the forthcoming negotiations should rest. In this respect, the Presi dent re-affirmed, as a fundamental policy of the American Government, its support of measures for the further limitation of armament in the interest of peace and international understanding. It was with a view to making possible a definite step for the further limitation of armaments and to complete the work begun at the Washington Conference that the President proposed the present Conference. The primary object of the Conference, the removal of the danger incident to the competitive building of vessels of war not limited by the Washington Treaty will, it is believed, best be achieved by the extension of the principles and of the ratios of the Washington Treaty as between Great Britain, Japan and the United States. As the President of the United States assumed the initiative in calling the Conference, it is considered that it would be entirely appropriate for you to submit to the Conference concrete proposals as to the tonnage allocations in the various categories of vessels which would be acceptable to the United States and of corresponding tonnages for Great Britain and Japan. Such a statement is therefore submitted herewith, together with an introductory memorandum outlining the reasons which prompt this Government to make the proposals in question.40 The various problems which may arise for discussion at Geneva have been fully considered in your conferences with the President and with me, and the written and oral instructions which you have heretofore received will be supplemented from time to time by telegraphic instructions in reply to any specific questions which you may present to the Department. To supplement your written and oral instructions, I desire to impress upon you that in the opinion of this Government, the possibilities of success of the Conference will be greatly enhanced if the deliberations of the Conference are restricted to the immediate problem before it, namely, the extension of the principles and ratios of the Washington Treaty to auxiliary vessels. It would be unwise for the Conference to take under advisement any modification of the Washington Treaty, since two of the Powers party to this Treaty are not represented at Geneva. Further, any discussion of the Washington Treaty may properly be postponed pending the Conference to be held in 1931, pursuant to the terms of that Treaty, since it is only after November 1931, that the questions of the future building programs of the five Powers will be presented. I would consider it particularly undesirable for the Conference to take up the question of naval bases, regulated by Article XIX of the Washington Treaty, or to link this question with that of the further limitation of naval vessels. 40 Not printed; Mr. Gibson's statement outlining the American proposal is printed in S. Doc. 55, 70th Cong., 1st sess., p. 24 Subject to the foregoing, I desire to leave to your discretion the method and the manner in which you will support the principles and the policies of this Government with respect to the further limitation of naval armament as set forth in this instruction and in the memorandum and detailed proposals submitted herewith. It is impossible to give you at this time detailed instructions as to the various matters which may arise during the Conference. It will be necessary for you to deal with such matters as they are presented, seeking the Department's instructions on specific points if and when such a course is desirable and possible. You are fully conversant with the President's views and subject to these instructions and such further instructions as may be sent you from time to time, I shall depend upon you to conduct the negotiations and take such decisions as may be necessary. I am [etc.] 500.A15 a 1/266: Telegram FRANK B. KELLOGG The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) 46. The Department today was notified through a note from the British Embassy in Washington and in separate notes from the Irish Free State Legation and the Canadian Legation," that the following delegates would attend the forthcoming Conference on the Limitation of Naval Armaments at Geneva: Great Britain: The Rt. Hon. W. C. Bridgeman, M. P., First Lord of the Admiralty, Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Vice Admiral Sir F. L. Field, K. C. B., K. C. M. G., Ďeputy Chief of the Naval Staff. Australia: The Rt. Hon. Sir J. Cook, G. C. M. G., High Commissioner in London. New Zealand: Sir J. Parr, K. C. M. G., High Commissioner in London. Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe of Scapa, G. C. B., O. M., G. C. V. O. India: The Rt. Hon. W. C. Bridgeman. South Africa: Mr. J. S. Smit, High Commissioner in London. Mr. C. Pienaar, Trade Commissioner in Europe. Irish Free State: The Hon. Desmond FitzGerald, Minister for External Affairs. Hon. John Costello, Attorney General. "None printed. Canada: The Hon. Ernest Lapointe, Minister of Justice. Dr. W. A. Riddell, Canadian Advisory Officer at Geneva who will serve as the Canadian delegate pending the arrival of Mr. Lapointe in Geneva at the end of June. KELLOGG 500.A15 a 1/291: Telegram The Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Secretary of State GENEVA, June 20, 1927-11 a. m. 11. Following is text of press release described last paragraph my 9, June 19, 2 p. m.2 If Department desires, this may be given out at the same time as text opening statement and American proposal. "If the plan outlined in the American proposal were adopted on the basis of 300,000 tons of the cruiser class for the United States and the British Empire and 180,000 tons for Japan, and 250,000 in the destroyer class for the United States and the British Empire and 150,000 tons for Japan, the following is an approximate estimate