881.00/8–1445: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Caffery)
3897. For Villard. Urtel 4921, Aug. 14, 8 p.m. Our understanding is that purpose of provisional regime would be to govern Tangier International Zone pending establishment of a permanent international administration. We have no info which would cause us to believe that in order effectively to govern that Zone it would be necessary to station in it a light war vessel. It would seem to us that such patrolling of the 30 nautical mile coast of the Zone as might be necessary could be carried out by local police administration. We would be agreeable to working out of arrangements which would provide for immediate despatch of war vessels to Tangier in case in the opinion of the majority of Four Powers responsible for the temporary Govt the peace of Zone should be threatened. We would be opposed, however, to entering into any arrangement which would call for unnecessary manifestation of armed force in or near the Zone.
Sent Paris 3897; rptd London 7021; Madrid 1422; Tangier 196; Moscow 1866.