500.A16/97
Declaration by the American Representative (Wilson) in the Second Meeting of the Third Session of the Special Commission, December 7, 192874
Mr. Chairman, the turn that the discussion has taken this afternoon has confirmed me in an impression which I had that I should like to take an opportunity in this plenary session, when all the delegates are present, to make an appeal to them regarding something that might be done during the interval until we meet again.
I feel that this meeting has clarified the atmosphere of our labours to a considerable extent—at least in the Sub-Committee. We have measurably approached each other’s points of view on nearly all questions save the one which to my Government is one of the fundamentals without which the Convention can have little value, namely, that of achieving full publicity for both public and private manufacture. The importance which my Government attaches to this point is, I am convinced, shared by the peoples of the world. We [Page 322] have been able to establish that the wishes of a large proportion of the States here represented, at least those represented on the Sub-Committee, lie in the direction of complete equality of treatment for public and private manufacture. I might state the matter a little more definitely to say that a large number of the delegations regard such equality of treatment as essential. That in itself is, I submit, no mean achievement. Certain delegations, however, are still reluctant to afford a full measure of publicity to State manufacture, and have offered us a limited publicity for value only and by categories. What does this mean? As the delegate of the Netherlands has clearly expressed it, it means that the States will be obliged to furnish in some cases five figures, in some cases four figures and in other cases three figures, according to the types of industry and production which take place within their borders.
We have been urged to accept this as the minimum of agreement, but I fail to see that such a minimum would have beneficial results, and indeed, I believe it might have quite the contrary. To state to our various Governments that we have achieved so low a minimum of agreement is a very easy thing; indeed, we might record agreement merely on the principle that we were agreed to disagree.
It is the profound conviction of my Government that our purpose in this work is to make such contribution as we can to the cause of peace. The cause of peace is not served by offering merely a further cause of bewilderment between the States, a further cause of speculation, a further cause perhaps of distrust; it can be furnished by the elimination of doubt following on full publication which provides an accurate knowledge of the facts all over the world.
We have discussed the achievement of publicity by means of three factors: value, weight and numbers. It was clearly brought out in the Sub-Committee that the choice of value as the only means is the choice of the most elastic, the least definite, the least exact of these measures. It is a true minimum, and I fail to see how any lower minimum could have been suggested.
During the course of the debates we have endeavoured to give to the best of our ability the most complete reasons for our attitude concerning complete publicity, and we have consistently endeavoured to understand why certain of the delegations have failed to agree to a full measure of publicity. We have repeatedly asked for explanations and, speaking for myself, and I believe for a considerable number of our members, I cannot find that any adequate attempt has been made to convince us of this necessity; indeed, as I stated yesterday, I should be very reluctant to have to explain to my Government the reason for this attitude on the part of some of the delegations. I should have frankly to say that I do not know.
[Page 323]I realise that we are representatives of our Governments and that we are all bound by more or less detailed instructions. I realise that we cannot hope here and now to change the opinions which have been expressed; indeed, I have nothing but gratitude for the loyalty and clarity with which the members have expressed their views. Nevertheless, I take this opportunity to urge upon all my colleagues to examine with their Governments in the most candid spirit this question of complete publicity, and to present to them the real conviction of a large number of members here present that a treaty providing for anything so far removed from complete publicity would not be a first step towards the achievement of peace, but a step which would arouse vain hopes and consequent disillusionment.
- Extract from minutes transmitted to the Department in Mr. Wilson’s despatch No. 673, Dec. 13, infra.↩