710.G Commercial Agreement/37: Circular telegram
The Secretary of State to All American Diplomatic Representatives in the American Republics, Except Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ecuador
As you know the agreement set forth in Resolution 81 of the Montevideo Conference (See final Act page 124) was studied and revised in form, though not in substance, by the Governing Board of the Pan [Page 18] American Union and opened for signature July 15. The revised text is printed in Treaty Information for July, 1934. It was signed on behalf of the United States September 20. The Pan American Union has issued invitations to all the countries of the world to become parties in accordance with Article 4 of the agreement.
The Belgian Delegation to the Assembly of the League of Nations, now about to enter the third and presumably the final week of its present session, has brought the subject of Resolution 81 before the Second Committee with a view to receiving the endorsement of the Assembly, with consequent impetus to movement to obtain signature of all countries members of the League. In connection with this action the American Consul at Geneva on September 21 telegraphed the Department as follows: “The circumstance that Latin American states here are not showing the interest which might be expected of them is something of an obstacle. Steps are being taken here to correct this situation, but Latin American representatives in Geneva do not maintain close contact with their governments”.
I desire you to bring orally and informally the substance of the foregoing (omitting of course the reference to the Latin American representatives in Geneva) to the attention of the government to which you are accredited as a matter in which every member of the Pan American Union would naturally be interested, not as a request for action.9
For your own information, however, Department would welcome favorable action by the Assembly, but is at the same time concerned lest failure to understand the proposition involved lead to hasty or ill-considered action.
You are, of course, authorized to explain the proposition should you be requested to do so and to telegraph for additional explanatory material.
The same to other missions in Latin American Countries members of the League of Nations.
- In addition to replies printed below, replies were received from the American Missions in Bolivia, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela saying that this instruction had been carried out but reporting no definite action by the respective Governments. (710.G Commercial Agreement/65, 79, 63, 66, 82, 67, 84.)↩