71-1484 DOWNING, Marvin Lee, 1937- HÜGH R. WILSON AND AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1927-1937. The University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., 1970 History, modern University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by Marvin Lee Downing 1971 :THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED i THE IMTVERSITY OP OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE HUGH R. WILSON AND AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1927-1937 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY MARVIN LEE DOWNING Norman, Oklahoma 1970 HUGH R. WILSON AND AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1927-1937 APPROVED BY DISSER^TION COMMITTEE PREFACE At the beginning of the twentieth century the State Department was a small informal organization; in I908 the Departmental staff con­ sisted of sli^tly over I50 people. The smallness of numbers, made it possible for the employees to know each other professionally and socially; friendships were established which continued even after individuals left the government service. Indeed, the Department had a remote and tradi­ tional atmosphere of leisure at the turn of the century. It lost that quality as the size and complexity of organization increased and the problems under consideration grew in magnitude and importance. In 1924, the United States government upgraded its Foreign Service for meeting greater demands by providing for the selection and promotion of candi­ dates and personnel solely on the basis of merit. This evolution of both the State Department and the Foreign Service continued into the 1930's and beyond. Hugh Robert Wilson witnessed those changes between I9II and 1940. B o m into wealth, he tired of the daily routine of everyday busi­ ness life and decided to enter the Foreign Service to mix travel, diplo­ macy, and study; he accepted his first assignments in Latin America, where he served in Argentina and Guatemala. After tenure in Europe during World War I, he decided to make a career of government work. Subsequently, he progressed through the diplomatic ranks in posts in Europe, Japan, and Washington as the Chief of the Division of Current Information and the Chief of the Personnel Section. iii iv In 1927; he became the American Minister to Switzerland, a posi­ tion which he held for ten years. He spent most of that time handling American contacts with the League of Nations and League-related activi­ ties. Throughout the 1920's the United States maintained a nebulous and tenuous association with the League. Invariably encumbered by orders from Washington, as his successors had been, Wilson cooperated with the international organization in a limited manner whether the topic was arms control, the Manchurian crisis, the Italian-Ethiopian incident, or the disarmament problem. The issues primarily concerned Europe, so the United States did not utilize its potentially great dip­ lomatic influence. For several years Wilson held various ranks at the conferences, but at the major disarmament meetings his rank was usually below that of his regular colleagues in Geneva. Finally, he attained an equal status only to have the League decline in international prestige within a short time. Frustrated that his contribution in Switzerland was minimal, he began searching for another assignment in 1937, in the hope of securing a major field post before retirement. Unable to find one.immediately, he served briefly as an Assistant Secretary of State. Within six months the ambassador to Berlin resigned, and Wilson succeeded him, anticipat­ ing that this ambassadorship would be the peak of his career. Once again, circumstances thwarted his ambition for he was soon called home as a protest of Nazi persecution of the Jews. He was thus in the awk­ ward position of being unable to serve in Germany, to resign lest his action embarrass the administration, or to be assigned to the field. V At the beginning of wax in Europe, he resigned the ambassadorship only to find that all the major assignments were competently filled. For more than a year he did odd jobs around the Department, until, feeling that he was making no special contribution, he resigned. Despite his frustration, he indicated a willingness to return to the State Depart­ ment if it really needed him. The author originally undertook this study to examine the ca­ reer and contributions of Hugh Wilson to American diplomacy between I9II and 19^0 . Gradually it became clear that the focus would be on the years 1927 to 19^0 because Wilson's work was more significant then and because the period is better documented, especially since his personal papers were destroyed in the Tokyo earthquake and fire of 1923 • At the same time, the investigation resolved largely into one of America's awkward relationships to the League which was largely dictated by the