811.512351 Double/126: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Edge) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 24—11:45 a.m.]
250. Refer last paragraph my 248, April 22, 5 p.m.89 Monsieur Tardieu has kept his promise to me to dispose of the 6-year double [Page 268] taxation controversy and last night sent to the Embassy the following note accepting in its entirety our proposal of December 18 last which carried out exactly the Department’s telegraphic instruction number 485, October 9, 2 p.m., 1931:
“I have the honor to report that following our recent conversation the Government of the Republic is disposed to conclude with the Government of the United States the convention whose bases were established in 1930 by experts of the two countries with a view to settling certain questions relative to double taxation.
The text adopted will be the one which you communicated to my department December 18, 1931, the text which did not include article 10 of the former drafts.
Upon my return to Paris we will fix the date on which I can sign this convention with you.”
A copy of my note, number 1463 of December 18, 1931, to the Foreign Office together with a copy of the text which was submitted with it to the Foreign Office will be found as enclosures to my despatch number 2112, December 28, 1931. In that text which is the one the French Government now approves, you will observe that both the American and French drafts of the old article 10 have been eliminated and that the new article 10 is merely the old American draft of article 11 regarding the date the agreement is to become effective, et cetera.
As indicated in Monsieur Tardieu’s note, he is prepared to sign the treaty early this week. As I have already been given the necessary full powers I of course will also sign, being of the very positive opinion that no time should be lost in completing the transaction.
I believe this matter should be kept strictly confidential until the treaty is actually signed.
The Department may be assured that quota negotiations will be pressed without delay.
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