893.01 Manchuria/769
The Consul General at Mukden (Myers) to the Minister in China (Johnson)73
Sir: I have the honor to refer to despatch No. 683 of November 8, 1932, relative to reported instances of Japanese ruthlessness near Fushun and elsewhere in South Manchuria.
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The actual number of the “Fushun Massacre” victims will probably never be known. Taking all known factors into consideration, I am inclined to believe that the real figure if ever ascertained would probably be found to be considerably below Mr. Hunter’s estimate of 3000 but well above the figure of 350 quoted in the Japanese Army’s statement—which statement, it may be presumed, would naturally be framed with a view to minimizing and providing plausible excuse for whatever slaughter the Japanese troops concerned may have perpetrated.
Whatever the real extent of the action of the Japanese Military and the degree of justification therefor, all reports with the sole exception of the Japanese official statement agree that a considerable number of unarmed villagers were killed by Japanese soldiers in a ravine near [Page 436] Fushun on or about September 15th. Furthermore, it seems fairly-well established that Japanese troops destroyed several villages in the vicinity of Fushun and that as a result of such operations many more villagers were killed.
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Respectfully yours,
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Consul General at Mukden in his unnumbered despatch dated December 16, 1932; received January 16, 1933.↩