711.60d2/4
The Chargé in Finland (Gittings) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 4, 1930.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Consular Rights, which the Department proposed to negotiate with Finland, as set forth in its Instruction No. 81 of August 16, 1923; as well as to subsequent correspondence, terminating with the Legation’s Despatch No. 376 of February 3, 1927, which appears to be the last action on record. I have discussed this question with the Minister3 and he approves of my suggestion to ask the Department what it wishes done about this proposed treaty. Shall negotiations be renewed? A cabled answer from the Department would save time.
Also, does the Department insist that the treaty be adopted in its entirety as drafted? I ask, because it is possible that parts of it, say the Consular Rights Section or some other, might be acceptable at once, whereas the Commerce portion might move more slowly. This was the situation in Czechoslovakia. In my opinion a half a loaf [Page 136] today is better than no bread at all, and the Consular portion, for one thing, would seem desirable for our interests here.
I have [etc.]
- Hjalmar J. Procopé, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs.↩