500.A15 a 1/182b: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chief of the American Delegation on the Preparatory Commission (Gibson)
116. Reported in press that Three-Power Conference will meet June 20, 1927. Department’s latest advice from Great Britain and Japan was that Conference would be held as early as possible after June 11; we had assumed that would mean June 12. If definite date has been arranged please cable.
The President and I have conferred with Mr. Hughes,30 but do not believe that he can attend Conference and in that event do not know of anyone else to invite. Our thought was that if Mr. Hughes was able to go, his international reputation might be of assistance to you and contribute to arriving at favorable result.
I discussed with the President and Mr. Hughes the advisability of sending over some good lawyer to help you in drafting the treaty. We thought that we might get Allen Dulles, who, as you are aware, is thoroughly conversant with all the background.
We should like to have your views. The Navy will send Admiral Schofield and some other assistants; further information on that will [Page 35] be sent you. We are very anxious, of course, for success of this Three-Power Conference.
Great Britain has notified us that her delegates will be the Rt. Hon. W. C. Bridgeman, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, Admiral Field, Chief of the Naval Staff, and other naval experts. Japan has notified us that her representation will be as follows: Admiral Viscount Saito, Governor General of Korea, and Viscount Ishii, at present Japanese Ambassador to France; Vice Admiral Kobayashi and Bear Admiral Hara, naval experts; and Mr. Sadao Saburi, Chief of the Treaty Section of the Foreign Office, Secretary.
- Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of State, Mar. 4, 1921–Mar. 4, 1925.↩