765.84/432: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Ethiopia (George)
31. Your 52, July 4, noon. You are instructed to address a note to the Emperor textually as follows:
“I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Imperial Majesty’s note of July 3, 1935, and to inform Your Imperial Majesty that I immediately communicated its contents to my Government. I have been instructed by my Government to reply to your note as follows:
My Government, interested as it is in the maintenance of peace in all parts of the world, is gratified that the League of Nations, with a view to a peaceful settlement, has given its attention to the controversy which has unhappily arisen between your Government and the Italian Government and that the controversy is now in process of arbitration. My Government hopes that, whatever the facts or merits of the controversy may be, the arbitral agency dealing with this controversy may be able to arrive at a decision satisfactory to both of the Governments immediately concerned.
Furthermore, and of great importance, in view of the provisions of the Pact of Paris, to which both Italy and Ethiopia are parties, in common with sixty-one other countries, my Government would be loath to believe that either of them would resort to other than pacific means as a method of dealing with this controversy or would permit any situation to arise which would be inconsistent with the commitments of the Pact.”
Report by telegraph when this note is delivered. Its text will be released to the press here.
Copies sent to Rome, London, Paris and Geneva.