500.A15a3/734: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Stimson) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received March 4—8:20 p.m.]
108. For the President and the Acting Secretary of State. Your telegrams No. 167, March 3, 7 p.m., and No. 168, March 3, 8 p.m. Some of your inquiries have been answered in my telegram No. 103.61a I am glad to learn from your telegram No. 167 that you are willing to have parity in destroyers and submarines. Provided it can be done without precipitating a break with France, which we are still hopeful of avoiding, I agree with you that the present situation needs a new expression of the high purposes with which you initiated this movement toward naval limitation. Ambassador Edge,62 who arrived today, is very confident that Tardieu and Briand will return to the Conference most anxious to reach an agreement. To reach any agreement, however, they regard some political pact as an essential condition. Morrow has been in continuous contact with Aubert,63 who is the right-hand man of Tardieu during the interregnum, and Massigli,64 who is the right-hand man of Briand. They are both hopeful that a satisfactory Mediterranean agreement can be reached with Great Britain and they assure him that the French desire to reach an agreement.
I am told that on Thursday Briand will be here to stay permanently and that MacDonald on Friday morning proposes to call the [Page 46] heads of delegations together. Tardieu cannot be absent from home continuously, for the position of the new French Government is not secure enough to permit it. He will be here for the coming week end and possibly subsequent week ends.
In view of the fact that MacDonald is Chairman and host of the Conference I believe he is entitled to be consulted before a step is taken which may vitally affect its outcome, therefore your proposition could hardly be put forward publicly by us without full previous conference with him for we already have different tentative agreement. Furthermore, we are not in the position to be sure that a three-power agreement is possible, although I have for 10 days been pressing him on the subject.
We think the Japanese attitude as to cruisers less defensible than that of the French; they have been adhering very stubbornly to position which we cannot accept. I think you will see, for all these reasons, that before your suggestion can be carried out it will require time and opportunity. I have not had an opportunity to confer with the delegation today for I have a cold and am confined to my house at Stanmore. I shall, however, confer with them and also Mac-Donald as soon as possible. I am glad to have your suggestions.
- Ante, p. 36.↩
- Walter E. Edge, American Ambassador in France.↩
- Louis Aubert, former Director of the Public Information Service, French High Commissioner’s Office in the United States, and member of the delegation.↩
- René Massigli, head of the League of Nations Department, French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and member of the delegation.↩