893.00/9137: Telegram
The Minister in China (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 25—11:02 a.m.]
679. 1. Following to American consul general at Hankow:
“June 21, 3 p.m. Nationalist news agency, Hankow, June 18th, reports announcements from official quarters state that British women and children will be allowed to return to Hankow and that Japanese authorities are making similar announcements. British and Japanese Legations admit substantial accuracy of this report. Can you give any further information?”
2. To which Lockhart replied:
“June 23, 11 a.m. Your 61, June 21, 3 p.m., received today. British women and children are now allowed to return to Hankow provided they reside in the foreign settlements or special areas and be prepared to evacuate again in case of necessity. Each case is decided separately and independently on application to British consular authorities. Japanese have made no public announcement on the subject but Japanese consul general has informed his nationals that women and children are free to return. A few British, American, and Japanese women and children have already returned.
In reply to telegram from Cunningham33 yesterday inquiring as to the views of this office concerning the return of women and children to Hankow I have made the following reply:
‘While not recommending that women and children return to Hankow I am interposing no objection to their so doing if they wish to assume the risk. I have no means of compelling them to reside in the concessions or foreign areas but would expect them as well as men to do so and they would also be expected to evacuate from the port again if such exigencies of the situation demanded it. I personally do not consider that the situation is sufficiently settled to warrant a general return of women and children, and a return to places in the interior either by women and children or men is out of the question for the present.
No objection to men returning either for a short visit or for residence but could not sanction residing in Wuchang.’
In case the above telegram does not meet with your approval, please let me know at once. It seems to me much caution is required in order to prevent a general influx of Americans through Hankow into interior points. As regards Hankow itself there can be little danger from possible military operations but the situation is still uncertain because of enormous numbers of unemployed and a very acute food shortage and tremendous rise in cost of living. In view of action taken by British and Japanese here an absolute bar against American women and children returning could not well be maintained.”
3. I am telegraphing Hankow as follows:
“June 25, 4 p.m. Your June 23, 11 a.m.
- 1.
- I thoroughly approve your reply to Cunningham’s inquiry. I appreciate difficulties with which you are faced by reason of insistent [Page 306] demands of businessmen and missionaries to return to their posts as soon as possible and especially by reason of the fact that the British and Japanese authorities are apparently relaxing restrictive measures with regard to the return of their nationals.
- 2.
- The policy of the American Government has however been to evacuate our nationals from the interior and from smaller ports to the few larger places where adequate protection can be provided. As yet I see no evidence that conditions have improved sufficiently to justify any substantial modification of this policy. I believe that while seeking to avoid being unduly arbitrary or unresponsive to actual changes as they occur we should do utmost to discourage the premature return of our nationals to those places where they cannot be assured adequate protection.”
- Edwin S. Cunningham, consul general at Shanghai.↩