prevalent isolationist emphasis in the United States. As such, Wil­ son's ministerial activities served as the unifying thread in the account. Consequently, the purpose of this dissertation is to show that a wealthy young man entered the Foreign Service as a temporary diversion from business life, chose to make a career of the profes­ sion, and, while making little or no contribution to policy-making, did his job well as the representative of a potentially influential nation which largely based its policy on isolation from problems which directly or indirectly affected it. vi In the course of research and "writing, the author has become indebted to a number of indi-viduals. He wishes to thank Dr. Russell D. Buhite, the dissertation director, for valuable comments and guid­ ance and the members of the examining committee: Drs. Donald Berthrong, Percy Buchanan, Rufus Hall, and David Levy. He acknowledges the most gracious cooperation of personnel at the Hoover Presidential Library, the Houghton Library at Harvard, the National Archives, and the Library of Congress. He extends a very special word of appreciation to his "wife Sandra Kay Mitchell Downing, and his friend and colleague. Dr. Charles Ogil"vie, for their encouragement. Finally, he recognizes the outstand­ ing work of Mrs. R. L. Brittain, who typed the final draft. TABLE OF COÏÏTEIÜTS Page PREFACE ................................................... iii Chapter I. PREPARATIONS FOR A POST ............................ 1 II. SWISS-AMERICAN RELATIONS AND THE INTROIUCTIONTO CONFERENCE DIPLOMACY............................. 30 III. PRELIMINARIES TO A DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE........... 57 IV. AN ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THE PRIVATE MANUFACTURE OF ARMS ......................................... 79 V. FURTHER PRELIMINARIES TO A GENERAL DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE ....................................... 97 VI. 1931, THE DESIGNATED YEAR OF PREPARATIONS FOR THE DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE ........................... 123 VII. THE GENERAL DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE AND BUREAU MEETINGS OF 1932 ........................... 1^4-9 VIII. DISARMAMENT AND THE EFFORTS TO CONCILIATE GERMANY 173 DC. THE PAR EASTERN CRISIS, 1931-1933 .................. 193 X. DISARMAMENT AND ETHIOPA............................ 221 XI. BERLIN AND WASHINGTON.............................. 24-2 XII. CONCLUSION........................................ 271 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................... 278 Vll HUGH R. WILSON AND AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH THE LEAGUE OP NATIONS, 1927-1937 CHAPTER I. PREPARATIONS FOR A POST H u ^ Robert Wilson was born in Evanston, Illinois, on January 29, 1885, to Hugh R. Wilson and Alice Tousey Wilson. Hugh Wilson, Sr., and his brother Milton were partners and co-founders of Wilson Brothers, wholesale manufacturers of men's clothing which provided both men with an upper-class income. Hugh, a Civil War veteran in an Illinois regiment of the Union Army, had four children, Oliver, Morris, % r a , and Hugh. The senior Wilson died in May, I9OI, and Mrs. Wilson passed a^ray in 3910, leaving their son Hugh part of a sizeable inheritance which allowed him to pursue whatever activity he wished. Hugh Wilson enjoyed the benefits of good educational opportuni­ ties = He attended the Hill School, a distinguished private preparatory school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1902. His schooling there contained the element of classical studies, since the institution awarded him a book for "excellence in Greek." Following his graduation in 1902, he enrolled at Yale where he was active in student government affairs and the school newspaper, being a member and, in I906, chairman of the editorial board of the Yale News. During his undergraduate days he also contributed articles to New York papers. In I905, his studies were temporarily interrupted by an attack of appendicitis, complicated by peritonitis, which was almost fatal and which left him prematurely bald. He recovered gradually, and the next year he received his A.B. degree. 1 2 Hugh had many interests which gave him a hroad background for his later diplomatic work. He kept abreast of world developments by general reading of biography, which he especially enjoyed, history, and govern­ ment. For relaxation throughout his life he enjoyed both mystery stories and humorous works, the latter being at least in part an outgrowth of his keen sense of humor. In the fine arts, he liked paintings, but he de­ voted more time and attention to music, although he played no musical instrument. He listened to most classical music, and he particularly liked opera which he attended frequently; at the same time, he loathed jazz and other m o d e m music