500.A15A5/705: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis)69
58. Your 119, March 3, 8 p.m. We agree with you that it would not seem appropriate for us to insist upon the condition in agreeing to the reduction of gun caliber of capital ships to 14 inches “that during this year no signatory would lay down any ship with over 14-inch guns.”
Your 120, March 4, 1 a.m., and 122 March 5, 1 p.m.70 Your draft formula, as contained in Section 3 of the above telegram is acceptable to us provided that in the language of (B) the word “undertake” is changed to “enter into an agreement.”
With regard to the arrangements for an exchange of views through diplomatic channels in order to determine whether it might be possible to accomplish a reduction in the unit tonnage limitation of capital ships, we could not be sure that we would be ready to discuss a reduction in the tonnage or gun caliber of capital ships to be laid down from January 1, 1941. It might be that a delay in our ship construction program or delays in shipbuilding might prevent our having completed and tried out a new capital ship in time to enter into discussions for an agreement which would take effect January 1, 1941. We would suggest that the discussions might better take place during 1941 with a view to having any arrangement arrived at take effect as from January 1, 1942.