611.5131/1001: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Straus) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 14—6:10 p.m.]
753. Your 419, October 13, 2 p.m., arrived in badly garbled condition. As soon as it was decoded I assembled Marriner, Keena, MacLean, Tuck, Reagan33 and Williamson to discuss the matter.
All comment which we make must be conditioned on the fact that a new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laval, is just taking over and that there has been no opportunity to find out his present views on debts, commercial policy, or treaty negotiation. It must likewise be borne in mind that the whole stability and life of the present Government has been endangered by the recent changes.
It is my belief that if the French Government merely wishes to gain the credit in Parliament and the press for initiation of trade negotiations with us or for forcing us into them in order to meet continuing wave of economic inactivity, such negotiation would not be worth while at present and greater concessions would be forthcoming later. In short our opinion has in no respect changed from previous recommendations, that it would be advantageous to keep the French on the anxious seat. If on the other hand France would make a definite offer of what she would do in return for a list of specific concessions on our part such as you have listed, I feel that the opportunity to place them on record should not be overlooked, in preparation for more comprehensive negotiations. Briefly, we should not waste our best ammunition at this time on any partial agreements.
I thoroughly agree that the double taxation treaty should not be allowed to become an element in this negotiation. It must be understood that we would only begin conversations on the understanding that it is to be ratified at the earliest possible moment in accordance [Page 182] with their assurance and that nothing could be concluded until this had been done.
- J. Theodore Marriner, Counselor of Embassy; Leo J. Keena, Consul General; Henry C. MacLean, Commercial Attaché; S. Pinkney Tuck, First Secretary of Embassy; Daniel J. Reagan, Assistant Commercial Attaché.↩