500.A15c/17: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Wilson)
97. It is my belief that American sympathy with all endeavors to encourage disarmament can be made evident without representation of the United States on the Security Committee.
[Page 212]If there are likely to be efforts made to throw on this Government the blame for a possible failure to obtain results, it seems that this could more plausibly be done if the United States were represented on the Security Committee as an active participant; for, by reason of the fact that the United States is not a member of the League of Nations and also because of other conditions peculiar to this country, it would be especially difficult to avoid appearance of obstructing Committee’s deliberations in event that representatives of other nations made deliberate effort to put the United States in a false position.
Should there be representation by an observer only, appearance of obstruction might also be brought about by fact that an observer would not be, naturally, in a position to offer constructive suggestions; instead, he would be compelled to call attention to strict limits which circumstances impose upon extent of formal American cooperation.
At meeting of Preparatory Commission when creation of Security Committee is under discussion, you might propose, or arrange to have proposed in interests of closer understanding and cooperation that procès-verbaux of meetings of the Committee be made available to members of the Commission and likewise that the procès-verbaux of the Commission be made available to the Committee.
If the United States should not be represented on the Committee, misrepresentation of the American point of view would do little harm to this Government if not made public, and if it were made public it could be answered by appropriate statements to the press either at Geneva or here.
It is my opinion that a statement on the attitude of the United States, which embodies point 1 of Department’s 95, March 22, 6 p.m., to Gibson, could be made if necessary at a subsequent meeting of the Preparatory Commission itself next year, or anyway at the final disarmament conference toward which both the Commission and the Committee will work.
In view of foregoing instructions, you will follow Department’s instruction 94, telegraphed November 15, noon. Should it become desirable or necessary, in your opinion, you may add to your statement on the American position by pointing out analogy between attitude Gibson took at meeting of Preparatory Commission on April 13,55 in regard to peculiar situation of this Government vis-à-vis question of League of Nations supervision and control of armaments and present position of the Government in regard to security pacts. Paul-Boncour, [Page 213] you will recall, showed a clear understanding of position which Gibson took on supervision and control, and with which our attitude on security agreements is wholly consistent.
Repeat to Brussels by mail.
- See League of Nations, Documents of the Preparatory Commission, etc., Series IV, p. 273.↩