393.1123 Lincheng/179: Telegram
The Minister in China (Schurman) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:10 p.m.]
238. [Paraphrase.] Your telegram 121 of June 23. With respect to the plan contained in the strictly confidential paragraph,1 I am strongly in favor of including it in the program of the diplomatic corps with one modification described below.
As you state, this plan provides a specific penalty for the Province of Shantung as well as a warning to other provinces. It could be [considered?] as including the progressive penalties to which the diplomatic corps is [now committed], and it associates force with the diplomatic corps’ demands, even though this force is not applied to obtain the acceptance by the Chinese Government of those demands. These ends are all highly desirable. Practically all Americans and Europeans in China would approve this plan. They are at present quite generally blaming their Governments for weakness.
However, the proposed penalty would provoke resentment in Shantung and possibly arouse antiforeign feeling as the people of Shantung are intensely pro-Chinese. This applies especially to the greatest of them, General Wu Pei-fu.
[Page 669]The troops in southern Shantung are poor. The Fifth Division stationed at Tsinan would probably be rated as a class B Chinese division. The military authorities of the Province have an arsenal at Tehchow. By cutting the three railway lines they could isolate Tsinan long enough to wipe out a small body of foreign troops. I venture the suggestion, therefore, that while it would not be risking too much to send a few hundred foreign soldiers to ports like Hankow or Pukow, as a matter of precaution no international force of less than four units of 500 men each should be sent to Tsinan. With this change, which is the modification I referred to in the opening paragraph, I am in hearty agreement with your suggestion. It will, I think, greatly strengthen the note presented by the diplomatic corps. [End paraphrase.]
In reply to your inquiry regarding the nature of the international commission which it is proposed to send when necessary into the provinces to report on bandit conditions, the committee was of the opinion that it should be specially constituted on each occasion and should consist of military attachés, legation secretaries or officers communicating [connected?] with forces at Tientsin as might at the time seem most desirable.
I am greatly obliged for the copy of the British Government memorandum upon the proposed railway police force and your comments upon it. As to the instruction that I should report in detail upon the nature of the proposals that may be made for such an organization, I beg to say that, although the committee met this forenoon for the purpose of receiving them, the matter was not considered as the British Legation which has taken the lead in pushing this demand was not represented and no further action is likely before British Minister returns from Shanghai at end of the week.
On the subject of your last paragraph I will report later.
- i. e., paragraph three.↩