550.S1/137
The British Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom are anxious to push on as quickly as possible with the preliminary preparations for [Page 820] the International Economic and Financial Conference and to ensure coordination in these preparations between the work of the organizing committee of the Council of the League of Nations, of which His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is chairman, and of the preparatory committee of experts, with its financial and economic sub-committees, to be set up in accordance with Resolution 5 of the Conference of Lausanne. They are therefore proposing to suggest to the Inviting Powers to the Lausanne Conference (namely, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Belgium), that the Council of the League should be requested (1) to allow the preparatory committee of experts to meet at Geneva, (2) to permit the Secretariat General of the League of Nations to undertake the secretariat of this expert committee and (3) to fix a date for the meeting of the committee to suit the convenience of the League and of the Powers interested.
His Majesty’s Government are anxious to learn at the earliest possible date whether the United States Government, who have agreed to nominate representatives on both organizing and expert committees, are in agreement with the course of action proposed. They will await the reply of the United States Government before proceeding.
Sir John Simon, who greatly hopes that the United States Government will be in entire agreement with His Majesty’s Government, would be particularly grateful for an early reply.