500.A15/374: Telegram
The American Delegate on the Preparatory Commission (Gibson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 6:30 p.m.]
108. Department’s 56, September 18, 2 p.m. I am telegraphing separately the text of a statement I propose to make tomorrow morning at opening of the Preparatory Commission.2 I feel that I owe [Page 115] you an explanation for the liberal way in which I have interpreted your instructions. There is an atmosphere of tenseness here with the French striving to regain position of leadership … Boncour has launched scheme for early convening of a world disarmament conference and has vigorously played it up as a step taken against opposition of other nations, filling the press with statements that a section of the work of the Preparatory Commission has been deliberately obstructed by other countries with a view to delaying any final conference.
Question before Commission is purely one of procedure. I fear lest any general statement of our attitude might be seized upon as pretext for leading discussion away from question of procedure. To avoid affording any pretext of this sort I have in my statement studiously avoided placing blame on anyone for the unsatisfactory condition of our work. We feel that opportunity is thus presented by which the French will be enabled to fall in with our views without loss of prestige and that a controversy will thereby be avoided.
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I believe that our general attitude can be stated more effectively apart from the question of procedure and without running the risk of controversy. I have embodied your views in a separate statement, and later in the discussion I hope to be able to find appropriate occasion for its delivery.3