724.34119/195: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Argentina (Weddell)
131. For Dawson. The Argentine Ambassador has called to express Saavedra Lamas’ desire that the composition of the Commission on War Responsibility should be as given in second paragraph your 217, September 24, 7 p.m. With regard to the suggestion of an [Page 150] alternative category made in our 130, September 25, 6 p.m., the Ambassador pointed out that this might encounter objections in the Conference, since the other two members of the Commission would be judges from the highest court of their respective countries. He inquired whether there would be objection on our part if the formula as regards the third member were left as proposed by Saavedra Lamas. We said that, while we did not desire to raise objection, we felt that we must point out that with this formula there was a real possibility that neither a Justice of the Supreme Court nor a judge of one of our higher courts would be available, and that it was in order to make more likely the acceptance of an appropriate American member that we had proposed the alternative category. We also said that while we had not consulted with the Supreme Court as to whether it would be willing to “indicate” the name of an American judge of the higher courts (or an eminent jurist) and we did not know what the attitude of the court might be, we would, of course, be willing to use our good offices as and when the necessity therefor might arise.