500.A15A4 Steering Committee/524: Telegram
The Minister in the Netherlands ( Emmet ) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 29—2 p.m.]
35. Department’s 20, April 27, 6 p.m., to American Legation Stockholm.28 In confidential interview with the Minister for Foreign Affairs today he said that the plan of Sandler for a convention including provisions for publicity on national defense expenditures and for control and publicity of arms manufacture and trade, et cetera, was still embryonic. No plan has yet been reduced to writing or agreed to by any government. The Netherlands Government in accordance with Dutch law gives publicity to national defense expenditures, approves in principle such a movement and will join if details are satisfactorily worked out. Discussions to be held next month at Geneva. Minister for Foreign Affairs states Switzerland would not join at present and that all details are still to be ironed out before agreement could be reduced to writing. Nothing yet initialed or even accepted. Minister for Foreign Affairs thought it would be months before any convention could be definitely agreed to and signed. He hoped other nations would be invited to join when the plan takes more definite shape.