560.M5/101: Telegram
The Consul at Geneva (Blake) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received March 25—9 a.m.]
From Wilson. The Conference held final plenary session yesterday. The following three documents have been adopted:49
- A.
- Commercial convention (this contains the obligation not to denounce existing treaties),
- B.
- Protocol to the convention, and
- C.
- Protocol concerning the program of future negotiations.
In the past two weeks there has been a consistent whittling down of the obligations originally contemplated in the two main documents. The commercial convention follows in general the main lines mentioned in my telegrams of March 10, 11 a.m., and March 17, 11 a.m.,50 but has been weakened all along the line. It was signed yesterday by eleven countries including Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy and will remain open for signature until April 15th. A conference will be held in November of states which have ratified in order to determine whether and when it is to come into force.
The protocol regarding future negotiations recommends that the states represented at the Conference reply as soon as possible to a questionnaire concerning methods of improving trade in agricultural and manufactured products and the movement of European raw materials; the economic organization will formulate proposals based on these replies to be submitted as early as possible for the examination of the Governments on the basis of replies from the Governments; the League Council will draw up the subsequent procedure. Until a few days ago fixed and early dates had been laid down for the various stages. However, at the last minute the French and Italian delegations against the opposition of the British insisted that the Governments should not be obliged to take action under the protocol until parliaments had first ratified the commercial convention and that the subsequent procedure should be left to the League Council in order to avoid holding conference of mediocre success such as the present one. In addition to the foregoing proposal for future negotiations, the protocol also recommends action on many questions dealt with by the 1927 Economic Conference and now under examination by the economic organization.
The Chairman in his final speech stressed the European character of the Conference, pointed out that its results represent not the work of the League but of the Governments themselves, and said that future developments from this “first hesitating step” will obviously depend upon the spirit in which it will be regarded and executed.