Washington, April 2, 1928
I beg to refer to the Legation’s note of July 3, 19232, and previous correspondence regarding the conclusion of a new arbitration treaty between Switzerland and the United States, and to transmit herewith for the consideration of your Government and as a basis for negotiation a proposed draft of an arbitration treaty3, the provisions of which operate to extend the policy of arbitration enunciated in the convention signed at Washington, February 29, 19084, (which expired by limitation on December 23, 1918), and are identical in effect with the provisions of the arbitration treaty signed between the United States and France on February 6, 1928 [...] .
You will observe that Article I of the treaty with France5 does not appear in the draft submitted herewith. Its language was borrowed from the language of the Treaty for the Advancement of Peace signed in 1914, and some question having arisen as to whether the new treaty affected the status of the Treaty of 1914, the matter has been resolved in the case of France by an exchange of notes recording the understanding of both Governments that the earlier conciliation treaty was in no way affected by the later arbitration treaty. In order to obviate further questions of this nature, however, it seemed desirable to avoid the incorporation in other arbitration treaties of any portion of the language of the earlier conciliation treaties, where such treaties exist, and in such cases I have therefore proposed the elimination of Article I of the French treaty and amended Article II (which is Article I of the draft transmitted herewith) by substituting for the words’’the above-mentioned Permanent International Commission“ the words’’the Permanent International Commission constituted pursuant to“ the applicable treaty of conciliation. As no such conciliation treaty is yet in force between Switzerland and the United States, this latter formula is not applicable at this time. I have therefore made no mention in Article I of any Permanent International Commission referring instead to ”an appropriate commission of conciliation“. The negotiation and conclusion of an arbitration treaty can thus proceed independently of negotiations with respect to a conciliation treaty.
The Government of the United States would be pleased, however, if a conciliation treaty could come into force between Switzerland and the United States, and I take this opportunity to suggest that your Government might care to consider again the ratification of the so-called Bryan treaty which was signed by the two Governments on February 13, 19146. While the Senate of the United States took favorable action on August 13, 1914, it does not appear that Switzerland has ever ratified that instrument.
I feel that by adopting a treaty such as that suggested herein and by bringing into force the treaty signed February 13, 1914, we shall not only promote the friendly relations between the Peoples of our two countries, but also advance materially the cause of arbitration and the pacific settlement of international disputes. If your Government concurs in my views and is prepared to ratify the treaty signed February 13, 1914, and to negotiate an arbitration treaty along the lines of the draft transmitted herewith, I shall be glad to enter at once upon such discussions as may be necessary.
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