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

793.94/4296: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Wilson), at Geneva

Washington, February 20, 1932—2 p.m.

19. Your 28, February 19, 11 a.m.⁸⁰

1. On February 161 received from our London Embassy the observations offered by Sir John Simon relating to the draft declaration the tentative text of which was sent you for communication to Sir John Simon in the Department’s 11, February 12, 2 p.m.⁸¹ The Embassy is being instructed to repeat to you their telegram to the Department in which Sir John’s observations were reported.

2. In the meantime I have revised the draft so as to conform entirely to Sir John’s suggestions and have sent this revised draft to the Embassy, together with a statement of my reasons why I thought it was most important that any action taken under the Nine Power Treaty should be taken at least by the United States and Great Britain. I am instructing London to repeat to you what I said to them on this subject.

3. I informed the Embassy that I recognized that the situation was delicate and that I wished the Embassy to have this draft ready for use but not to present it until given further instructions; and that if a discussion of the subject came up they might say that I felt that in the existing circumstances the United States ought not to take this proposed action alone.

Stimson

80. Telegram reads: “According to Geneva reports Simon will return from London at the beginning of next week. It would be helpful if you could give me before his return for my confidential guidance an understanding of what has taken place or is contemplated.”
81. Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 80.