861.77 Chinese Eastern/817
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
The Japanese Ambassador came to see me, at my request, today and I asked him whether he had any information as to conditions in China. He told me that only this morning he had had a telegram stating that from Chinese sources they were informed that on the seventeenth the Red Army bombed Dailainor but had not attacked Manchuli and that the Chinese troops were withdrawn to Hailar. He said that the Japanese Ambassador at Moscow had been instructed by his Government to make representations to the Soviet Government asking them to respect Japanese lives and property.
I asked him whether he had any intimations from his Government that they looked upon the situation as being serious. He said that he had nothing except this message and as it was marked urgent he naturally assumed that they were carefully watching the situation and looked upon it as having serious aspects.
I asked him if he had any information to indicate the intentions of the Russians. He said he had not but he assumed that the Russians were attempting to put pressure upon China for the purpose of forcing them to accept the Russian terms for settlement of the railway [Page 349] matter. He said he did not believe that the Russians intended to occupy the railway by force; that to do so would be to feel that they were absolutely mad for to occupy the railway by force would bring them to Changchun and right up against the Japanese. I gathered that I should infer that the Japanese would not sit quietly by and see this happen.
At this point the Secretary buzzed for me and after I had gone to him and told him of my conversation with the Japanese Ambassador, the Secretary asked the Ambassador to come in. In the course of conversation the Secretary stated to the Ambassador that he was somewhat worried about the present situation. He said he had reason to feel that when he made his suggestions in July they had not been well received by the Japanese.
The Japanese Ambassador stated that in order to be quite frank he wanted to say that the Government and himself quite understood our motives but that the Secretary must remember that the information came to them through the French first and naturally created certain doubts. The Secretary said he wanted the Japanese to understand that he desired to keep them informed of his thoughts in this matter. He said that there was no question of special interests or such like questions involved in his own mind. It was a question of the disturbance of peace in the Far East and he thought the Japanese and ourselves were equally interested in seeing the peace preserved and his only proposition at the present moment, or at any moment was to find some way in which peace might be preserved.
The Secretary stated that he was thinking very seriously of what possible steps might be taken by the Powers party to the Kellogg Pact to bring about an amicable settlement of the troubles now besetting the Chinese and the Russians. He said he would be very glad if the Ambassador would communicate that fact to his Government and obtain for him any thoughts or suggestions the Japanese Foreign Minister might have.
The Secretary stated that he had not reached any conclusions in his own mind but he thought perhaps it might be necessary for him to make some kind of a public statement on the subject, calling the attention of the Chinese and Russians to their obligations under the Pact. He said he had not thought of consulting the other Powers on the matter but he wanted to let the Japanese know.
The Ambassador stated he would make inquiry and let the Secretary know what Baron Shidehara had to say. The Ambassador then departed.