500.A15a3/1373
Memorandum by the Secretary of State78
I am much gratified at the progress which has been made and the prospect of a limitation upon both France and Italy in the manner proposed. There is no doubt that such an arrangement would be a very substantial contribution to the achievement of the London Treaty. But I think that great care and study must be given to the procedure by which this arrangement is effectuated. While my views are necessarily tentative until we have the full details of the proposed arrangement, my first impression is that it will be wiser as well as easier and equally satisfactory if the arrangement is placed in the form of joint declarations by France and Italy rather than by an attempt to include them in the Five Power Treaty. This might make possible the acceptance of France’s battleship building program by a declaration of no objection on the part of the Washington Treaty Powers, rather than by a formal amendment of that Treaty. Any other course might entail serious delays and risks in ratification.
- Handed to the British Ambassador by the Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs, February 26, 1931.↩