factories. The quarterly collection and publication of statistics as provided for in this Article, however, might involve an unnecessary expense that would not be justified by the object sought to be attained. It is believed that annual or semi-annual publication of these statistics would be adequate.

Article 8

The High Contracting Parties, in all cases covered by Category III, undertake to publish within two months after the close of each quarter a return for that quarter, giving the information detailed below for each vessel of war constructed, in course of construction or to be constructed within their territorial jurisdiction on behalf of the State:

(a) The date of the signing of the contract for the construction of the vessel, and the following data:

Standard displacement in tons and metric tons;

The principal dimensions, namely: length at water-line, extreme beam at or below water-line, mean draft at standard displacement;

(b) The date of laying the keel and the following data:
Standard displacement in tons and metric tons;

The principal dimensions, namely; length at water-line, extreme beam at or below water-line, mean draft at standard displacement.

This Article is acceptable.

Article 9

The articles covered by Category V shall only be subject to such publicity as may be prescribed by the national legislation.

This Article would appear to be acceptable.

General Provisions

Article 10

The provisions of the present Convention are completed by those of Annex which have the same value and shall enter into force at the same time as the Convention itself.

The Annex to which this Article refers not being available it is impossible to make any comment thereon.

Article 11

The High Contracting Parties undertake to conclude no purchase contract for the supply of articles covered by Categories I, II and III in a State which is not a Contracting Party to the present Convention.

The apparent object of this Article is to force all countries to subscribe to the convention. It is believed that its inclusion in the con

* This Annex has not yet been examined by the Committee of Enquiry. [Footnote in original draft convention.]

vention would operate as a strong deterrent to ratification on the part of many Governments which would desire to preserve their liberty of action in regard to the purchase of war materials.

Article 12

In time of war the application of the present Convention shall be suspended as regards belligerents until the restoration of peace. This Article is acceptable.

Article 13

The present Convention shall not be deemed to affect any rights and obligations which may arise out of the provisions either of the Covenant of the League of Nations, or of the Treaties of Peace signed in 1919 and 1920 at Versailles, Neuilly, St. Germain and Trianon, or of the Treaty limiting Naval Armaments signed at Washington on February 6th, 1922, or of any other treaty, convention, agreement or engagement.

It is believed that phraseology similar to that of Article 34 of the Arms Traffic Convention would be preferable in place of this Article.

Article 14

The High Contracting Parties will use their best endeavours to secure the accession to the present Convention of other States.

Each accession will be notified to the Government of the French Republic, and by the latter to all the signatory or acceding States. The instruments of accession shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic.

Article 15

The present Convention may be denounced by any High Contracting Party thereto after the expiration of four years from the date when it came into force in respect of that Party. Denunciation shall be effected by notification in writing addressed to the Government of the French Republic, which will forthwith transmit copies of such notification to the other Contracting Parties, informing them of the date on which it was received.

A denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of the receipt of the notification thereof by the Government of the French Republic, and shall operate only in respect of the notifying States.

Should the Convention be denounced by one of the Powers whose ratification is a condition of its entry into force, any other High Contracting Party may also, within a period of one year from the date of such denunciation, denounce the Convention without waiting for the expiration of the period of four years mentioned above, and may require that its denunciation shall take effect at the same date as the first-mentioned denunciation.

Article 16

The High Contracting Parties agree that, at the conclusion of a period of three years from the coming into force of the present Con

vention under the terms of Article 18, this Convention shall be subject to revision upon the request of one-third of the said High Contracting Parties, which request shall be addressed to the Government of the French Republic.

Article 17

The present Convention, of which the French and English texts are both authentic, is subject to ratification. It shall bear to-day's date.

Each power shall address its ratification to the Government of the French Republic, which will at once notify the deposit of such ratification to each of the other signatory Powers.

The instruments of ratification will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic.

Article 18

A first procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications shall be drawn up by the Government of the French Republic as soon as the present Convention shall have been ratified by the following Powers.

The Convention shall come into force four months after the date of the notification of this procès-verbal by the Government of the French Republic to all signatory Powers.

Subsequently, the Convention will come into force in respect of each High Contracting Party four months after the date on which its ratification or accession shall have been notified by the Government of the French Republic to all signatory or acceding States.

The above Articles are unobjectionable.

