810.79611 Tri-Motors Safety Airways/155: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in France (Armour)
352. Your 486, October 22, 7 p.m.
You should point out that (1) the New York, Rio and Buenos Aires Line and the Pan American Airways are private companies and that the American Government has no control or authority as to any arrangements which they may or may not wish to make with the Aéropostale or any other company and therefore can give no assurance that an agreement will be reached within a specified time if at all; (2) The American Government has merely asked on behalf of these companies permission to fly over and land on French territory in the course of their commercial operations, a permission which the American Government, as indicated in its note to the French Embassy of June 12, 1929, is prepared to grant to a French company on a reciprocal basis with respect to United States territory; also that the American Government is not asking that an air mail contract be granted to these companies; (3) Neither the Aéropostale nor any French company has [Page 631] yet requested similar permission to land passengers and/or cargo on United States territory from the American Government.
The note of June 12 mentioned in the last paragraph of the telegram under reference was a formal one addressed to the French Ambassador proposing an agreement between the French Government and the Government of the United States, and the Department consequently does not understand how it could reach the Air Ministry from the Air Attaché before being transmitted by the Ambassador to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Please endeavor to expedite the reply.