500.A15A4 General Committee (Arms)/56
Memorandum of Trans-Atlantic Telephone Conversation8
Mr. Phillips: I am speaking from the Secretary’s office and the Secretary is beside me. We have received your two telegrams, Nos. 944 [Page 185] and 946; with reference to your 944, you will receive by telephone from the Embassy at London shortly after 2:00 p.m., Washington time, that is, 8:00 p.m. Geneva time, a long telegram9 giving changes in the draft articles for a separate convention which you submitted to us. Please have at least one stenographer with you to take down the text.
Mr. Wilson: All right.
Mr. Phillips: I am afraid that the delegation will have an overnight’s work cut out for them, but it is the best we have been able to do in view of the many conflicting views held here. With these changes you may submit the draft text to the Bureau tomorrow.
Mr. Wilson: That’s right.
Mr. Phillips: Now with reference to your 946, if you are convinced that our only chance to get through a treaty covering manufacture and traffic in arms is to agree to the French demands, we reluctantly agree,
Mr. Wilson: Fine.
Mr. Phillips: to your accepting it. Could you not however try to persuade the Bureau to agree to two protocols, the one covering manufacture and traffic in arms with the appropriate provisions of implementation by the Permanent Disarmament Commission written in as an integral part; the other protocol covering budgetary publicity likewise with the appropriate provisions of implementation by the Permanent Disarmament Commission written in as an integral part? If you cannot persuade Henderson and the French to accept this, then insist on some provision being made to correlate the work of the three committees you mentioned as they go along and not leave this exclusively to the Bureau at a later date.
Mr. Wilson: I understand.
Mr. Phillips: What we are of course concerned over is the possibility that the special committee set up to draft the articles covering the Permanent Disarmament Commission would approve articles that have no inherent relation to the manufacture and traffic in arms and which it would be difficult for us to accept,
Mr. Wilson: Right.
Mr. Phillips: Or embarrassing to reject. That covers all I have to say.
Mr. Wilson: I think that is all we want to know. Please repeat again when the telegram was sent to us.
Mr. Phillips: It will be sent to you from London. By telephone, arriving at 8:00 p.m., Geneva time. It is about a ten page communication.