500.A15A4 General Committee/903: Telegram
The American Delegate (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 12—9:50 a.m.]
836. 1. Aghnides has just returned from Paris where he accompanied Henderson in the latter’s interview with Barthou. Léger,18 Massigli and others were present.
2. Aghnides said that Henderson advanced the idea of an adjournment of the General Commission but that Barthou replied that he thought the meeting should be carried through as scheduled although he was unable now to inform Henderson of what he hoped to accomplish [Page 63] in the meeting. Barthou continued by saying that the French note of April 17th19 represented exactly their present position but insisted that this note left the door open. Barthou added that before the meeting with Henderson the French Cabinet had held a meeting and that he was authorized to state in the name of the Cabinet that France would accept no reduction. He further stated that in his opinion no subsequent French Government would accept a convention embodying reduction in view of German re-armament.
3. Aghnides is under the impression that the French are very sure of the rightness of their policy, that they will take no initiative even at the risk of not having a disarmament convention. He thinks that the French attitude is based partly at least on the idea that things are becoming progressively worse in Germany both from an economic and internal political standpoint.
4. As to what will probably take place in the meeting of the General Commission, although rumors are current, opinion has not yet solidified and I hope to be in a better position to report on this toward the middle of next week after the representatives of the various states have met during the Council.
Mailed Rome, Paris, London, Berlin.