Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1934, General, the British Commonwealth, Volume I

500.A15A4 General Committee (Arms)/78

The Secretary of State to the Adviser to the American Delegation (Mayer)

Washington, December 24, 1934.

Sir: I refer to the Delegation’s despatch No. 107 of November 26, 1934, in regard to the Draft Articles for the Regulation and Control of the Manufacture of and Trade in Arms and the Establishment of a Permanent Disarmament Commission, which were presented on November 20 by the Delegation to the Bureau of the General Disarmament Conference. The analysis of the Articles contained in this despatch and in the memorandum by Colonel Strong, which was transmitted with it, have been of great value to the Department and to the other interested Departments of the Government in connection with our further study of the Draft Articles.

It is suggested that at the appropriate time in the discussion of the Committee you propose that Category I be amended to read as follows:

Category I. Military Armaments

(a) Arms, ammunition and implements exclusively designed and intended for land, sea or aerial warfare, excepting such arms, ammunition and implements as are covered in other categories, even though included in the above definitions.

Such arms, ammunition and implements are classified as follows:

(1) Rifles and carbines;

(2) Machine-guns, automatic rifles and machine pistols of all calibres;

(3) Guns, howitzers and mortars of all calibres;

(4) Mounts, accessories, devices or appliances for use with the arms enumerated under Nos. 1, 2 and 3 above;

(5) Ammunition and projectiles for the arms enumerated under Nos. 1, 2 and 3 above;

(6) Grenades, bombs, torpedoes, depth charges, mines, and apparatus for their use or discharge;

(7) Propellants and fillers for the articles enumerated under Nos. 5 and 6 above;

(8) Tanks and military armored cars.

(b) Component parts, completely finished, or fully processed, of the articles covered by (a) above, if capable of being utilized only as spare parts or in the assembly or repair of said articles.

It is suggested that you propose that Category III be amended to read as follows:

Category III. Aerial Armaments

(1) Types of aircraft, both heavier than air and lighter than air, which are designed, adapted and intended for military or naval reconnaissance or for aerial combat by the use of machine guns or of artillery or by carrying or dropping bombs or fitted with defensive armor.

(2) Bomb sights and mounts, bomb racks and bomb release mechanisms, separable structural strengthening to permit the carrying of bombs, aircraft guns and mounts and appliances for their use.

(3) Component parts completely finished or fully processed of the types of aircraft, appliances, and equipment listed in (1) and (2) if capable of being utilized only in their assembly or repair or as spare parts thereof.

It is suggested that you propose that Category V be amended to read as follows:

Category V

Arms and ammunition designed and intended for [non] military use and which only incidentally and exceptionally can be used for military purposes.

(A) (1) Shot-guns of all types and ammunition therefor;

(2) Revolvers and automatic pistols designed for singlehanded use and ammunition therefor;

(3) Sporting rifles and ammunition therefor.

(B) (1) Types of aircraft, both heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air, other than those included in Category III.

(2) Component parts completely finished or fully processed of aircraft of types other than those included in Category III if capable of being utilized only in their assembly or repair or as spare parts thereof.

(3) Aircraft engines.

You will note that in the above suggested draft in regard to modifications in the text of Chapter I, I have adopted your suggestion as to the introduction of the sub-paragraphs in Category I relating to propellants and fillers. After careful consideration, I have, however, rejected your suggestion concerning the inclusion of other explosives in Category V. The Department has recently had practical experience, in connection with the administration of the existing restrictions on the exportation of arms to Cuba,³⁶ with the difficulties arising from attempting to include commercial explosives among the articles for which an export license is required. The list of commercial explosives had been found to include so many items of ordinary peaceful commerce that in order to avoid subjecting manufacturers and exporters to unnecessary and annoying formalities, the Department has recently decided to require export licenses for the following explosives only:

• Powders of all kinds and for all purposes
• Nitrocellulose
• Trinitrotoluene
• Diphenylamane
• Alkaline nitrates
• Tetryl
• Picric acid
• Nitric acid
• Nitrobenzene
• Sulphur
• Chlorate of potash
• Dynamite of all kinds
• Ammonal
• Ammonium picrate
• Sulphuric acid
• Nitroglycerine
• Acetones

It is believed that the inclusion of even so restricted a list is unwarranted in a Convention of this kind and I, therefore, believe that it is preferable to omit commercial explosives entirely from the provisions of the Convention.

