765.84/2606: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Italy (Long)
204. Your 843, November 18, noon. Merely for your information and guidance and not for communication. This Government continues as it has from the beginning to pursue its own separate and independent course and initiative based on the primary purpose to keep this nation from being drawn into the war. It has and has had no agreements whatsoever, directly or indirectly, nor any exchange of views with any other Governments or groups of Governments relating to the Italo-Ethiopian controversy.
The President’s embargo proclamation of October 5 was in pursuance of the mandatory legislation enacted in the last session of Congress which grew out of a nation-wide sentiment expressed long before the Italo-Ethiopian controversy. The subsequent warnings that trading with the belligerents would be carried on only at the risk of those engaging in such trade were further manifestations of this Government’s desire to remain neutral. In no sense can these steps be considered in the nature of sanctions. They are measures taken independently and on our own initiative in accordance with the spirit and intent of the neutrality resolution of last August. That act and a number of public statements by the President and the Secretary of State since the embargoes were proclaimed clearly set forth the general policy of this Government as aforesaid.
The clear spirit of the neutrality act prohibiting the exportation of arms, ammunition and implements of war embraces essential and primary war materials. There has been a widespread demand for embargo upon these latter. Apart from the discouragement of general trade relations with both belligerents, it has appeared during recent days that abnormal exports to belligerents of several essential war materials were taking place which if permitted to continue without an expression of disapproval would have resulted in loud and [Page 822] immediate public demand for remedial action. These increasingly large sales of strictly war materials were regarded as contrary to the manifest spirit of the neutrality act. Therefore it was clearly the part of wisdom to make the statement I made on Friday last32 rather than to await similar developments elsewhere and then be subjected to the Chargé of combining and cooperating with the program of other nations or groups of nations with the resultant reaction in this country. This Government furthermore has not said nor done anything relative to Italian imports nor sought to aid Ethiopia as other nations represented at Geneva have done.
For your own information, the purchases of Italian goods by this country for the month of October amounted to $4,666,000.
- November 15.↩