500.A15a3/498: Telegram
The Appointed Ambassador in France (Edge) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:45 p.m.]
561. Wilson and Gibson, with my approval, made an informal call this morning on Massigli. Massigli, in referring to his visit to General Dawes when he was last in Paris, stated that he was intending to take the draft of a note to London next week and, before sending it formally to the Governments interested, to submit it to the British Foreign Office and General Dawes.
[Page 298]He repeated the French insistence upon the interdependence of armaments without giving a complete résumé of the contents of the note. It appears from the excerpts read that the French Government’s first intention at the Conference will be to work out something to further the work of the Preparatory Commission; and, second, to see if figures can be reached which, however, the French would regard as subject to reservations and only tentative.
The French insistence on interdependence of armaments was indicated by Massigli as inspired by a belief that the coming Conference would be used by the British to reassert their supremacy on the seas and, after France had been relegated as a maritime power to an inferior position, set to work to reduce the air and land force of the French. The impression was gained by Gibson and Wilson that France would endeavor to induce the British to resume their original position as regards trained reserves which Cecil97 abandoned last September at Geneva.
With reference to Italian-French conversations, Massigli said that discussions were not progressing at the moment as the last French note had received no reply. He added that the French Government’s note proposed two sets of figures, (1) the naval strength considered necessary for prestige, and (2) figures based on actual naval needs as shown by the functions of the different classes of ships. It was also stated in the note that, as the actual needs of the French were in a certain measure dependent upon the forces of other nations which are to have no representation at the Conference, if a general Mediterranean political agreement could be reached the entire situation would be considerably facilitated. Subject to your approval after the presentation of my credentials, probably Wednesday, I shall endeavor to secure more definite information, as well as reports, concerning the progress of Franco-Italian negotiations during the course of official visits.
London, Rome, Brussels, receiving copies by mail.
- Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, British representative on the Third Committee of the League of Nations Assembly, which dealt with disarmament problems.↩