500.A15A4/2182
The Ambassador in Italy (Long) to
the Acting Secretary of State
No. 98
Rome, July 24,
1933.
[Received August 8.]
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith for
your information a copy of a memorandum of a conversation which I had
with Baron Aloisi, Chief of Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
regarding
[Page 204]
the Disarmament and
Economic Conferences,97 with special relation to Italian policy in Europe based
on the Four Power Pact.97a
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure—Memorandum]
After dinner last night I had a conversation with Baron Aloisi, Chief
of the Cabinet of the Foreign Office. I asked him if he was
returning to the Disarmament Conference. He replied he was going
back the latter part of September. I asked him if he expected any
results of a substantial nature. He replied in the negative. I then
asked him what would be the next step. He said that the Economic
Conference had failed, and it looked as if the Disarmament
Conference would fail and that there was nothing left but the Four
Power Pact. It provided that its signatories would take steps to
secure disarmament; that they would proceed after a while to discuss
with France and with England and with Germany, separately, the
question of disarmament; that it was inopportune now because the
psychology was not right, considering that the Disarmament
Conference had not definitely failed; but that soon after the
failure of the Conference was demonstrated that the psychological
situation would change and that they would then be in a position to
proceed with conversations.
I asked him if he felt that they could institute conversations
between Great Britain and France, and he replied in the affirmative.
I asked him if they could institute conversations between France and
Germany, and he replied that he thought they could.
The conversation was short and cryptic but pointed and left the
definite impression in my mind that Italy has adopted as a policy to
build her European relations upon the basis of the Four Power Pact
and to use it as an instrument with which to pursue her plan to
bring about a situation of peaceful relationship between herself and
the other three great European powers, and as a vehicle for carrying
Italy’s prestige to higher ground.