It is suggested that you propose that Article 5 be amended to read as follows:

The H. C. P. undertake not to permit, in the territories subject to their respective jurisdictions, the manufacture of arms and implements of war as set forth in Categories I, II and III of Article 1 unless the manufacturers have obtained a license to manufacture issued by the Government and unless those manufacturers are in possession of bona fide orders in each case duly notified to the Government in accordance with the provisions of Article 6.

It is suggested that you propose that Article 9 be amended to read as follows:

The H.C.P., in so far as it pertains to their respective jurisdictions, will forward among other information to the Permanent Disarmament Commission, copies of all import or export licenses 15 days before the date of entry into or despatch from the territory of the arms and implements of war of Categories I, II and III referred to in the said licenses, and copies of all export licenses before the date of despatch from the territory of the arms and implements of war of Categories IV and V referred to in the said licenses. They will also forward to the Permanent Disarmament Commission a statement of all imports and exports effected during the calendar year within three months following the close of that year.

It is suggested that you propose that the second paragraph of Article 10 be amended to read as follows:

The H.C.P. also undertake not to permit in the territories under their respective jurisdictions the export of arms and the implements of war embraced in any categories without an export license issued by the Government and the import of arms and implements of war embraced in Categories I, II, and III without an import license issued by the Government.

The export of articles in Categories I, II and III shall be for direct supply to the Government of the importing State, or with the consent of such Government, to a public authority subordinate to it.

It is suggested that you propose that sub-paragraph 1 of Article 11 be amended to read as follows:

Articles covered by Categories I, II and III exported direct to a manufacturer of war material …

and that sub-paragraph 3 of Article 11 be amended to read as follows:

Samples of articles covered by Categories I, II and III exported for demonstration purposes direct to a trade …

You are instructed to consider further the advisability of proposing that the text suggested in telegram No. 412 of November 19 to the Embassy in London, viz:

The H.C.P. undertake not to permit the exportation from territory under their respective jurisdictions of any of the articles comprised in any of the categories to territory under the jurisdiction of non-contracting States, nor the importation from territory under the jurisdiction of non-contracting States of any of these articles into territory under their respective jurisdictions

be substituted for the text of Article 15 contained in the Draft which you submitted to the Bureau. It is suggested that you may find it profitable to discuss this suggested text informally with members of other delegations, with a view to obtaining their reactions thereto. If after such conversations and after further consideration of the advisability of the implications of the suggested text, you are of the opinion that it might be advisable for you to propose such an amendment you are instructed to telegraph fully, requesting definite instructions on this point.

After careful consideration of the amendment you propose in the text of Article 29, I have come to the conclusion that it is preferable not to include in the Convention any explicit obligation for consultation among the powers. You are, therefore, instructed to allow the text of that Article to remain for the present as it was in the Draft which you presented to the Bureau. I shall await your reports on the discussions in the Committee and your further recommendations in the light of these discussions before making a final decision as to the text of this Article.

The amended draft of Article 30 contained in the despatch under reference is approved. It is suggested that you propose that Article 30 be amended in accordance with your suggestion.

I have carefully considered the suggestion in Paragraph VIII of the despatch under reference, in regard to the possibility of including in Chapter II of the Convention provisions requiring advance declarations of intention by Governments of their programs of construction. There appear to be practical objections, due to the budgetary procedure of this Government, to the application of such provisions to our programs of construction. I concur, therefore, in your suggestion that detailed consideration of this subject be deferred until such time as other delegations may make in Committee some concrete suggestion of this nature.

I think it advisable that the American Delegation refrain from submitting to the Committee any draft of articles in regard to budgetary publicity. The War and Navy Departments are making a careful study of the subject with a view to determining the extent to which the peculiar budgetary system of this country and the American system of accounting would make it possible for this Government to comply with provisions based upon the French ideas in regard to this matter. An instruction for your guidance in this connection will go forward next week.

I concur in your suggestion that the drafting of Articles of Ratification be deferred until the negotiation of the Convention is somewhat more advanced. It is suggested that in the drafting of such articles you consider carefully their relation to the text ultimately decided upon for Article XV. When you find it possible to determine upon a suggested text for the Articles of Ratification, you are instructed to submit it by telegram for my consideration.

I enclose, for your information, a copy of a letter of December 18, 1934,³⁷ from the Chief of Staff, in regard to the Draft Articles. You will note that all but one of the suggestions made therein have been adopted by the Department.

Very truly yours,

Cordell Hull

36. See vol. v , section under Cuba entitled, “Restrictions on the Exportation of Arms and Munitions of War to Cuba.”
37. Not printed.