500.A15A4/1221: Telegram
The Acting Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 1—12:40 p.m.]
293. Department’s 141, June 20, 11 p.m.,14 reference President’s statements on effectives proposal.
We have had several questions as to whether the President’s [garbled group] calculation to armies means that it is desired to eliminate German naval effectives from the calculations. In this case it will be necessary not only materially to modify the draft speech15 which you approved in your 127, June 10, 3 p.m.,16 but also the quantitative chart accompanying that speech would have to be entirely done over.
As the figures on this basis have been widely circulated and discussed among the delegations at Geneva it is urgent that we have your instructions as to whether the speech should be redrafted with these basic changes. The principle result of such a change would of course be to give Great Britain and the United States much larger minus signs in the defense contingent and slightly to lower the police components of all other countries with a slight increase in the cuts demanded.