500.A15A4 General Committee/752: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Straus) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:30 p.m.]
48. A copy of the German reply to the French memorandum was obtained yesterday evening with a request that both the fact that we have it and the information contained in it be kept confidential even from de Laboulaye.29 The memorandum is long, about 3,000 words. Translation of full text goes forward in the pouch leaving tonight. However, the general summary and tone of the German reply is contained in the annex listing the questions which the Germans desire answered before they can make a definite decision. The text of this annex follows:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The French feel that the German reply has merely accepted all concessions made by the French and in return has not deviated a point from the German most extreme position.
It is not thought at present that any written answer will be given the Germans. Certain clarifications may orally be made by François-Poncet.30 The Foreign Office does not feel that either the tenor or the substance of the German reply offers any basis for agreement. However, they believe that the British are working on a new plan concerning which it is expected that they will consult France and perhaps the United States. Today the rumor is current that Sir John Simon has been pressing for a four-power meeting in Paris but the French feel that the Germans have closed the door to such a possibility by their reply.
Mailed Geneva, London, Berlin, Rome.