550.S1/95: Telegram
The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8 p.m.]
218. Sir John Simon presented to the Council this afternoon a draft resolution for the convoking of a conference which was couched as indicated in the pertinent portions of paragraph 4 of Consulate’s 217, July 13, 3 p.m.
Other representatives on the Council, particularly those of the smaller European powers, stressed the maintenance of the sovereignty of the Council in this matter and a broader representation on the subcommittees of experts to present the views of the smaller powers and of certain international organizations. This resulted in the following mollifications of the draft resolution.
- 1.
- The two subcommittees are now termed jointly the Commission of Experts. This Commission will “keep in touch” with the Committee of the Council (the Organizing Committee) and the latter will in turn report to the Council as it may be necessary to do so.
- 2.
- The Committee of the Council will have the power, in consultation with the Commission of Experts, to add to the number of experts.
- 3.
- The Council invites the International Labor Office and the International Institute of Agriculture to place at the disposal of the Commission of Experts, insofar as the latter deems it necessary, the services of their technical organizations.
The resolution thus amended was adopted.10 The British representative was designated as President of the Committee of the Council. No day was set for the meeting of this Committee.
The United States is not mentioned by name in the resolution but its membership in the Committee of the Council is envisaged by the following provision:
“The Committee of the Council shall have the power, if and when it considers it desirable, to invite other countries to appoint representatives to the Committee”.
The title of the proposed conference now appears to be “Conference on Monetary and Economic Questions”.
- For text, see League of Nations, Official Journal, July, 1932, p. 1273.↩