have realized from the President’s letter which I sent you yesterday, how important these differences are, in our view; the fact must also be clear to you that it is impossible for us to recede from our minimum position explained in my No. 249, September 17, unless the British can reduce their cruiser fleet below the aggregate 339,000 tons. It would merely serve to crystallize public opinion in both countries upon the respective positions and to make a final settlement all the more difficult, if these differences were stated. We are sure moreover that a statement such as appears in the fifth paragraph of MacDonald’s draft relative to the cruiser strength for the United States which he would accept, would be intensely resented by the American press which would regard it as an effort on the part of his Government to determine what size the American fleet should have and to monopolize in favor of his position the opinion of the world.
We feel very clearly for these reasons that all reference to the differences [Page 245] still subsisting between the two countries should be omitted from the planned invitation and that there should be merely a simple invitation addressed to the other nations to meet us in conference.
We have prepared, for the purpose of assisting him as much as possible, a redraft of MacDonald’s proposed invitation;64 in this redraft the features which we consider objectionable have been omitted but it is based upon the old draft in other respects. It is our hope that he will find this of assistance.
As I told you over the telephone, neither the President nor I have given out to the American press any information in the shape of figures concerning the differences between us in our present discussions. Such figures as have appeared in the press are the result of mere guesswork, and I repeat my hope that neither the Prime Minister nor you will allow yourselves erroneously to be led to believe that such figures will in the future be given out by us without giving you full notice.
Our view has been that should the time come when another statement to the public becomes desirable dealing with the matters we have agreed on, this statement can be the result of mutual discussion. However, we have a strong feeling at present that the time best suited for issuing such a declaration will arrive only after MacDonald’s visit, when the President and he will have been able to talk over the public sentiment both in America and in Great Britain.
- Infra.↩