Office of the Historian

500.A15A4 General Commission/147: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the American Delegate (Wilson)

Washington, January 25, 1933—6 p.m.

282. Your 511, January 24, 2 p.m. I quite agree that in your speech you should avoid too early a commitment as to the implications of the political side of the French plan. Nevertheless, I see several [Page 7] drawbacks to your proposed statement from the American point of view.

1.
It might possibly be construed as virtually an abandonment of the Hoover Plan,12 and an acceptance of the French Plan as the basis for future negotiations. We have been severely criticized here for not pushing the Hoover Plan more energetically. As drafted, your speech will lend force to that criticism. I suggest that you tone up your rather weak reference to the harmonization of the French Plan with the Hoover Proposal. After all, the general principles of the Hoover plan were accepted with virtual unanimity by the Resolution of July 2313 as the guide for disarmament efforts.
2.
It might possibly be construed as an admission that we can expect no disarmament at all until the French conception of security has been satisfied. This might be obviated by a hint of the possibility of concluding an interim convention pending a meeting of minds as to a long term convention.
3.
Instead of being politely non-committal, your proposed statement would almost certainly be construed here as an eulogy of the French Plan. It would tend to give it a standing before the Conference which might subsequently be quoted to embarrass us. There are no concrete steps that we can see in the plan that are not contingent on political concessions. In fact we should feel some difficulty in explaining here the “concrete steps in disarmament” which you “heartily welcome”.

I suggest therefore that you redraft the statement in the light of these suggestions. I should appreciate another opportunity for criticism before definitely approving your statement.

Stimson
  1. For text, see telegram No. 145, June 21, 1932, to the Acting Chairman of the American delegation, Foreign Relations, 1932, vol. i, p. 211.↩
  2. Ibid., p. 318.↩