711.00 Statement July 16, 1937/259
The Ambassador in Poland (Biddle) to the
Secretary of State
[Extracts]
Warsaw, August 10, 1937.
[Received August
26.]
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I have the honor to attach
hereto Colonel Beck’s letter and attached aide-mémoire addressed to you personally bearing on your statement
of July 16th, 1937.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Page 774]
It might interest you to know that Colonel Beck remarked to me that he had
never before put so much effort in preparation of a declaration of this
nature. In fact, in my opinion, Poland has rarely made a commitment on
policy of such breadth. I take occasion to draw your particular attention to
the adoption by Minister Beck of the “good neighbor” policy in Eastern
Europe. In my informal discussions with him on political matters, he has
frequently made use of the terms voisinage and “good
neighbor” in describing a new tendency in his policy. Undoubtedly, he has
taken a leaf from the President’s and your book in introducing the good
neighbor policy into this none too peaceful part of Europe.
In closing may I not add my own congratulations upon the fundamental
soundness of your declaration? Indeed, it combines the highest ideals with
the realistic and I look for it to have a far-reaching constructive
effect.
With [etc.]
[Enclosure—Translation]13
The Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs
(Beck) to the Secretary of
State
Warsaw, August [9], 1937.
Dear Mr. Hull: I desire to thank you for your
valued message transmitted through the kind hands of Mr. Biddle in
connection with your statement to the press of July 16, in which I see a
realistic effort toward establishing a peaceful and constructive
international collaboration.
In line with this thought, I take the liberty of acquainting you with the
general principles dominating the foreign policy of my country.
Accept [etc.]
[Subenclosure]
Aide-Mémoire From the Polish Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Beck) to the Secretary of State14
[Warsaw, August (9?) 1937.]
1. The Polish Government consider that it is not possible to separate
economic from political problems, since confidence is no less important
than gold reserves, and can be achieved mainly by good politics.
[Page 775]
2. International confidence should be based on a general conviction that
the present generation can be preserved from a world conflagration.
3. This conviction can be produced through the creation of the right
peace policy which, in the opinion of the Polish Government, should be
constructed from its foundations. As the principal foundation the Polish
Government consider the development of good neighbour policy. It should
be fostered with special care and any initiative in this respect should
be able to count on proper encouragement from all elements wishing
sincerely and in a practical manner for peace.
4. In considering more general political or economic agreements which
form a superstructure of international peaceful cooperation it is
necessary, in the opinion of the Polish Government, to bear in mind that
the more states are included the more general should be the principles
of agreement. Experience has shown that even between two partners it is
not always easy to find the right settlement of some problem.
5. Under present circumstances it seems that the evolution of confidence
in international life could best be attained if each partner, without
regard for the number of inhabitants or square miles of his territory,
should have the conviction that his right to decide his own fate and to
regulate his life according to the governing features and character of
his country would be respected by others.
6. The Polish Government consider that, in spite of present difficulties,
there still exists the possibility of reconstructing international
cooperation on the basis of these principles. They believe, however,
that there continues the danger of a division of countries into hostile
camps, whether according to their political doctrines, or because of too
narrow a conception of the interests of each particular country or of
groups of countries,—or finally as a result of too limited a view of the
community of economic interests among nations.—
7. The Polish Government consider that in the present transitory period
an apparently more modest, yet more practical, solution will contribute
in a larger degree toward calming the general state of minds than
complicated systems which are the result of speculation rather than the
consequence of a sense of reality.
This calming of the state of minds and the directing of the effort of
each nation towards creative work could produce, in the opinion of the
Polish Government, the most essential condition for the checking of the
international race of armaments. The latter may cause in some cases a
temporary improvement in economic conditions, in the long run, however,
they are bound to lead to shocks both political and economic.—
[Page 776]
8. In view of what has been said above the Polish Government sincerely
welcome the utterances made by Secretary Cordell Hull on July 16th 1937.
These utterances, as understood by Polish public opinion, well combine
the ideal of striving for peace with the practical sense of finding the
proper means in this connection.
