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760F62/1238G
President
Roosevelt to the Ambassador in Italy (Phillips)
[Telegram]
WASHINGTON, September 27, 1938—3 p.m.
Please convey the following personal and
confidential message to Signor Mussolini:
"In view of the tense situation which
has arisen in the relations between Germany and Czechoslovakia, I addressed an
earnest plea yesterday to the Head of the Government of each of those
countries, as well as to the Prime Ministers of Great Britain and France, to
continue their efforts to settle their difficulties by negotiation or other
peaceable means rather than by resort to force, with its attendant risk of
plunging Europe into a general war. Such a conflict would mean the destruction
of millions of men, women, and children in Europe, and would threaten the
social structure as we know it today.
"While this country has followed a
determined policy of refraining from political entanglements, we have always
endeavored to further the settlement of international disputes by pacific
methods, and we have maintained that war cannot bring about solutions for the
future of mankind. I feel sure that you will agree with me as to the
destructive and tragic effects of a war in Europe, and I therefore ask whether
you would not extend your help in the continuation of the efforts to arrive at
an agreement of the questions at issue by negotiation or by other pacific means
rather than by resort to force.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT,”
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