861.77 Chinese Eastern/430
Memorandum by the Secretary of State of a Conversation With the Japanese Ambassador (Debuchi)
The Ambassador said there was no unfavorable news from China; that it was rather favorable. I told him I had received a message yesterday from Dr. Wu reporting serious clashes at Lin Kiang in [Page 341] Northern Manchuria. He said that the Russians attacked with 2000 artillery and 1000 cavalry, some eight gun boats, and sunk some three Chinese gun boats and inflicting 500 casualties. I told him I had also had a despatch from Mukden on the other hand, from our own people, to the effect that the Manchurian authorities were now more anxious to make peace than ever before and that in the opinion of the American authorities the chances were better than ever before for the settlement of the Chinese Eastern Railway question; that the Manchurian authorities were now freer from dictation from Nanking and that this caused the brighter hope. I asked him in which of these two conflicting reports did he place the most credence. He said unhesitatingly that the latter message would conform to a message which he had received from his Government, while, frankly, he did not believe the former. He told me that he had word from Baron Shidehara that he was constantly exerting upon the Chinese Minister and the Russian Ambassador in Tokyo all of his efforts to make them obey the spirit of the Kellogg Pact.