[Enclosure 2]

Memorandum on the Categories and Statistics of the Proposed Convention

1. The categories appearing in the Convention for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War, signed at Geneva on June 17, 1925, should be taken without change as a basis for the categories to appear in the proposed Convention on the Manufacture of Arms, for the following reasons:

a. The proposed Convention is supplementary to the Arms Traffic Convention.

b. No reason exists for any distinction in regard to publicity of statistics for export of arms, etc., and for the manufacture of arms, etc. c. The Arms Traffic Convention lays the basis for coupling private and Governmental production.

2. While it is realized that certain items appearing in the categories as laid down in the Arms Traffic Convention can serve no useful military purpose and in consequence such items might well be omitted, the danger involved in tampering with the categories as they now exist on account of the possibility of including additional items, is such that any attempt to alter or amend these categories should be opposed on the grounds indicated above.

3. As to the type of statistics to be provided for in the proposed Convention on the Manufacture of Arms, it is believed that the statistics required should be, in general, in a form corresponding to the type adopted in the Annex to the Arms Traffic Convention. Such statistics should, in general, be limited to totals and any effort to include the names of firms, either as producers or as purchasers, should be opposed as involving a danger of unfair competition and further as being an unwarranted interference with the industry concerned.

4. As regard the periods of time to be covered by the statistics in question, it is believed that publication at one year intervals is sufficient to serve the purpose of the proposed Convention. While an effort may be made to provide for publication of statistics in conformity with the provisions of the Arms Traffic Convention in regard to export, that is, publications within two months of the end of each quarter, it is believed that any publication at intervals of less than six months might involve so much labor and expense as to be prohibitive.

5. On the other hand, the Bureau of the Census is undoubtedly in a position to collect and publish statistics with as great efficiency as the statistical office of any other government. Therefore, while too frequent collection of statistics should be opposed as unnecessary and uneconomical, argument [agreement?] should be given if there is unanimous insistence on quarterly publication by the other govern

ments.

6. Every effort should be made to restrict the required statistics to those of the production of combined articles. An effort to collect statistics of the production of component parts of many of the articles listed in the categories of the Arms Traffic Convention would entail an excessive amount of labor. If the inclusion of component parts is insisted upon, an effort should be made to enumerate such parts, and to include in this enumeration only the most important parts, essential to the use of the completed article for military purposes. For example, regarding fire control equipment, it might with justice be pointed out that statistics of the production of lenses suitable therefor might be sufficient, without requiring statistics of the other component parts.

[Enclosure 3]

Memorandum on Methods of Supplying Needs for Military Equipment

1. The position of the United States in regard to dependence upon private manufacture for the supply of its wartime needs in arms, ammunition, and implements of war is different from that of any other great Power. The United States is the only great nation which does not

maintain Government arsenals in time of peace for the supply of its wartime needs in arms, ammunition and implements of war. While the United States maintains six so-called arsenals, these plants are in reality little more than experimental laboratories. Under the most favorable conditions they can be expanded to an extent which will furnish only a small percentage of our wartime requirements in arms, ammunition, and implements of war. During the World War, Government arsenals as such furnished less than 9% of our munitions requirements. Over 91% of our munitions requirements were furnished by private manufacturers, either on a lowest bidder or cost plus basis.

2. There does not exist in the United States either the large Government arsenals such as are maintained by England, France, Japan, Italy, Czecho-Slovakia, and Spain, or the subsidized or quasi-Government plants such as Krupp, Creusot, Armstrong, Vickers-Maxim, Schneider, Mitsuibishi, Samara, Skoda, etc. Such relatively small private munitions plants as we have owe their peacetime existence in the main to peacetime trade which for various reasons is comparatively small. It takes immeasurably longer to create a new industry in time of war than to expand an industry already in existence. This time element is influenced not so much by the time required to construct the plant as by the time necessary to procure and train the skilled personnel required in the highly technical operations of munitions production.

3. The above statement indicates clearly the necessity for coupling private and Governmental production in any convention whose purpose may be to exercise some measure of control upon the manufacture of arms, ammunition, and implements of war. Measures of restriction if applied solely to private plants would cripple the United States by affecting more than 90% of its source of supply. Such measures would affect other great nations relatively to a very much less degree.

4. The continuance of our present system of relying upon the private munitions industry for meeting war requirements is desirable for the following reasons:

8

Such a system is comparatively inexpensive.

(b) Under such a system quantity production can be obtained with a reasonable degree of promptness in the event of an emergency. (c) Such industries are susceptible of prompt and satisfactory conversion to meet new conditions.

(d) The private industries concerned can be engaged upon a variety of development and production within the same plant according to demands.

(e) Under such a system the existence of reserves of material and trained technical personnel will be insured at least to a certain degree.