793.94/4387: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
37. The situation created by the summoning of the Assembly is very confused. I have delayed several days reporting on it in the hopes that it would clarify itself. I now feel that though it remains confused certain thoughts emerge which might be useful.
There seems to be a considerable body of opinion among the more radical members of the Council in favor of issuing an invitation to the United States to participate in the Assembly. This thought is animated by the belief that in order to deal effectively with this problem the Assembly must have the benefit of the advice of one of most interested parties and must not risk taking some action of which the United States would not approve and in which it would not feel able to cooperate thus minimizing the effect of any action taken and on the other hand it is not quite clear whether an Assembly convoked under article 15 has the right to invite outsiders. This point is now being studied by the legal section of the Secretariat. The opinion prevails that the legal section will find that it is constitutionally possible to issue an invitation. In this event the question arises as to its advisability. In view of the presence of Russia at the Disarmament Conference and their immediate concern in the Manchurian difficulties it is hard to [Page 431] see how an invitation can be issued to us without one being extended at the same time to Russia. It should be noted that under article 15 the Assembly will not sit as a juridical court as yet but will sit in order to search the means of a peaceful solution of the immediate problem. The question arises as to whether Russia would desire to cooperate in finding a solution of this problem or whether it would not rather take advantage of the opportunity to urge that the Assembly pass censure on Japan thereby adding fuel to the fire. Drummond is inclined at the present moment to doubt the wisdom of issuing invitations to outsiders because of the foregoing situation.
In the event that invitations are issued it seems probable that they might be based on the intimate relationship between the situation in the Far East and the problem of disarmament, that recognizing this relationship all the states now participating in the Disarmament Conference might be invited to consult as to the means of arriving at a peaceful solution which would promote the success of the Disarmament Conference to continue [;] in the event that the United States is not invited or in the event that it should be invited and should for any reason deem it undesirable to accept such an invitation Drummond earnestly request[s] that I may be instructed to pass on to him from time to time in writing the views of my Government as to the problems that may be under discussion. He points out that the expression of these views orally makes their use very limited and does not give them the full circulation and weight which they would otherwise merit. He adds that such action would go a long way in preventing the Assembly from taking some course which might be distasteful to us or, in other words, from repeating the episode which arose by the insistence of the Council for a time limit for the withdrawal of Japanese troops from Manchuria.
As to procedure in the Assembly no one can foretell exactly but it seems probable that the Assembly will name an Assembly Committee to carry out the executive functions of this problem now that the Council has been divested thereof through its reference to the Assembly. This Committee might possibly be the members of the Council plus such other states members or nonmembers as were judged expedient by the Assembly and perhaps would be continued until the matter is settled, reporting from time to time to the Assembly.
There is some discussion of taking advantage of a moment when there is a stalemate in hostilities to request both parties to accept an armistice, informing them at the same time that if one of the parties refuses that armistice the powers will refuse to ship munitions of war to it. In this connection I would appreciate it if you could advise me [Page 432] if I am correct in the understanding that under the law of January 31, 1922,98 the President could not prohibit the shipment of arms to Japan without special authority from Congress.
- Telegram in three sections.↩
- 42 Stat. 361. For proclamation No. 1621, March 4, 1922, by President Harding, see Foreign Relations, 1922, vol. i, p. 726.↩