550.S1/1259: Telegram
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 25—10:45 a.m.]
276. The Prime Minister saw Atherton this morning and expressed his pleasure in the cordial response of your 259, September 22, 7 p.m., received just before his interview with Colijn. The Prime Minister stated his discussions with Stamp and other English economists were as yet purely exploratory as was this first survey of the situation with Colijn, who will visit London again shortly.
He added that Leith-Ross will sit in at some of his conversations with Colijn tomorrow and will leave for the United States this week with a comprehensive understanding of all that is in the Prime Minister’s mind. He will explain MacDonald’s viewpoints and will have the Prime Minister’s full authority to enter into an exchange of views25 on all subjects with the President and yourself. The Prime Minister said he realized that the American situation might not permit any immediate commitments but he did want to repeat briefly again that there could be no general extension of international trade nor indeed in his opinion could the administration even determine its own future tariff policy until a more calculable stability should exist in leading foreign exchanges.
The Prime Minister stated that the League Secretariat at his request was studying and attempting to put into form the proposal regarding commercial policy which the American delegation had presented shortly before the adjournment of the Conference.