711.5627/7½
The Chargé in the Netherlands (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 5.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s Instruction No. 711, of July 26th last,27 transmitting a copy of a Note to the Netherland Legation at Washington,28 as well as a copy of the enclosure [Page 537] thereto, the draft of the aerial navigation agreement now being discussed with the Dominion of Canada.
As the Department was informed in the Legation’s despatch No. 1887, of May 8, 1929,29 the subject of an aerial navigation agreement with Holland has, with the approval of the Netherland Foreign Office, been tentatively discussed with the competent official of the Dutch Department of Waterstaat and upon the receipt of the Department’s instruction first above mentioned Mr. Swift30 again approached Mr. de Veer, the Dutch official in question, and went over with him the text of the agreement with Canada with the idea of the adoption of a similar agreement between the United States and Holland. There is every indication that the Netherland authorities are sincerely desirous of concluding an agreement with the United States but at the same time they are strongly of the opinion that any such agreement should approximate those concluded with other countries not parties to the International Air Convention which in turn conform, in their essential features, to the International Air Convention.
As will be seen from the enclosed translation of a Note from the Department of Waterstaat to the Foreign Office,29 it is felt that the draft text of the agreement with Canada is lacking in detail, and furthermore that certain of the features thereof would be unacceptable to Holland. For example, in the case of Article I it is felt that it is desirable instead of referring solely to “commercial aircraft”, to designate “private aircraft” or “private and commercial aircraft”. Furthermore, in Holland licenses to operate are granted to a company or to the proprietor of the aircraft and not, as in the case of the American agreement with Canada, to the pilot.
These were only two instances cited by Mr. de Veer in his conversation with Mr. Swift, but it will be seen from the Ministry of Waterstaat’s Note to the Foreign Office that the objections to the United States-Canada agreement are such as to make it difficult to use the latter as the basis of an air navigation agreement between the United States and Holland. Attention is also invited to the last paragraph of the Department of Waterstaat’s Note, drawing attention to the fact that before it can become effective an agreement of this character must first be ratified by the States General. An exchange of notes is not sufficient.
In this relation, the Department’s attention is invited to the fact that Dr. E. B. Wolff, Director of the Dutch Government Research Service for Air Navigation, is being sent by the Netherlands Government to the United States for the purpose of studying American [Page 538] aviation methods. It is suggested that the Department may wish to discuss the proposed agreement with Dr. Wolff, who sailed for New York on September 21st on the S/S Adriatic.
I have [etc.]