500.A15A4 General Committee/628: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 12—7:11 a.m.]
736. 1. I have some apprehension as to the course events are taking and which I outlined to you in my 735, October 11, 11 p.m. I cannot feel that the possibilities of negotiating with the Germans have been properly tried and exhausted or will be exhausted before our Monday meeting. Until all such attempts have been made it does not seem to me the wise course to present a resolution in a form which Germany cannot accept. It is possible that with friendly negotiation we can so state our present position that while we preserve the essence of all that we have stood for we can make it more palatable to Germany.
2. If you feel that this would be the wise course to pursue I could approach the British and French and endeavor to persuade them. I feel as the President and you do that the essential thing is to preserve a unity of purpose with them as long as their purpose is to achieve a disarmament treaty. If you agree with my views I might be able to induce them not to precipitate the matter as is now contemplated.
3. When we analyze the present position we are asking Germany to accept a less favorable situation than that outlined in the MacDonald plan which has been a basis of the convention accepted by the British, Germans, Italians and ourselves. While we might possibly succeed through pressure in inducing Germany to accept eventually something along the lines of the resolution quoted in my 735 such acceptance would only be made in a bitterness of spirit and through real fear that the alternative might be preventive military measures.