711.4215 Air Pollution/573
President Roosevelt to the Under Secretary of State ( Phillips )
I entirely approve your letter to the Canadian Prime Minister in regard to the British Columbia Trail Smelter case. If the Canadian Government should fail to send a representative to Washington to expedite a settlement of this case—what would you think of our asking the Canadian Government to refer the whole matter to the World Court at the Hague, provided always that we could get not only a hearing but a determination from the World Court within a comparatively short space of time, for example, one year?
My suggestion is based on the thought that if the World Court should give us definite action through a decision, and especially if that decision were favorable, it would do much to improve our chances of joining the World Court itself in a permanent manner.