Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-07
REQUEST FOR ALL
PACT FILES DENIED
Showing Confidential Notes
Held Obstacle to Future
Negotiations.
Rv the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The administration will not comply
with Senator Johnson's request that all
documents having. to do with the Lon
don naval treaty be delivered to the
Senate foreign relations committee.
To produce these papers would, in the
opinion of President Hoover, be contrary
to the public interest and materially
impair the possibility of future success
full negotiations between this Govern
ment and other nations"
Making this known, Secretary Slim
son at the same time said mo con-
cealed understandings" were involved in
the treaty and no commitments what
ever had been entered into except as
they appear in the language OF the. pact
itself.
He described as nonsense" any i'm
plication that these confidential PAPERS
are being kept confidential in order to
cover up some secret understanding or
some mistake or indiscretion of the
American delegates"
Johnson Wants Full Data.
Senator johnson, who is vigorously
opposing the ratification of the arms
State Department, through Chairman
Borah of the foreign relations commit
tee, for "all letters, papers, documents,
kilograms, dispatches and communica-
tons of every sort leading up to or re-
lating to the London Conference and
London treaty"
Stimsons delivered his reply to Borah
in person late yesterday and submitted
as well a confidential memorandum
sal. -. CO
possible the questions asked by Johnson.
In his letter of refusal the State ~
partment head went back to the very
beginning of the Republic to cite pre-
cedent for declining to produce the
documents. From a message sent to The
House of Representatives by George
washington, in response to a request
similar to that of Johnson, he quoted
as follows:
THE nature of foreign negotiations
requires caution and their success must
often depend on secrecy; and even when
brought to a conclusion a full disclosure
of all the measures, demands or even
tual concession which may have been
proposed or contemplated would be ex-
tremely impolitic; for this might have
a perniciouS influence on future nego-
tiations or produce immediate incon-
veniences, perhaps danger and mis-
chief, in relation TO other powers"
Common to All Negotiations.
Stimson said the johnson request
called for 1.-The production and pos
sible publication of informal and con-
fidential conversations communications
and tentative suggestions of a kind
which are common to almost every
negotiation and without which such
negotiations cannot successfully be car
ried on"
After reminding the committee that
both he and SECRETARY Adams had tes-
titled before it and that two of its
members were delegates to the arms
conference, familiar with every phase
of the negotiations, Stimson said the
question whether this treaty is or is
not in the interest of the United States
and should or should not be ratified
by the Senate must in the last event
be determined from the language of the
document itself and not from eXtraneous
matter"
Pending a study of the communica-
ton, johnson would not comment.
Borah, too was silent on the attitude
of the administration, but announced
he would begin on Monday series of
daily committee meetings, which would
continue until a vote on the treaty had
been taken.