500.A15A5/72: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Bingham)
223. Your 292, May 31, 5 p.m. The Japanese are obviously anxious to engage in preliminary naval conversations simultaneously or in rapid succession in different capitals. The Secretary has tried to discourage this, pointing out to Saito in a conversation on May 2655 the disadvantages and opportunities of misunderstanding that would be caused by holding conversations in two places and emphasizing the advisability of concentrating the preliminary conversations in London.56
The Japanese attempt to overemphasize the question of time and place of the conference would seem inconsistent with a normal and orderly course of procedure. In our opinion, such purely procedural matters, while a proper subject of discussion, should not be finally determined until the preliminary talks have shown what measure of agreement, if any, exists or appears realizable between the Powers principally concerned on the basic technical naval issues.
We do not, however, wish to make an issue of these two points at the present time though you may use them as guidance in informal talks with the British. We shall probably announce in the course of the next 2 or 3 days the decision to send Davis and Leigh to London for these conversations.
Please repeat to Geneva as No. 419.