711.60c9 Liquor/3
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Treaty Division (McClure) of a Conversation With the Commercial Counselor of the Polish Embassy (Wańkowicz)
Mr. Wańkowicz conferred with the Chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs3 and the Assistant Chief of the Treaty Division in [Page 762] the former’s office this morning with reference to a number of verbal changes which it seemed desirable to make in the draft liquor convention which the Polish Embassy recently submitted to the Department as the basis of a treaty to be entered into between Poland and the United States.
Mr. Wańkowicz agreed, of course, to the uniform description of the instrument by the use throughout of the word “Convention”.
He saw no objection to the change at the beginning of Article II so as to substitute for the words “The President of the Republic of Poland agrees …” to “It is agreed that the Government of Poland …”.
Mr. Wańkowicz requested that, in view of the fact that the words at the beginning of the first paragraph of the formal concluding portion of the treaty, namely, “in accordance with their respective constitutional methods”, would be difficult to translate into Polish, and as he thought that there was no need for such language in the treaty anyhow, the first paragraph be shortened to read as follows:
“The present Convention shall be duly ratified by the High Contracting Parties and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Warsaw as soon as possible.”
The two Departmental officers who were present agreed entirely as to this change and both felt that reference to constitutional methods or procedure is out of place in an international instrument.
Mr. Wańkowicz requested that, since the signature was to take place at Washington, exchange of ratifications should take place at Warsaw, in accordance with the custom heretofore observed in regard to treaties between the United States and Poland. Mr. Wańkowicz was, of course, informed that this alteration would be made.
The draft submitted by Poland, with the foregoing alterations, has been recopied and corrected copies attached to the draft note to the Polish Ambassador in reply to his note of May 14, 1930.
- Robert F. Kelley.↩