500.A15A4 General Committee/783: Telegram
The American, Delegate ( Wilson ) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 17—4:20 p.m.]
817. 1. Avenol and Aghnides returned this morning and I have seen them both.
2. Aghnides stated that little difficulty was encountered in London in obtaining a postponement long enough for the British to endeavor to carry through the parallel and supplementary efforts. Politis had been instructed to acquiesce by his Government and Beneš against his desires found it advisable to acquiesce because he hoped for British assistance Austrian matter.
3. Aghnides reports that the British Government is definitely contemplating calling the meeting referred to in my 814, February 9, 2 p.m. if it seems warranted at the termination of Eden’s trip. It is contemplated that all the great powers including Japan will be invited as well as certain other powers. It is probable that the officers of the Disarmament Conference will also be invited but in what capacity is yet undetermined.
4. Aghnides finds in London deep-seated irritation against the French even on the part of the conservatives but this is coupled with the realization that as the lesser of two evils Great Britain would prefer French to German predominance on the Continent and therefore would in the final analysis throw in its lot with France and not with Germany. The treaties of Locarno58 are real and binding in British thought and considerable irritation is expressed that the French show such little appreciation of their value.
5. According to Aghnides there has been a considerable growth in the conception that Great Britain must be willing to agree to something [Page 21] further in the line of sanctions, presumably of an economic nature. Indeed Aghnides believes, although he has no assurance thereof, that Eden is carrying with him to Paris some such offer.
6. Aghnides reports that the French are as ever insistent on sanctions. After conversation with Massigli on his way through Paris Aghnides felt that even Massigli had gone over to the camp of the obstructionists in France who did not want a treaty. After consultation with Avenol, Aghnides in an effort to combat this defeatism presented to Massigli the conception that the Locarno treaties are connected in British thought with the Treaty of Versailles with which the British never had much sympathy and in which their sympathy is daily shrinking. He pointed out the high value to France of tying the treaties of Locarno with a new disarmament convention which would be popular in British thought and would thus revitalize the Locarno treaties.
7. He has the impression that the present French Government59 has adopted a “strong” foreign policy in order to divert French thought from internal affairs.
8. Since I saw Avenol after the talk with Aghnides we did not discuss details. Avenol made, however, one significant statement, namely, that both Great Britain and France are convinced that Germany is rearming. They only differ in their conception of the rapidity with which this rearming is being carried out. Since the French Government is convinced of this rearming they are, according to Avenol, also thoroughly convinced that reduction of armament is out of the question. Avenol, therefore, believes that the French Government is sympathetic with the Italian memorandum which is based on status quo “limitation” and not reduction. Avenol is inclined to believe that, as a result of Eden’s trip, the British Government will find their memorandum unacceptable and will realize that the only alternative to failure is the adoption of the Italian thesis of status quo limitation as opposed to reduction.
Mailed Paris, Rome, London.