500.A15A4 Steering Committee/314: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Acting Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson)
300. Your 532, February 10, 2 p.m. After consultation with War Department we find ourselves unable to agree to stop the building of 155 mm. guns either for the purpose of new construction or replacement. [Page 31] These guns are an important element of our defensive system and we could not abandon them in favor of guns of a smaller caliber without involving extensive modifications in our present military setup and additional expense. This does not, of course, modify our willingness to consider a numerical limitation in line with paragraph 7 of our 211 of September 29.58