500.A15A4 General Committee/627: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis) to the Secretary of State
735. 1. Simon, who returned to Geneva today, advised me of the decisions of the British Cabinet which were to the effect that they would oppose qualitative rearmament by Germany during the first [Page 250] stage and that the disarmament by the other powers would be effected only during the second stage.
2. Simon evidenced considerable feeling over Germany’s recent reply59 to the British and Italian Governments and stated that since this was made direct to them it placed the British Government in a difficult position and made it incumbent on it to meet the issues raised by the Germans. I agreed that Germany had raised a fundamental issue on which we should not give in but suggested that it would be advisable if possible not to try to force the Germans to surrender in a way that they might think humiliating because a negotiated agreement was better than an imposed one.
3. This afternoon we had a meeting with Simon and Boncour at which Simon reiterated the position of the British Government. I told them of my recent talks with Nadolny which had led me to feel that Germany is now inclined to be more conciliatory. Boncour indicated that Nadolny had maintained a much stiffer attitude in the conversation he had had with him last night reiterating the German demand for qualitative equality immediately.
4. Simon then produced a draft of a resolution which he had prepared with the view to serving as a basis for our discussions. It was Simon’s idea that if the three of us could reach an agreement as to the terms of the resolution we would endeavor to obtain Italian acquiescence and then informally discuss the matter with the Germans. If the Germans could be brought around this would assure practically unanimous acceptance of the resolution by the General Commission and furnish a new basis for carrying on the work. If the Germans refused Simon expressed the opinion that it would be necessary to consider whether we should not bring the resolution to a vote on Monday to show the Germans how the other states felt with respect to their claim for immediate rearmament.
5. Simon’s resolution which was in very tentative form was worked over later this afternoon by a drafting committee, Cadogan, Massigli, Wilson and Dulles, and during the drafting difficulties arose with the French as is so often the case when on this intricate subject of disarmament you attempt to commit them to any form of words. The draft which was worked out and which I quote below is unsatisfactory in certain respects and we so stated. It is only a first effort to find a basis of agreement and we made it plain we are in no sense committed by it. In its present form it would in my opinion be entirely unacceptable to the Germans. I believe that we can find a more conciliatory form in which to present the essentials on which we are all [Page 251] agreed, namely, no German qualitative rearmament during the initial stage of the convention and thereafter substantial disarmament by others.
6. The draft follows:
“The Bureau recommends the General Commission to adopt on re-assembling a resolution to the following effect: that agreement on the general lines of the draft convention is most likely to be reached if the convention is so framed as to include inter alia the following features:
- (1)
- A convention of 8 years’ duration the provisions of which shall be carried out in two stages which should in principle be of equal duration.
- (2)
- During the first stage the transformation of Continental armies contemplated in the draft convention shall proceed in accordance with a general plan. During the same stage there shall be no construction or acquisition of those types of arms the suppression of which is provided in the convention.
- (3)
- The measures indicated above as well as the others which are to be taken during the first or second stage shall be subject to an effective system of supervision which the convention shall provide and which shall operate as from the coming into force of the convention.
- (4)
- During the second stage the reduction of war material shall be carried out in accordance with the program precisely set forth in the convention.
- (5)
- As regards those powers whose armaments are restricted by the treaties of peace there shall be no qualitative rearmament during the first stage. During a second stage those powers shall be entitled to such arms as are not generally renounced, in quantities to be negotiated and agreed.”
7. In paragraph 4 the French insisted upon the necessity of inserting after “second stage” the words “and following upon the loyal execution of the measures contemplated for the first stage”. We felt that this would make German acceptance doubly difficult and suggested as a possible alternative that at some point in the resolution presumably at the end there should be inserted some general provision to the effect that the carrying out of the respective measures to be provided for in the convention should be subject to the mutual and loyal compliance with its provisions.
8. The great difficulty lies in the vagueness of paragraph 4 since the actual measures of disarmament to be taken by the heavily armed powers are still left indefinite and under the conditions there is little likelihood of Germany agreeing to a transition period with no qualitative equality during that period. Our feeling is that our position in refusing German qualitative rearmament during the first stage will be stronger and more tenable if there is in the resolution itself a more definite commitment as to disarmament during the second stage.
[Page 252]9. Boncour left for Paris tonight for a Cabinet meeting, meanwhile the British and ourselves shall carry on the discussion with the Germans and Italians.