500.A15A4 General Committee/632: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis)
373. Your 736, October 11, midnight. I quite agree with you that so long as a possibility exists of persuading Germany to “negotiate” [Page 253] a suitable treaty which maintains the essence of our present position unimpaired but which is so phrased as to meet her susceptibilities, we should continue our endeavors to do so. To this end I gladly approve your pursuing the course of action you recommend. I suggest, however, that you exercise especial care not to let the Germans feel that (a) we are weakening on a question of principle or (b) that a difference of opinion which they can exploit exists between ourselves on the one hand and the British and French on the other.