893.105/22: Telegram
The Minister in China (Schurman) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 30—5:54 a.m.]
296. Your 185, August 15 [25], 3 p.m. received August 27, 9 a.m. in time to guide me at meeting of committee forenoon August 28th which had been called at the request of Japanese Minister who desired to present amendments framed by his Government to railway police plan heretofore provisionally adopted.
[Page 693]These amendments which he presented to the committee in writing correspond with those mentioned in your telegram. At the meeting committee August 28th three of them were incorporated in report to satisfaction of everybody including Japanese Minister who, however, reserved the right to consult his Government.
- First, the proposed foreign associate director was made vice director and the former provision that he should have equal rank and authority with the Chinese director was stricken out and the provision inserted that “it shall be the duty of the Chinese director of railway police to consult the foreign vice director on all matters affecting the railway police.”
- Second, the detailed scheme of reorganization to be drawn up by the director and vice director shall be notified to diplomatic body but the former provision requiring the approval of diplomatic body before scheme can be put into effect is stricken out though diplomatic body reserves right in accordance with the Japanese amendments to attempt to alter objectionable features by the usual diplomatic methods.
- Third, the reorganization is to begin with Peking, Hankow and Tientsin-Pukow lines and to be gradually extended to other railways.
Subject of accountants and traffic maltreatment [managers] was freely discussed in light of Japanese amendments and British Minister finally expressing desire to consult his experts, he was asked to draft paragraph for consideration of Committee which agreed to meet August 29. At this meeting the British Minister presented following which was unanimously adopted:
“The entire expenditure for police purposes of each railway shall be met from the gross revenue of that line and the foreign chief accountant of the railway shall be charged by the directorate general of railways with the duty of setting aside, safeguarding and disbursing the necessary funds to meet the budgetary requirements of the railway police.
In order that the provisions of the preceding paragraph may be tentatively carried out on railways where foreign chief accountants are not already responsible for the custody of railway funds the directorate general of railways undertakes to place in the hands of foreign chief accountants on such lines the duty of setting aside, safeguarding and disbursing sufficient funds from the revenues to meet the requirements of the railway police expenditure as provided in article 7.”
It was not necessary at any time for me to cite my instructions of which therefore I made no mention. I collaborated with my colleagues in modifying the original tentative report to meet the Japanese requirements, only taking the lead in the discussions when Japanese Minister suggested replacing the proposed foreign associate [Page 694] director with rank and powers coordinate with the Chinese director by a foreign adviser with no definite functions whatever. I pointed out that the office and rank of adviser had fallen into disrepute and that the setting up of such a nullity was not required even by the terms of the Japanese amendments. Thereupon the compromise already described was agreed to.
I am in entire accord with the views you expressed in your telegram both with regard to the original tentative plan itself and the amendments proposed thereto by the Japanese Government and for the expression of these views generally and even in detail, I have the honor to refer to my telegrams 200, June 6, 8 p.m. and 261, July 16, 7 p.m.
Probably the Chinese Government will reject even this plan. Through an unfortunate leakage newspapers secured a report of the principal features of the so-called British draft and they are conducting, no doubt under Government stimulation, violent propaganda against foreign interference in railway matters. The most to be expected as a result of collaboration with the Chinese Government are: foreign vice director to be consulted, foreign inspectors to report and foreign press publicity for the correction of the most flagrant evils of Chinese railway police administration.