793.94 Commission/502: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 6—11 a.m.]
35. From Davis. My 31, November 1, 9 p.m.10
In a conversation with Drummond today Wilson and I told him we do not know the views of our Government on the subject but we personally questioned the advisability of injecting into the resolution of the Assembly on the Lytton report which will be called specifically to deal with the Sino-Japanese controversy such a highly difficult question as that of the reconstruction of China for the following reasons: First, it might be construed as a tacit admission of the Japanese contention that the lack of a stable and responsible government in China was the cause and justification for their action. Second, it is highly probable that a committee of interested powers such as was contemplated would not be able in any reasonable time at least to work out a plan for the reconstruction of China as it would require substantial financial assistance which could not now be secured. It is unwise to hold out hopes to the Chinese which may not be realized particularly if done in such a manner as to strengthen the Japanese thesis. Drummond’s idea of setting up a committee for the reconstruction of China was twofold. First, strengthen the Chinese Government and encourage the Chinese to uphold their rights. Second, the Japanese would naturally want to be on such a committee but would be told that they could only participate usefully after they had settled their controversy with China over Manchuria. He feels now however that the better procedure would be to persuade the Chinese delegation to request the Assembly that the League increase the technical assistance now being furnished by it to China rather than to set up a committee as originally contemplated and to suggest that the World Economic Conference11 would be a more logical place to take up such a question as a stimulus to recovery from the world economic depression.
Drummond is leaving for London this evening and will take up with Simon the advisability of the latter’s convoking the organizing committee of the World Economic Conference on his return to Geneva in order to propose that there should be Chinese members of the expert committees. This will enable the question of silver to be taken up with representatives of the greatest silver-consuming country participating.
- Not printed.↩
- For correspondence concerning the preliminaries of this Conference, see vol. i, pp. 808 ff.↩