File No. 861.00/1819
The Ambassador in Japan (Morris) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3.40 p.m.]
For several weeks the Japanese papers have been carrying news items giving details of alleged economic activities of American Government in Siberia. These items are in the form of telegrams from Peking, Harbin, and Vladivostok and are clearly intended to arouse the suspicions of the Japanese people. They suggest some organized propaganda. To-day the papers are giving prominence to the following distributed through Kennedy’s Kokusai service:
Peking, May 17.
The United States is making steady progress in its activity in Siberia and it is now reported that the Washington government, as a result of recent agreement with the Bolshevik government, has obtained an exclusive control of the Siberian Railway and Emerson and several other engineers now believed soon to start from Vladivostok for Moscow.
Would you deem it wise to grant me discretion to deny briefly the truth of this and similar items? As Emerson proceeds on his journey I fear that comment of this sort would increase unless met promptly. I think the Japanese Government would welcome such denials and I would confirm this before acting.