500.A15A4 General Committee/915: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the American Delegate (Wilson)
415. Your 840, May 24, 1 p.m. Although I am still hopeful that it may be possible to negotiate a General Disarmament Convention in which provisions for the supervision and control of the manufacture of and trade in arms may be incorporated, nevertheless if that proves impossible this Government would be prepared to enter into a separate convention on this subject. Public opinion in this country has been so aroused in regard to the evils arising from the uncontrolled private manufacture of and international traffic in arms, and this aroused public opinion appears to be reflected in Congress37 to such a degree that we would now be prepared to go as far without a General Disarmament Convention as we were prepared to go last year on condition that such a convention were negotiated. We still maintain, however, the position set forth in 1 (b) of telegram No. 356 of June 17, 1933, 10 a.m.,38 in regard to the French proposal to establish quota restrictions.
Suggest that you discuss this matter by telephone at your earliest opportunity with Davis.
- For correspondence relating to the congressional investigation of the munitions industry, see pp. 427 ff.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1933, vol. i, p. 195.↩