Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1930, Volume II

884.113/43

The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Ethiopia (Park)²

Washington, June 6, 1930.

No. 131

Sir: The Department has received the Legation’s despatches No. 331 of January 22 and No. 337 of January 27, 1930,³ concerning the efforts of Mr. George T. Wise to sell arms and ammunition to the Ethiopian Government.

The Department has noted the contents of the enclosures to these two despatches and especially the letters of January 18, 1930, appearing as enclosures two and three of despatch No. 331 of January 22. In the paragraph numbered two of the second enclosure Mr. Wise stated that he would proceed to Paris, and if necessary to London and to Rome, to obtain permission to transship arms at Djibouti. Mr. Wise added that if he did not obtain permission as a result of these visits he proposed to come to Washington to force the issue. In view of this statement it is believed to be desirable to furnish you with information regarding the attitude of the Department with respect to the exportation of arms to Ethiopia.

As early as January 11, 1892, when the Senate of the United States advised and consented to the ratification of the General Act of Brussels of June [July] 2, 1890,⁴ the Senate stated that the United States of America, having neither possessions nor protectorates in Africa, disclaimed any intention, in ratifying the” treaty, to indicate any interest whatsoever in the possessions or protectorates established or claimed on that continent by other powers, or any approval of the wisdom, expediency or lawfulness thereof, and did not join in any expressions in the said General Act which might be construed as such a declaration or acknowledgment.

Further, in a note of November 6, 1922, to the British Ambassador at Washington,⁵ the Department stated that this Government had no disposition to interpose any obstacles to the due performance of the obligations assumed under the General Act signed at Brussels July 2, 1890, by the governments whose territories bordered on Ethiopia. In a subsequent note to the British Ambassador the Department stated that it would not facilitate or encourage the traffic in arms with Ethiopia. The policy declared in these notes to the British Ambassador has been consistently adhered to by the Department in replying to communications from private American concerns interested in the exportation of arms. In these replies, except those relating to the exportation of arms to certain Latin American countries and to China, the Department has stated that while it does not encourage the exportation of arms to any country there are no legal restrictions on the exportation of those commodities to the specific country mentioned by the inquirer. A statement of this general tenor was contained in the Department’s instruction No. 27 of November 14, 1928, to Mr. Southard.⁶

It may be added that the Department has not agreed to render Mr. Wise any assistance beyond that which is accorded to any other American citizen in similar circumstances. In October 1927, for instance, when Mr. Wise called and asked that the Department request permission from the French Government for him to transship arms at Djibouti, the Department refused to make the request and indicated that he was at liberty to do so if he desired. In that connection Mr. Wise was told that if the French Government should interpose any objections to the shipment this Government would be entirely free to make such representations on behalf of the American exporter as might be considered appropriate.

On June 12, 1929, a Mr. King, at that time an associate of Mr. Wise, called at the Department and requested some information regarding the exportation of arms to Ethiopia. Mr. King was told that there was no change in the attitude of the Department concerning the matter. Subsequently both Mr. King and Mr. Wise were discouraged in their attempt to export arms to that country.

It will appear from the foregoing brief statement of policy that the Department has not encouraged Mr. Wise or any other American citizen or concern in an effort to export arms and ammunition to Ethiopia.

In paragraph numbered three in the second enclosure to despatch No. 331 of January 22 Mr. Wise stated that the material ordered would be subject to the guarantees required by the United States Government. In this statement Mr. Wise may have had in mind Article 4 of the Convention for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition, signed at Geneva June 17, 1925,⁷ which provides that a permission to export arms shall be signified by a license or by an export declaration. Since the Convention has never been ratified by this Government the obligations imposed by Article 4 cannot be enforced as a matter of law. However, there are no obstacles to obtaining from the Collector of Customs at the port of exportation a certified copy of the export declaration to accompany the shipment if Mr. Wise so desires.

In the third enclosure to despatch No. 331 of January 22 Mr. Wise proposed to “have our military authorities release present United States Army equipment” for exportation to Ethiopia. The only condition under which the War Department can sell military equipment to a foreign government is to declare that a surplus exists of the particular articles desired and then proceed with the sale. The United States War Department has, however, on several occasions declared in letters, of which the Department has copies, that it has no surplus equipment of the nature that the Ethiopian Government desires. It is therefore highly improbable that the War Department at this time could consider any request from Mr. Wise on this subject.

In the last paragraph of the third enclosure Mr. Wise refers to a Major Stack who would be willing to proceed to Ethiopia for the purpose of accepting a commission in the Ethiopian Army to train the military forces of that country. Should an arrangement be concluded between Major Stack and the Ethiopian Government it would be a private agreement between an American citizen and a foreign government in which the Government of the United States could hardly be required to take any part.

Despatch No. 337 of January 27 encloses a copy of a request for quotations of prices and a statement of the conditions under which the articles mentioned are to be delivered on Ethiopian soil. It would appear that this document is only a renewal of the request for bids which Mr. Wise received from Dr. Martin⁸ when the latter visited the United States in 1927. It is noted that under the terms of this letter, before the bank in the United States can make any payment for the arms Mr. Wise must submit a permit for the shipment of the arms to a specified city in Ethiopia and a bill of lading, together with a guarantee from the manufacturer that the arms are new and are officially adopted and used by the United States Army. The only one of these conditions which may present any difficulty is the one regarding the permit for transshipment to Ethiopia presumably through Djibouti. It is believed that Mr. Wise would find it less difficult to obtain such a permit if the Ethiopian Government should promptly ratify the treaty relating to the importation of arms into Ethiopia recently signed by representatives of Ethiopia, Great Britain, France and Italy.⁹

The Department has been informed orally by Mr. Southard that he has carefully explained to King Tafari the policy of the Government of the United States with respect to the exportation of arms.

In order to complete the information of the Legation regarding the provisions of international conventions and agreements bearing on the exportation of arms to Ethiopia, there is enclosed a copy of a memorandum on that subject prepared by Mr. K. E. Carlson of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs of the Department.¹⁰

I am [etc.]

For the Secretary of State:

J. P. Cotton

2. Handed to the Minister to Ethiopia, Southard, while on leave of absence in Washington.
3. Neither printed.
4. Malloy, Treaties, 1776–1909, vol. ii, p. 1964. For Senate reservation, see ibid., p. 1991.
5. Not printed; see the Department’s instruction No. 707, November 7, 1922, to the Ambassador in Great Britain, Foreign Relations, 1922, vol. ii, p. 113.
6. Ibid., 1928, vol. ii, p. 802.
7. Foreign Relations, 1925, vol. i, p. 61.
8. Dr. W. C. Martin.
9. For text of treaty, signed at Paris, August 21, 1930, see British and Foreign State Papers, vol. cxxxiv, p. 332.
10. Dated November 1, 1928; not printed.