500.A15a3/785: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Stimson) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received March 25—1:35 p.m.]
161. Morrow, Robinson, and I conferred with Alexander, Henderson, and MacDonald yesterday. The conference was held at my suggestion, for I wished to be sure that there existed no misunderstanding [Page 80] as to the positions of our respective delegations, especially where political pacts were concerned. The French in their December note, you will recall, called attention to the relationship existing between the questions of disarmament and security. I reviewed the French position since that note, speaking of the way in which they relied upon the Covenant of the League of Nations, and particularly of the manner of the sanctions to be used against an aggressor; also, of the desire of the French that a mutual assistance pact be made, to which all Mediterranean countries would be a party, as this would be a contributory reason toward armament reduction. I called the Prime Minister’s attention to his reply to the French note and, as I understood it, to the British position that they would be unwilling to assume any continental obligations in addition to those they now had. I told him that the French had repeatedly made it clear to us that they wanted a treaty of mutual assistance as a condition of reduction of armament; that in the absence of a formal request from them asking for consultative provisions in the Pact of Paris, we had told them definitely that a consultative pact could not be given them as a substitute for the military mutual security which they desired.
I told MacDonald that we obviously could not, and had not, made any suggestion as to reconsideration of Britain’s own situation with respect to France, as that was a question in which she and her neighbors on the continent were solely concerned. This situation seemed to be one of the things holding up a five-power agreement. I had previously pointed out to the Prime Minister the careful distinctions regarding the respective contributions our two countries could make toward world peace as set out in the Rapidan joint statement of October 9.
In the presence of Henderson and Alexander, MacDonald made two statements, the first of which was that Britain would be willing to make a formal statement of some sort to the French following the language in annex F to the Locarno Agreement,98 which would make it clear that she would be bound to loyal and effective cooperation in support of the Covenant and in resistance of an act of aggression; but that France had not yet been advised of this intention. Second, that Great Britain would be willing to participate in a later conference of Mediterranean countries.
I then told the Prime Minister that if the other nations would take care of the question of mutual assistance in such a way as to secure a substantial reduction of armament, I should think it possible for us to consider with an open mind the question of a provision for [Page 81] consultation among the signatories to our agreement, with explicit denial of military action. Opinion was expressed by Henderson that he thought the conference should proceed along this line, provided substantial continental reduction in naval armament could be secured thereby. Approval of what I had said was expressed to the meeting by Senator Robinson, who afterward told me that under these circumstances he did not think the treaty would be weakened in the Senate by such a consultative provision.
- Collective note to Germany, December 1, 1926, regarding art. 16 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. liv, p. 299.↩