Office of the Historian

550.S1/490: Telegram

The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State

Geneva, January 25, 1933—4 p.m.
[Received January 25—1:25 p.m.]

19. From Sackett. Your American delegation telegram 59, January 23, 7 p.m. Meeting of the Organizing Committee of Economic Conference was held and finished today with the following result.

1.
Transmission of the draft annotated agenda drawn by the Preparatory Commission was ordered to the governments invited to the London Conference. At the time this order was agreed upon I spread upon the record of this meeting the reservation clause set out in paragraph 2 of the telegram under reference. It was received without comment.
2.
Regarding date of Conference considerable effort was made by some nations to fix an early date or even to secure agreement that some date within a definitive time would later be fixed. The resolution, however, was finally adopted in effect as proposed to me by Simon (see my telegram 13, January 22, 4 p.m.) with the addition that within 3 months the Chairman17 of the Organizing Committee should call another meeting of the Committee to fix the date. No conference date was therefore fixed at the meeting today.
3.
MacDonald, proposed by France, was unanimously designated President of the Conference.
4.
The Economic and Financial Committees of the League, the International Labor Organization, the International Institute of Agriculture and the Bank of International Settlements were invited to send representatives to assist the work of the London Conference in a consultative capacity. The International Chamber of Commerce is to be given opportunity to explain its views to the Conference and invited to hold representatives at disposal and give oral explanations if requested. Other applying organizations were not invited but may communicate their views to the Secretary General of the League.
5.
A suggestion to limit the number of representatives in government delegations was not passed. The meeting was entirely harmonious.

I leave for London tonight. [Sackett.]

Gilbert
  1. Sir John Simon.↩