500.A15A4 General Committee/906: Telegram

The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Bingham ) to the Secretary of State

259. Personal for the Secretary and Norman Davis. I had intended cabling you next week but your telegram No. 198, May 16, 5 p.m.30 [Page 66] impels me to give you my strictly personal views before the departure of Norman Davis. I am in full accord with your decision that Davis attend the General Commission meeting but I cannot conceive this will be more than the completion of funeral arrangements for an attempted European disarmament convention in which for some time we could play no more than a sympathetic and listening part. As I see it, since no acceptable sanctions are possible the French policy for no convention will prevail, and an armament race will confront Europe. According to this French thesis, all nations rearming against Germany will automatically therefore become the allies of France. Germany for her part will have equality of status though not equality of armament and Hitler will be faced with the economic consequences to his home programs, of obtaining what amounts to complete freedom of rearmament. Evidence of his concern is Ribbentrop’s31 recent visit to London. This Government here is seriously worried over this Geneva situation, for besides obvious reasons there is the one that the Cabinet will find it difficult to explain to that great element in Great Britain desiring international cooperation for peace, the failure to achieve a convention. The Cabinet is therefore attempting to work out, I believe, a European air agreement with sanctions. However, in any case, the fact will become increasingly evident that since two powers, Germany and Japan as well, have refused to play their part in a collective world, we revert to the old thesis of international relations where wealth and might are right. In a world situation based on equitable settlement the United States will stand preeminent, and the British Cabinet in taking stock of its position will find itself, with Germany on the one hand and Japan on the other, unable to complete a real limitation convention at Geneva, and with only a policy of temporary expediency in the Far East (see Embassy’s despatch No. 686, May 7, 193432). The Cabinet must also face a large body of opinion in England sympathetic to the League of Nations. This body also is included in a larger and more powerful form and more strongly pointing out the desirability of close cooperation with the United States. This opinion will have to be met by the British Cabinet but a strong part of officialdom are not prepared for any discussions with us as yet. For the moment allegedly, they think that if competitive armament must be a cloud over economic recovery in Europe, then any further competitive armament should indeed be an equal cloud over economic progress in Japan. These economic factors can be cited as reasons whereby before too long Germany and Japan of their own volition will seek to reopen international discussions.

If you agree with the above considerations this is certainly not the moment for us to make any further gesture towards members of the [Page 67] present British Government. We can well afford to wait until they ring our door bell, hat in hand. I feel so strongly on this point that I should even prefer not to inform either Henderson, Simon or Eden in the sense of your 198, May 16, 5 p.m. Eden is in Geneva until Saturday and could be casually advised by Wilson in such a sense as you may desire.

Please understand once these views of mine are before you I only await your instructions as to any future procedure.

Bingham
  1. Not printed. Besides announcing the departure of Mr. Davis for the meetings of the Bureau and General Commission, this instruction carried Davis’ requests that Henderson be informed of his willingness “to help in every possible way”, and that Simon and Eden should be notified informally. (500.A15A4 Personnel/1332)
  2. Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Special Commissioner for Disarmament.
  3. Vol. iii, p. 165.