793.94/2097: Telegram
The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 13—7:50 p.m.]
194. Complying with the request you made in our telephone conversation, just concluded, I transmit below the draft text which an assistant of Briand prepared of a statement he is to make before the League Council when introducing discussion of the relationship of Council action to the Kellogg Pact.46
“The representative of the Chinese Government indicated that in his opinion the question which was before the Council was of the greatest concern not only to the members of the League but also to all the powers signatory to the Pact of Paris. This statement if [is] indeed true since article 2 of that Pact is couched as follows (read article 2).
All the signatories to the Pact are therefore interested in securing a settlement of the present dispute by pacific means but above all the United States of America, with the then Secretary of State of which country I was proud to be associated as a joint author of the Pact of Paris.
I propose therefore, in view of the fact that the United States was a proponent party to the Pact and further that the Secretary of State has expressed his wholehearted sympathy with the attitude of the League in the Sino-Japanese dispute with which we are dealing, that we should invite the United States Government to send a representative to be associated to [with?] our deliberations so as to be in a position to consider with us the relationship between the present situation and the provisions of the Pact.”
May I make it perfectly clear that I do not have any direct word from Briand that this wording will be used in the statement. However, I believe it may be assumed that the same general tenor will prevail.
May I suggest that this will be helpful to you in the preparation of a statement to be made by me before the Council, since I assume the program will be so arranged that the American statement will follow closely upon Briand’s.
- Quotation not paraphrased.↩