of the tonnage that would have to be scrapped provided existing programs of construction were brought to completion: The United States would have to scrap immediately about 60,000 tons of auxiliary combatant surface vessels and 80,000 additional tons of such vessels upon the completion of the present building program; the British Empire would have to scrap about 60,000 tons of auxiliary combatant surface vessels upon completion of the present building program; Japan would have to scrap about 40,000 tons of auxiliary combatant surface vessels upon the completion of her present building program. If the plan outlined in the American proposal were adopted on the basis of 90,000 tons of submarines for the United States and the British Empire and 54,000 tons of submarines for Japan, no scrapping of submarines would be necessary until present building programs are brought to completion. Most of all vessels to be scrapped under the American plan are now or soon will be obsolete. This plan stops competitive building which is the chief objective of this Conference, avoids scrapping of new construction and permits moderate replacement and building programs within clearly defined limits. If a lower limit of total tonnage of the cruiser, destroyer and submarine classes were agreed to, the scrapping programs would be correspondingly increased and the possible building programs would be curtailed." Navy Department information. GIBSON 42 2 Not printed. 500.A15 a 1/293: Telegram The Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Secretary 12. For the President. of State GENEVA, June 20, 1927-5 p. m. "In my capacity as secretary general of the Conference for the Limitation of Naval Armament, I am requested by the delegates to transmit the following message to you: 'Profoundly and cordially appreciating the humane and wise initiative of the President of the United States in convening the present Conference with a view to the further reduction of the burden and danger of naval armainents, the delegates assembled desire to tender to him this expression of their highest respect and of their strong hopes of a most satisfactory result.' (Signed) Wilson." GIBSON 500.A15 a 1/295: Telegram The Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Secretary of State GENEVA, June 20, 1927-8 p. m. 15. Conference opened this afternoon at 3 o'clock with brief statement by me to the effect that as chairman of the delegation of the power which had suggested the holding of the Conference, I was calling the meeting to order for the purpose of organization. I was thereupon nominated by Bridgeman and seconded by Saito as president of the Conference. Hugh Wilson named secretary general and the secretaries of the respective delegations named. Thereupon rules of procedure were adopted; and the Conference on my motion decided to form an executive committee to be composed of the chief delegates of the three powers with appropriate assistants to determine on further methods of procedure, and credentials committee was named to examine full powers. Executive committee meets Tuesday at 11 a. m. and credentials committee at 3 p. m. Viscount Saito thereupon proposed that the delegates send a message to President Coolidge and read text quoted in my 12, June 20, 5 p. m. Bridgeman cordially supported Saito's proposal. Thereupon I made statement quoted in my 2, June 16, 11 p. m., and 3, June 17. noon," and circulated proposals in form communicated in my 6, June "Neither printed; the statement is printed in S. Doc. 55, 70th Cong., 1st sess.. p. 24. 25834642—vol. I 18, 11 a. m., and 9, June 19, 3 [2] p. m." Bridgeman followed with statement quoted in my 13, June 20, 6 p. m., and Saito with statement quoted in my 14, June 20, 7 p. m.45 First plenary session thereupon adjourned; no definite date was fixed for next public meeting, it having been previously agreed between Bridgeman, Saito and myself that date of meeting would be fixed as soon as executive committee considered that we were prepared for further public discussion. After meeting, Admiral Jones and I had conference with the press and gave out press release quoted in my 11, June 20, 11 a. m. GIBSON 500.A15 a 1/300: Telegram The Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Secretary of State GENEVA, June 21, 1927-5 p. m. 16. At the first meeting of the executive committee held at 11 a. m. on June 21st, the committee adopted the following resolution: "With a view to the proper consideration of the proposals submitted by the Governments of the United States, of the British Empire and of Japan on June 20th, it is suggested that a technical committee be formed to exchange agreed statistics of the present cruiser, destroyer, and submarine tonnage of each of the three powers and of the designed tonnage of ships of these classes comprised in programs now authorized and appropriated for, and any other information tending to clarify the proposals of the three Governments. In this manner the Conference will be in position to start its deliberations on an agreed basis of fact." 500.A15 a 1/313: Telegram GIBSON The Chairman of the American Delegation (Gibson) to the Secretary of State [Paraphrase] GENEVA, June 22, 1927-5 p. m. 22. Dulles and I visited Ishii and Saito this morning with a view to learning what the Japanese thought of the British proposals 46 relative to the Washington Naval Treaty. My hope was that they would share the American view that the present Conference should not take up these questions; but Ishii said that while they were limited by their instructions to a consideration of the extension to "Neither printed; see S. Doc. 55, 70th Cong., 1st sess., p. 185. 45 Neither printed; see S. Doc. 55, 70th Cong., 1st sess., pp. 28 and 32. 46 See S. Doc. 55, 70th Cong., 1st sess., pp. 28, 30. |
