893.51/4472: Telegram
The Minister in China (Schurman) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 21—12:16 p.m.]
416. My telegram no. 415 of December 20, 4 p.m.89 The following telegram dated December 20, noon, has been received from our consul general at Canton:
I understand that Sun Yat-sen’s order to the customs commissioner wag delivered late yesterday. I hope soon to have a copy. There is a general feeling among Europeans and Americans that the diplomatic corps should bring pressure on the Government at Peking for the allocation of all the customs surplus proportionally among the provinces for constructive work. In this way Sun’s face would be saved and any force and justice which his argument may have would be destroyed. If this plan is at all feasible I urge it although I am aware of the attitude of the Department in 1921. I understand that Aglen is in constant negotiation with C. C. Wu, but I am not aware of what Wu proposes to offer. Yesterday the local government delivered a note to the consular body asking the reasons why foreign warships were at Canton. The consular body answered that Sun Yat-sen threatened to seize the customs and that the ships would leave as soon as assurances were given that this would not be done.
I may add to the above telegram from the consul general that not having received the text of Sun Yat-sen’s message and the answer given by the customs commissioner I am not ready to recommend to the Department what future action should be taken. Sun may collapse within a few weeks if he fails to get the customs revenues, but I doubt that Cheng Chiung-ming has the ability to drive him from Canton. Sun may, however, gain added prestige from his resistance to the foreign powers and this may enable him to hold on for a while longer. The foreign governments evidently cannot maintain the present naval forces and landing parties indefinitely at Canton. We cannot afford merely to drift and so future plans should be agreed upon at an early date.
- Not printed.↩