500.A15A4/1009½: Telegram
The Acting Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Acting Secretary of State
161 bis. For Castle and the President from the Secretary. See my 151, April 25, 6 p.m. Since sending my 151 MacDonald and I endeavored, as foreshadowed in my point 6, to bring Tardieu and Bruening together.
On April 26 MacDonald and I met Bruening in preliminary conference and found him more conciliatory towards making a reasonable compromise with the French on their fundamental issues than we had anticipated. Tardieu who had been absent on his political campaign then agreed to return to Geneva and meet Bruening with us to continue this conference on Friday, April 29. MacDonald, and I became hopeful that with the more reasonable attitude which had been developed on both the French and German sides in conversation with us we were on the way towards immediately clearing away some of the fundamental obstacles towards ultimate agreement. Accordingly I postponed my return passage on the Roma to be present at this conference. Unfortunately MacDonald [ Tardieu ] on Wednesday, April 27th, suffered a serious physical collapse and was unable either to continue his campaign or come to our Friday meeting. It will now be impossible to get him and Bruening together in these personal preliminary conferences until the second election, this might [Page 113] be adjourned until May 13. Both MacDonald and I feel, however, that a real start has been made on direct conversations and we now have reason to believe that both the French and the Germans are disposed to attack these problems in the only fruitful way, namely, by direct private discussions. You will remember that when I was first approached by France and Britain on the subject of the Disarmament Conference nearly a year and a half ago I then urged upon those countries the absolute necessity of this preliminary groundwork as the only way to secure the success of the Conference.99
I find now, however, that nothing of the sort has been done until this effort of MacDonald and myself. The whole problem is now to keep them at it. The first 3 months of the Conference have been practically wasted on public discussion which has accomplished nothing. MacDonald, who has not attended the Conference hitherto owing to his illness, is thoroughly aroused and I told him and the delegates of the other principal powers that unless the matter is urged forward without further delay so that real progress will be visible to the world by steady conference and work immediately after the French elections, our Congress will probably be indisposed to make appropriations for the continuance of the American delegation in the Conference.
With these arguments we succeeded in defeating today a movement which was taking shape among many of the delegates to adjourn the Conference for a considerable period probably until the new French Government could get a vote of confidence in the Chamber about June 10. To do this I called in conference this afternoon the representatives of Britain, France, Germany and Italy. I was accompanied by Gibson, Davis and Wilson. After a thorough discussion of the question and under MacDonald’s and my insistence it was finally decided that these direct conferences between the heads of the delegations of the leading powers should be resumed in Geneva within a fortnight the exact date to be fixed probably tomorrow after consultation by telephone with Tardieu and Bruening. The technical committees will of course in the meantime push their work. MacDonald said most emphatically that when these conferences were resumed all parties must be prepared and he would be prepared to carry the thing through and to determine then and there whether they could accomplish any real disarmament agreement or not. I feel that this surely will give a very needed impetus to the Conference and that it is a hopeful sign that the responsible men in these European states are ready now to attack their problems seriously.
[Page 114]We are planning to sail from Cannes on the Vulcania on Wednesday May 4 feeling that I have done all that I can accomplish without prolonging my stay for at least a month more which would be quite out of the question. I am leaving Geneva Sunday May 1 due in New York May 14. [Stimson.]
- Telegram in two sections.↩
- See memorandum of conversation with the British Ambassador, January 6, 1931; and telegram No. 8, January 19, 1931, to the Minister in Switzerland, Foreign Relations, 1931, vol. i, pp. 478 and 485.↩