500.A15A5/253½
President Roosevelt to the Secretary of State
I have just read Norman Davis’ No. 32 of November 13th—10 p.m. It seems that matters may come to a head shortly requiring us to take a position as a result of Japanese intention to denounce the Treaty in December.
I think it might be a good idea to telegraph Davis that in the event the conferences break up he should consider:
- (a)
- Giving out my original letter of instructions to him and Admiral Standley.75
- (b)
- Seeking at least a gentleman’s agreement from the Japanese and the British that they will lay down no ships over and above the numbers [Page 334] provided in existing Washington and London Treaties until after the actual expiration date of those treaties.
- (c)
- To obtain from them some kind of definite agreement that after the Washington and London Treaties completely terminate none of the three nations will lay down any ship without formal notice to the other nations—this to apply to any and all vessels of more than five hundred tons and to all submarines of any tonnage.76
I am suggesting this with the belief that full publicity of construction will be conducive to some future limitation and also that it will perhaps make unnecessary the expenditures of large sums for Naval Intelligence purposes.
Turn this over to W[illiam] P[hillips]. Don’t miss the train!77
- Received by the Secretary of State, November 15, 3 p.m.↩
- For text of letter of guidance dated October 5, 1934, and released at inaugural session of the London Naval Conference, December 9, 1935, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 282.↩
- Points (a), (b), and (c) of this memorandum were transmitted to the Chairman of the American delegation as telegram No. 27, November 17, 1934, 8 p.m.↩
- This notation appears in ink in Roosevelt’s handwriting.↩