500.A15a3/1182: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain ( Dawes )
268. Department’s No. 258, October 15, 6 p.m. This afternoon the British Ambassador handed me copy of a telegram from the Foreign Office, dated October 22, 1930,56 which concludes with the statement that, in the circumstances, they fear that anything in the nature of joint representations at the present moment might do more harm than good.
Our suggestion was not for joint representations; we clearly informed the Embassy here that in all events we were proceeding to express our own views to France and Italy, but that we hoped that the British Government would realize the gravity of the situation as we view it, and on its own initiative would proceed to express its views while there is still time to preserve the levels set by the London Naval Treaty. Both the President and I feel keen disappointment at the British attitude. The communication we have received suggests that the rumors which have come to our ears to the effect that the French are on verge of announcing an extremely disappointing naval building program for 1931–1932 are unfounded, and also suggests that there is hope that the French will propose conciliatory steps during the Preparatory Commission conference. This optimism is not in the least corroborated by any of our information. On the contrary, our fears are strengthened by our conversations with both the French and the Italian Ambassadors, and we believe that the only hope of saving the French-Italian negotiations before they are crystallized in failure lies in the influence of a clearly expressed outside public opinion.
I should like to have you see the Prime Minister personally and discuss the foregoing with him, expressing the disappointment of [Page 146] this Government. You might also suggest to him that it might be possible for someone, Craigie perhaps, to get in touch with Gibson when he arrives tomorrow in Paris.
Repeated to Embassy in France.57