Office of the Historian

500.A15A5/689: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis)62

Washington, February 27, 1936—6 p.m.

48. Your 110, February 27, noon. With regard to your alternatives based on the possibility that the Italians will not now join in a naval agreement, our views would be as follows:

Your first alternative. We would be willing to enter into an agreement with England and France with the appropriate safeguard clauses. As far as the manner of German adherence is concerned, we refer you to our 47, February 26, 8 p.m.

Your second alternative. We prefer to follow the procedure outlined in our 46, February 25, 8 p.m. It might be misunderstood here if we assumed the position of joint inviting power with the British for obtaining the adherences of other countries to the naval treaty, particularly in view of the political atmosphere now prevailing on the continent.

Hull
  1. Marginal notation: “O. K. F[ranklin] D. R[oosevelt]”.↩