Henry L. Stimson Private Papers
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The French Ambassador called to see me Saturday1 afternoon at three-thirty at my apartment, bringing some translations of cables which he had received, stating that the news was not so good today and showed me the cables. They were not from official sources but indicated that some Russian reservists had been called to the colors and also that Russia was making military preparations near the boundary of Manchuria. We talked over the situation and he told me of Minister Wu’s having come to see him, evidently to try to pump him as to the real attitude of France and to get a sidelight on what I had told him. Claudel … told me that Wu evinced great anxiety when he first came and when Claudel told him that Russia had announced that she would not violate the Kellogg-Briand Treaty his face lightened and he seemed greatly relieved. Claudel thought it was a mistake that he should have been thus relieved and rather sorry that he had spoken so encouragingly. He told me that he had not received word that Briand had actually seen the Russian Ambassador. He expressed the hope that I would see Wu again and would counteract the undue encouragement that may have been caused from his interview with Claudel.
- July 20, 1929.↩