Yienna, January 11, 1935. Pear Mr. Phillips. X wrote you at eons ...

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Pear Mr. Phillips.

Yienna, January 11, 1935.

X wrote you at eons iderable length, on January 8,

and I wish aow to supplement what I said very briefly.

X have, sine© I wrote you, seen the Foreign Minister

and he is entirely sat isfied with the result • of the Rome «onversatioas.

Ee is particularly gratififtifl that Paris and HOBS

took up the idea of the Bon-lnterferenoe pacts as he said that

this was his own suggestion at Gen«va some time ago. He rests

under no misapprehensions about everything being cleared up#

but he says that a real beginning has been made. Work on the

nsn-laterferenoe pacts is to go ahea4 rapidly and I gathered that

Vienna is to play ft very leading part and to take ft good deal of

initiative.

He feels now that the quftsttoB of Austrian sovereignty

and Integrity is definitely settled and he does not believe that

Germany -will take any more aggressive action against Austriabut

there is, of course, always the possibility of uaoxpeotfti eotion

froa Germany, as long as the situation 1ft not cleared up there.

He s8id that he had information that the Germans -would makft a

aon-imterferenoe ps«% if things were not made too difficult for

thftato

German diplomatic officers, evidently under the instructions

of the Wilhelmtrassc, seem to have given the impressioa

in various capitals that Germany will sign ft non-interferenee

pact with Aastrlft, but as the ^ilhelmstrasft* does no* 4efinltely

stake Germany's foreign policy, X am still ft little sceptical*

I think she will eventually enter into a aon-lnterferenftft agreement*

but will try to drive ft very hard bargain. There is a

vast difference still between the Mlhelrastrase© and the will of

the ^arty and while X think the Party will bo obliged to agree

to such • pact, there does not seem to be any evidence that it

has don© so yet.

X am sending the I»epsrtinent in my confidential despatch

Mo. 276, of January f, a report on ft speech which fiber vea Eokhardt,

the leader of the Agrarian Party in Hungary, made here a

fhe lienor a i>l©

HillicB Phillips,

Under Secretary of State,

Washington, D. C,

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fans days ago an his way to Geneva* ~t was a very inept and inopportune

apeeeh, for it we© on© of the strongest and most outspoken

attseks en tlie Little Entente which I have ever seen or

heart* Xt eeused the Austrian i3i«noeilor and the foreign Minister,

*sho v*re present a good deal of embarrassment* I had a

long talk with von Bckhardt afterwards and I feol pretty sure that

the epaooh '.re© not written by him and that he, of his mm initiative,

would not have said what he did* I think Goaraiboes and Eonya wished

to deliver a last blest directed principally against Yugoslavia

tm& Cseohoslovakit» as they knew that they would have to soft pedal

after Kern. Eckhardt himself is laueh broader minded and perhaps

more understsading that* say other prominent 3aa£ari«n, end I think

things will be better in Hungary when he la is the cabinet, but

this may not happen for acme rxmtha vet. Eekfeardt ie very kindly

disposed towards our Minister, Mr* JSowtgoBjery, and spoke of his in

undoubtedly geawis© tarsas of affeotioa end esteem* As Befehardt

will undoubtedly play a much greater part in the near future in

Itafrary, this is very i«ter©ftin^ and helpful*

One thing which una a vei"y interesting. ar.d significant in

Eckhardt 1 £ speech was that he hardly sad© any mention of Germany

end P&pmij, mbD sat xvsyd to m&0 I could feci vms veiy disappointed

end unhappy* Papen left yesterday for the Sear to oast his vote,

for as you krew, his wife coasts from the Gear «s»d he himself has

property there. Apropos of Papen, the man is really quite impossible*

You knov "sfeen he oaae here It was announced that he came

as Minister "on special Mission* 1 * His letters of credence indicated

that he same on special wdsrion, but when he was? received hy

the President, the President in Ms reply gave no recognition of

this and the Austrian Government ha* taroatod hiw •** though, he were

here like &ny of the rest of us*

Papen, however, has hie •area engraved as "German Minister

to Austria on special mission" and he has in every \?ay oidoavored

to get special precedence among hie colleagues in thia capacity*

It has created much more amusement than anything alec* The Foreign

Office here gets out a revised diplomatic lis* every sis months

and towards the end of December they, as usual, sent out the printad

sheets to the chiefs of mission for correotion, Papen, returned

the list for Germany with his title corrected M Minister on special

mission* When they gd it in th# Foreign Office they *»©re web.

embarrassed and didn't quite know That to do, for in a way, of course,

he was correct as hia letters of credence so represented his, but

there had been no forR.nl recognition in that special capacity*

The Foreign Office, as a consequence, has decided that as there

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have been so few change* in tha list since it was last issued,

and as printing is #xp«aeive sad the Government is poor, there

will be no list printed for this first sis tRonthm. This is

quite confidential sal is mot known here, bat X «i telling ym

M it i« %uit© indioetiw* ef the way the fetstrleaa really feel

about Papon* He has not aooostpllshed anything s'noe ha ossse

here except to increase distrust of himself end of Gerst»ny# Ml

while he is not altogether to blame for this Mr his Government

sent him with errpty hands, yet ha has contributed * good deal

by his own actions. But then, at I haw* already Mid in one

of ay letters, Fwpen is Papen and one aannot reslly espeet anything

else*

Her© everything is quiet and I think will remain

so, and although there sre SOBS© who fear soraeexplos'ons from

Seraany in this direct Ion, and while those ere not impossible,

X am Inclined to think that nothing will happen. la any event

anything which Mi sea la the country can be taken MM of, and

as major action fro© Germany would now certainly swan war* I

think this precludes ewa any erasy adventure.

Believe we with all good wishes.

I

Cordially and faithfully yours,

George S, Hessersmith.