711.922/94
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of State (Sayre)
The Siamese Minister called to inquire about the Siamese treaty. He told me of his conversation with Mr. Hamilton on October fourth [Page 860] (See Mr. Hamilton’s memorandum). He said that he had received another telegram from the Siamese Minister of Foreign Affairs inquiring about the text of the paragraph in regard to immovable property. He said that the Siamese Minister of Foreign Affairs was anxious to conclude the new treaty, if possible, by November fifth, when the present treaty expires.
In reply, I told him that it did not seem possible to bring the new treaty into force by November fifth since it will require Senate ratification and since the Senate will not be sitting in regular session until January. I also told him, confidentially, that the reason for the delay with regard to the language covering immovable property is that we do not want to propose a treaty which will not be ratified and that, since it would be unwise to insert in the Siamese treaty language which we could not adopt in treaties with other countries, it seemed wise to consult with some of the influential members of the Senate to secure their agreement so as to be sure that they would support the Siamese treaty when it comes up for ratification. I told him that this was the cause of the delay and that we could not go forward until we had received further word from some of the Senate leaders whom we had consulted. I added, however, that I had asked Mr. Hamilton to have follow-up letters sent out to hurry matters as much as possible. I added that we would let the Siamese Minister know as soon as we had reached a definite conclusion.
The Minister said that he would report this to the Siamese Minister for Foreign Affairs and thanked me for the information.