740.0011 Mutual Guarantee (Locarno)/797: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 19—11:57 a.m.]
439. Department’s 324, September 3, 6 p.m., and 338, September 15, 6 p.m.46 I saw the Foreign Secretary this morning for the first time in some weeks, as after his holiday he came down with an attack of chickenpox and was in his office for the first time yesterday.
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[Page 685]I then took up the main purpose of my conference with him on trade relations and he sent for a copy of his Geneva speech47 and read to me a paragraph in which he expressed his approval of the special report of the Economic Committee of the League of Nations48 but qualified that by referring to the political situation which made easy progress so difficult until and unless the political situation was relieved. I read him your statement and delivered to him the document. At the same time I urged upon him the point of view that the feasible and practicable way to relieve difficult political situation was by relieving economic distress, and that we believed that by our own trade policy we were following the line which had the best, if not the only hope for improving the political situation and therefore reducing the danger of war. He agreed with me entirely in principle but again referred to the domestic, political difficulties with which his Government was confronted.
I asked him if he had seen Sir Ronald Lindsay and he told me that he had had a talk with him and that Sir Ronald had strongly presented the view of the American Government on the general subject and that he expected to see him again after his return from Geneva. I impressed upon him the importance of this whole subject, the fact that the Administration’s policy had strong support from the American people; that many who were politically opposed to the present Administration supported this policy, including nearly unanimous support from the press, despite the fact that the majority of the American press were in political opposition to the Administration. He expressed his deep interest, in which I have no doubt he is sincere, in doing everything possible to maintain the best relations with the United States and said that he would give this matter more time and effort and would take it up with Runciman and Neville Chamberlain as soon as he returned from Geneva and that he would like to see me again as soon as possible thereafter. However, I doubt his ability to influence his colleagues sufficiently to modify their views.
Copy to Paris.