500.A4B/594: Telegram

The Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis) to the Secretary of State

85. Your 61, December 26, 5 p.m. I like very much your draft of possible statement but fear that in spite of your effort to make it entirely non-provocative it may have that effect if given out as a formal statement. I have particularly in mind the fourth sentence beginning “Coupled with”, with which, however, I entirely agree. Even my speech, from which any statement of a provocative character had been eliminated, was construed as a warning to Japan. As you can say more in a note without being provocative that [than?] you can in a public declaration, I suggest that, since you will have to reply to the Japanese notice of denunciation, the proposed statement be put in the form of a note to the Japanese Government and that it be made public.

I have one further suggestion to make. This is with regard to the first sentence in the last paragraph beginning “The question presented” and ending with “was that of promoting peace through disarmament”: to this sentence I would add “and cooperative effort along certain defined lines”, otherwise it might be construed as contradictory to my statement which laid stress on the fact that disarmament was made possible by concomitant agreements that established an equilibrium of economic and political rights. The fact is a new naval agreement with Japan will depend largely on whether the Japanese policy in the Far East is to be one of cooperation or of aggression.

Davis