711.00 Statement July 16, 1937/65: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Argentina (Weddell)
64. Your 118, July 31, 9 p.m. The statement you made to the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs is, of course, entirely accurate.
You should make it clear to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the interview you will have with him tomorrow that the basic purpose of the Secretary of State in communicating to the governments of the world the statement of principles he made public on July 16, was his conviction that at this moment it would be salutary and eminently desirable that the governments of the world should publicly make known their support of these fundamental principles of international conduct, with the belief that such public reaffirmation of these principles would do much to revitalize and to strengthen international law and international morals. You may say further that up to the present time he has already received evidences of warm support and of hearty cooperation in this purpose from some 20 governments of Europe and of the American Continent and that it is his desire at some early date to make known publicly such world-wide reaffirmation of the principles enunciated by himself on July 16, perhaps even before replies from all the remaining governments are received. You may say, of course, that the desires of the Argentine Government with regard to publication or nonpublication of the reply received from Dr. Saavedra Lamas will be scrupulously observed; but that if no reply from the Argentine Government, which has taken so outstanding a part during recent years in upholding the principles of international law and in furthering the cause of world peace, is included in such publication, inquiries will undoubtedly be addressed to the Secretary of State with regard to such apparent omission and he would, of course, prefer to make known [Page 741] at that time the very helpful and cordial reply received from Dr. Saavedra Lamas as included in the memorandum transmitted in your telegram No. 116 of July 29, 3 p.m.
For your confidential information, I am unable to see any connection between the Minister’s project for a convention on the right of asylum and world-wide adherence to the principles announced by the Secretary of State. With regard to the proposed convention on the right of asylum, you may state to the Minister that when the full text is received, it will, of course, be given most careful consideration by your Government but that until such study has been given it is impossible for the Department of State to make any comment with regard thereto.