765.84/2181: Telegram
The Ambassador in France ( Straus ) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 29—11:15 a.m.]
925. When I called by appointment on Laval yesterday afternoon to pay my respects on my return, I left him the full text of Mr. Hull’s note of October 26.91 He said that he had already read excerpts in the French press and was very well pleased with the statement of the American position. He said that in his opinion the war in Ethiopia would not last very long and he told me in confidence that he thought that a basis of settlement could be arrived at by granting to Italy some form of control over that portion of Ethiopia south of the eighth meridian. He likewise felt that it would be necessary to grant some small bit of territory in the north bordering Eritrea which should include Adowa. Concerning sanctions Laval said that they would be applied almost immediately at least by November 10 and that these would include naturally only economic measures, that there would be no blockade, no military sanctions and no shutting off of the Suez Canal.
He felt it exceedingly important to sustain the administration of Mussolini in order to prevent the spread of Communism and although [Page 676] he felt that the Government in Italy was still politically strong he thought that the financial difficulties there were very serious indeed.
[Here follows paragraph on French domestic politics.]