550.S1/354: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 22—5:43 p.m.]
46. From Davis. Organizing Committee for Monetary and Economic Conference met this morning and approved communication to the chairman of the Preparatory Commission of Experts stating that Organizing Committee was anxious that Conference should be convoked at a date as early as compatible with successful execution of task of Preparatory Commission and with the necessary interval to be allowed between despatch of the draft agenda to participating states and actual meeting of Conference; that Organizing Committee hoped Preparatory Commission could prepare annotated draft agenda in time to enable its transmission to interested governments at next meeting of Organizing Committee, probably to be held latter part of January, on the understanding that despatch of such agenda would not necessarily terminate work of Preparatory Commission if not then concluded as later additions to agenda could be made if results of experts subsequent work made this necessary.
Actual date for meeting of Preparatory Commission will be fixed by the president of that Commission and will presumably be some time prior to middle of January.
Organizing Committee, at my suggestion and without opposition, decided that as question of silver was among those to be considered by the Conference suggestion be made to Preparatory Commission that it add to its membership a representative of China, the largest silver using country.
Before their departure Day, Williams and Feis had emphasized to me that work of Preparatory Commission had been blocked at almost every turn by the fact that the Commission was composed largely of government functionaries who were hesitant to permit discussion of a wide range of economic policies adopted by their particular governments, such as quotas, exchange restrictions and the like, which were the basic obstacles to taking constructive steps to improve present economic conditions. I gathered that they felt that [Page 838] unless this situation were changed next meeting of experts might be equally unproductive of results. In view of this situation and after consultation here I suggested that the minutes of meeting of Organizing Committee contain a statement along the lines quoted below and that this expression of views be brought to the attention of the Preparatory Commission.
“We desire in no way to encroach upon the province of the Preparatory Commission which has been allotted the task of drawing up the agenda for the Conference but we think it right to record our opinion that questions which are within the scope of the Conference should not be omitted from that agenda on the ground that they are likely to prove politically difficult of solution. The seriousness of the depression must be attributed in length to unsound economic theories and commercial policies in the past, and real alleviation can only be expected if bold measures are taken to modify or reverse such policies. It is for the statesmen at the Conference to take the necessary decisions.”
Repeated to Berlin for Ambassador Sackett. [Davis.]