Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1933, General, Volume I

500.A15A4 General Committee/305: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Chairman of the American Delegation ( Davis )⁵⁰

Washington , April 25, 1933—6 p.m.

321. Your 163, 164, and 165, April 16. The President and I have given careful consideration to your three telegrams from both the international and domestic political viewpoints. We value highly the analysis you sent us of the disarmament situation and the recommendations you formulated.

You have urged with great lucidity that we base our policy on a regional treatment, in other words, confine the disarmament effort (at least for land armaments) to Europe. For us, however, at this juncture to admit the impossibility of a universal agreement would, I fear, be construed as a backward step. If it later becomes evident as a result of the attitude of any Power that even a short term treaty of consolidation cannot successfully be negotiated, then we may be forced back as a last measure on the regional approach. It seems clear that in good faith such a suggestion should come from Europe and not from ourselves. But as things now stand, I feel that we should still press for a universal disarmament treaty, and in this connection you should impress upon Paul-Boncour that inasmuch as the conference has accepted the MacDonald plan as the basis for further progress, we are prepared to work heartily for a treaty along these general lines even though the present effort does not go as far as our proposal of last June.⁵¹ Furthermore, we believe that the Chapters on supervision should be strengthened and the inspections made continuous and automatic.

In addition we are prepared to make a contribution towards security and we cannot but believe that under these new conditions France will have every interest to make its contribution along the lines of real disarmament.

Obviously we cannot sign Part I of the MacDonald plan because under it an American would sit in judgment in conference action to determine an aggressor and the remedy to be applied against such an aggressor. In place of this we would be willing to make a declaratory statement to the following effect: Following a decision by conference of the powers in consultation in determining the aggressor,—a decision with which on the basis of our independent judgment we agreed, we would undertake to refrain from any action and to withhold protection from our citizens if engaged in activities which would tend to defeat the collective effort which the States in consultation might have decided upon against the aggressor.

It should, of course, be clearly understood that our willingness to make such a declaratory statement would be dependent upon a definitely substantial disarmament result.

Hull

50. Note by Under Secretary Phillips attached to the file: “This telegram was read by me to Mr. Howard Smith of the British Embassy this afternoon. He took down in pencil the wording on page three beginning ‘following a decision by conference’ etc. etc. as far as ‘against the aggressor’. I also made it clear that this declaration would be dependent upon a definitely substantial disarmament result.

    I then asked to be allowed to see Sir Robert Vansittart’s telegram of today to Geneva, via London. Mr. Smith promised to have it prepared and send to me tomorrow.” (See footnote 45, p. 102.)

    The telegram bears the notation: “Approved by the President.”

51. For text of President Hoover’s proposal of June 22, 1932, see telegram No. 145, June 21, 1932, to the Acting Chairman of the American delegation, Foreign Relations, 1932, vol. i, p. 211.