Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1933, The British Commonwealth, Europe, Near East and Africa, Volume II

711.5627/71

The Minister in the Netherlands (Swenson) to the Acting Secretary of State

No. 834

The Hague, November 22, 1933.
[Received December 5.]

Sir: With reference to the Department’s instruction No. 273, of the 6th instant,¹² I have the honor to report that I have proposed to the Netherlands Government that Article I of the Air Navigation Arrangement between the United States and the Netherlands be amended to read in the sense of the above-mentioned instruction.

The Counselor of Legation has shown the draft of the amended Article I to Mr. de Veer, the Chief of the Air Navigation Service of the Ministry of Public Works, who is of the opinion that this proposal has some chance of acceptance. He said, however, that he would have to confer with the appropriate officials of the Ministry of Colonies before making any recommendations to the Foreign Office. He also desired to ascertain whether the United States has at present any Air Navigation Arrangement with other countries which do not exclude from their terms the Philippine Islands, the Hawaiian Islands and the Panama Canal Zone. Mr. de Veer particularly regrets the exclusion of the Philippine Islands as an air line between them and the Netherland East Indies is a possibility of the future. The arrangement as originally proposed had already been accepted by the Volksraad of the Indies.

Respectfully yours,

Laurits S. Swenson

[Enclosure]

The American Minister (Swenson) to the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs (de Graeff)

No. 294

The Hague, November 22, 1933.

Excellency: With reference to my note No. 279, of September 20th last¹³ and to subsequent conversations between officials of this Legation and the appropriate Netherlands authorities regarding the Air Navigation Agreement concluded at Washington November 16th, 1932 by an exchange of notes between the Netherlands Legation and the Department of State, I am authorized to propose that Article I of the abovementioned Air Navigation Arrangement be amended to read:

Article I

[Here follows text as quoted in telegram No. 28, September 18, printed on page 619.]

In this connection I desire to add that the Aleutian Islands and the Island of Guam would be considered among the prohibited areas referred to in the first paragraph of Article 4 of the Air Navigation Arrangement, over which flights may not be made without authorization.

If the proposed amendment meets with the approval of Your Excellency I wish to ascertain whether it would be agreeable to the Netherland authorities to have a new exchange of notes with the Netherland Legation at Washington including the revision of Article I.

I avail myself [etc.]

Laurits S. Swenson

12. Not printed; it authorized the Minister to present to the Netherlands Government the revision of article 1 suggested in Department’s telegram No. 28, September 18, paragraph beginning, “For the purpose of …” p. 619.
13. Not printed.