500.A15 a 1/460: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 20—1:40 p.m.]
111. Your No. 55, July 19, 4 p.m., points 2–3, states that we were to reserve the liberty, after agreement on total tonnage for cruisers, to construct within the agreed tonnage any type and number of vessels up to 10,000 tons with the right of placing thereon 8-inch guns or such armament as our requirements might call for.
This would constitute, and we feel it our duty to draw your attention to the fact, a more unbending attitude than was envisaged in the course of the conversations we had in Washington when it was determined that our rights should be upheld to the allocation in maximum size cruisers of 60 to 70 percent of our total cruiser tonnage. The statement under reference, further, runs counter to Admiral Jones’ declarations in the technical committee and to my own statements in the plenary session and to those of the other chief delegates, to the effect that we would be willing to examine the subject of the percentage of largest size cruisers if desired. We feel quite certain, should we at the present time flatly declare our right to allocate our entire tonnage to 10,000-ton vessels, that the British would claim that we had gone back on our previous promises in the matter and would be quick to use this as an excuse for wrecking the Conference. In the event of a rupture, we should be most careful not to furnish them with a pretext. My telegram No. 106, July 18, contained a suggestion concerning the smaller class of cruiser which had been elaborated by the naval advisers of our delegation. They are now in receipt of the Navy Department’s studies, transmitted in your telegram No. 56, of July 19,74 which show that our needs can be efficiently met by [Page 122] an 8,300-ton cruiser, and we therefore believe that it would be far more advisable not to depart from the attitude hitherto adopted of being willing to examine the possibility of a smaller category of cruiser, upon which 8-inch guns could be effectively mounted. Should the British then decline to entertain conversations on this basis our position would be a strong one.
A declaration of our insistence upon our power of allocating all the tonnage which we have available to 10,000-ton cruisers would be most unfortunate. Upon this point the entire delegation is agreed. We are equally agreed as to the essential necessity of avoiding any sacrifice whatever of primordial interests but we also wish to avoid the possibility of being blamed for declining to examine the suggestions which are reasonable.
The other matters discussed in your telegram No. 55, of July 19, are receiving careful attention and our comment thereon will be telegraphed to you shortly.
- Not printed.↩