500.A15A4 General Committee (Arms)/67
President Roosevelt to the Secretary of State 21
Dear Cordell: I am glad to have your letter of November twenty-second relating to the Convention for Supervision of Munitions of War.
I like your summary. I cannot understand the hesitation of the War Department in regard to the principles mentioned, i. e., number (1) on Page two and number (2) on pages two and three.
[Page 193]You, however, are right and I see no reason why you should not tell the War Department that supervision and inspection must be all inclusive, including all plants in all nations. That is my policy.
You do not say anything about the Navy objections. In any event, I entirely approve of the draft and am glad you have authorized Mr. Wilson to present it to the Bureau.
Always sincerely,
- In transmitting a copy of this letter and other correspondence to the American delegate in an instruction of December 5, 1934 (500.A15A4 General Committee (Arms)/67a) the Secretary of State wrote: “You will note that the President has expressed his approval of the Draft which you presented to the Bureau of the Conference on November 20. You may assume, therefore, that such further suggestions as I may make before the Committees undertake the study of the Draft in January will relate to matters of detail and not to the essential principles on which the proposal is based.”↩