500.A15A4 General Committee/633: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 14—1:40 p.m.]
744. 1. The news of Germany’s decision to withdraw from the Conference and the League has just come in. This makes it essential that I should present to you in some detail the conversations which we have had in the last few days and the motives underlying the speeches of this morning which have been telegraphed you already.
Since the receipt of your 373, October 12, 3 p.m.,73 I have had several exhaustive conversations with Simon who last night told me he had been completely persuaded of the wisdom of the course advocated by us and that he had accordingly redrafted the speech to be made before the Bureau today. Last night he called to go over his draft with us and made certain alterations suggested by us. This morning he made further alterations after talking with the French and after he and we had talked with the Italians so that it finally met the approval of the four although Boncour for political reasons did not in his speech at the Bureau give such unqualified indorsement as he had indicated privately. The whole purport of the changes was to keep the door open for further friendly negotiations without a weakening on any of the fundamental principles for which the British, French and ourselves have consistently stood particularly the opposition to the immediate rearmament of Germany.
2. We learned from German sources here that the German Cabinet had not reached a final decision yesterday and had postponed its meeting until today after the meeting of the Bureau and the intimation was made that if we would only keep the door open it would make it easier for the German Cabinet to decide to continue the efforts to arrive at an agreement. In the talk, however, which Nadolny had [Page 267] with Simon and me on Thursday night, see my 738, October 13, 1 p.m.,73a he tried in every way to imply and to build up the thesis that conditions were being imposed upon Germany. It is inconceivable that Simon’s speech and mine and the others made in the Bureau could have caused the German Government to take the decision it has taken this morning as this decision was taken before they had the time to consider the speeches made in the Bureau. It is evident that their decision had been arrived at beforehand and for some other reason and their contention that it was because of the “ultimatum” from England, France and the United States can only be a pretext.
3. The French are convinced that the German refusal to continue the negotiations on the basis of no immediate rearmament for Germany is because the Germans know that once the first inspection takes place it will be discovered that they have built weapons prohibited under the Treaty of Versailles,74 whereas, if the new treaty admits their right to qualitative equality such weapons will be permissible in their possession.
4. It now seems evident that Germany became convinced when she could neither break up the solidarity of view on fundamental principles nor postpone longer vital decisions on disarmament matters that she must either give in or withdraw and that the decision which has been announced today was arrived at previous to our last negotiations.