711.5412a/29
The Secretary of State to the Swiss Minister (Peter)
Sir: I have the honor to refer to Mr. Carr’s note of June 21, 1930, with which was transmitted a draft of a Treaty of Arbitration and Conciliation between the United States and Switzerland, and to a statement of suggested alterations in this draft which you handed to one of the officers of the Department of State on October 22, 1930.5
I am happy to be in a position to inform you that all of the suggestions of the Swiss Government are acceptable to this Government with the single exception of a purely verbal change affecting the language of lines 8 and 9 of Article III of the draft submitted to you on behalf of this Government. It is understood that you are willing to withdraw this suggestion and have so informed one of the officers of the Department by telephone.
With reference to the last sentence of Article II, concerning which you ask that this Government study the possibility of either eliminating it or substituting a counter-project, I believe that simply to eliminate the sentence is the preferable course.
Accordingly, I am transmitting herewith a draft of the proposed treaty6 containing the changes referred to above, and request that you furnish me with the French text in order that the treaty may be put in final form for signature.
You will note that, in the second paragraph of Article VIII of the enclosed draft treaty, the place at which ratifications are to be exchanged is not specified. Presumably your Government expects that ratifications will be exchanged at the place of signature, namely, Washington. But should you prefer that ratifications be exchanged at Berne, please prepare the French text accordingly and I will see that the English text is made to conform thereto.
Accept [etc.]