Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1932, The Far East, Volume III

793.94/4192¾

Memorandum by the Secretary of State⁴⁹

February 15, 1932, 7 p.m.

Atherton said that he had just been told by Sir John Simon that the latter had received a telegram from Geneva stating that several members of the Council of the League of Nations were calling a meeting of the Council for tomorrow morning, Tuesday, to draft an appeal to Japan to exercise forbearance and restraint towards a fellow-member of the League of Nations and to point out that China had from the very first left her case in the hands of the League; and finally to invoke Article X of the League Covenant against any infringement on the territory of China and to point out to Japan that any settlement made contrary to the treaties applying to the situation would not be recognized by the League of Nations.

Sir John Simon sent word that this was the first he had heard of this. It came to him entirely as a surprise, and he wanted to know whether I had any suggestion. Sir John said that this meeting at Geneva was to take place tomorrow at eleven, Geneva time. He, himself, did not think that this action by the League would interfere with the draft which we are considering of our action under the Nine Power Treaty at all.

Then Atherton went on to tell me what the situation was in the British Cabinet in regard to our draft. The British Government were ready to urge the League to make this protest and to take this action. It was also ready to agree to sign the Nine Power paper provided that all the other signatories of the Nine Power Treaty would take the same action. There are members in the Cabinet who rather opposed signing the paper bilaterally, with England and America alone. Sir John Simon thought that this action by the League would encourage the others of the nine powers to go into the movement with us on our draft.

I told Atherton in answer to Sir John’s inquiry that I saw no objection to this action by the League; that on the contrary they were following our program arid seemed to me to be offering encouragement to it. Simon had told Atherton that he was going to Geneva at once, after he had had a Cabinet Meeting here on the subject, with the purpose of trying to round up the members of the Nine Power Treaty to go into this action with us. He was going over, as I understood it over the telephone, on Wednesday, reaching Geneva Thursday. I told Atherton that, of course, the important thing to us was whether Great Britain would go in with us separately on our paper; that it would not meet our difficulty if she simply went in with the League action under Article X; that I did not see how the League could act on the Nine Power Treaty, as the League was not a party. I, therefore, felt that it was extremely important that Great Britain, whatever she did with the League, should also sign their representation with us.

49. Of trans-Atlantic telephone conversation between Mr. Stimson in Washington and Mr. Atherton in London, February 15, 1932, 7 p.m.