793.94/5080: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received April 18—11:40 p.m.]
82. I repeat for your information telegram dated April 18, 11 p.m., sent to Johnson, Shanghai, by the Secretary.
See my No. 81, April 18, 11 p.m.68
April 18, 11 p.m. For the Minister from the Secretary.
“I am informed that the Committee of Nineteen at a meeting Saturday considered adopting in a resolution which will contain an interpretation of article 3 of draft of armistice agreement under which the Committee of Nineteen declares that it understands this to mean that Japan must evacuate at the earliest possible moment. It also considered requesting the joint commission provided for in article 4 of the draft agreement to report from time to time the progress of withdrawal.
Committee of Nineteen this afternoon considered draft proposal to give effect to ideas outlined at former meeting. It has not yet reached final decision but it is seeking solution on lines that joint commission provided for in draft agreement should be empowered at the request of one of the parties to say whether the second and final stage of the withdrawal of the Japanese troops could reasonably be [Page 698] affected. In order that joint commission should not be prevented from making this pronouncement by the opposition of one of the parties it was proposed that if difficulty arose of [on] this account the joint commission should make a report to the Assembly Committee. This report could not be in the nature of a decision but any decision taken by the Assembly or its Committee would doubtless be influenced by the report.
The Committee of Nineteen is considering this procedure because it seems to be of the opinion that the declaration suggested by the Japanese and set out in paragraph 4 of your cable to the Department April 13, 8 p.m., did not give any assurance whatever of sufficiently prompt evacuation by the Japanese.
In this opinion, judging from cables which I have received from the Department, the Department seems to concur. In this situation I should like to know whether you see objection to the course proposed by the Committee of Nineteen.
Your colleagues are being requested by their respective Governments for their opinion and a joint reply is being suggested to them.
I wish you to advise me directly of your own individual opinion but you are authorized to join in an identic reply provided this does not involve a compromise of your own opinion.”
- Not printed.↩