Office of the Historian

840.48 Refugees/315: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy)

Washington, June 2, 1938—7 p.m.

249. Your 472, June 1, 7 p.m. You may inform the Foreign Office that the French Government has agreed to make the necessary arrangements for the organization of the meeting including the retention of the requisite personnel for the secretariat.10 The French representative acting for the host country will preside at the opening session. We have not yet been informed at what building in Evian the meeting will be held, but the Foreign Office can doubtless obtain that information from Paris.

We hope to communicate in the near future to the participating governments the proposed agenda which will indicate the scope of the work and the contemplated procedure.

Up to the present the following governments have indicated that they will send representatives to Evian: Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela. No definite decision has been received as yet from Australia, Canada, Denmark and New Zealand.11 In this latter connection we should appreciate a reply as soon as possible to our 234, May 24, 7 p.m.12

Hull
  1. Telegram No. 857, June. 1, 1 p.m., from the Ambassador in France; not printed.↩
  2. Affirmative replies from Australia and New Zealand, with respect to the information requested in the last paragraph of the Department’s circular telegram of May 7, p. 743, were subsequently conveyed to the Department through the British Foreign Office, which also transmitted the information that the Union of South Africa would send an observer.↩
  3. Not printed.↩