550.S1 Economic Commission/104: Telegram (part air)
The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Acting Secretary of State
Geneva, November 15,
1933—11 a.m.
[Received November 17—6:30 a.m.]
[Received November 17—6:30 a.m.]
296. I have had confidentially made available to me a letter which the Secretariat has prepared for Colijn’s signature addressed to MacDonald11 on the subject of copper which I am inclined to believe will be transmitted as written. The chief features in the letter are as follows:
- 1.
- The attitude of the interested states is substantially the same as
indicated in my 252, October 13, 2 p.m., paragraph 3, with the
following additional information:
- (a)
- Chile and Peru appear to believe that the initiative should be left to the producers.
- (b)
- Japan “does not seem to be in favor of governmental intervention”.
- (c)
- Germany as a copper consuming country would under certain conditions agree to a meeting of experts.
- 2.
- The United States is regarded as the only country favoring conversations of the type originally envisaged and the situation is in effect as I estimated it in paragraph 4 of my telegram under reference from which the conclusion is reached that under these circumstances no meeting on copper should be convened and that “If the American Government continued to lay particular stress on governmental action in the matter it should, I think, prepare the ground itself by direct conversations with those Governments which have in the first place to be converted to the American point of view.”
Gilbert
- Chairman of the Monetary and Economic Conference.↩