Office of the Historian

894.6363/144: Telegram

The Ambassador in Great Britain (Bingham) to the Secretary of State

London, December 7, 1934—7 p.m.
[Received 8:59 p.m.]

614. Dooman and Millard called today on Orde, and on his assistant, Randall,73 and read to him your 422, December 5, 11 a.m.

In regard to paragraph 4 of your telegram, Randall stated that:

1.
The British oil interests had requested that the British Government give diplomatic support to the representations of the local managers of the affected British companies and that the Foreign Office [Page 777] had directed Clive to make, after consultation with Grew, further informal representations.
2.
The representatives of the British oil interests who have recently proceeded to the Far East and who are now in Shanghai, will proceed further to Japan to confer with appropriate Japanese officials only in the event that the Japanese response to the representations of Clive and of the local manager is sufficiently favorable to warrant their going to Japan.

Orde said that the British oil interests had expressed sometime ago a desire that the American and British Governments make a joint and formal protest. He thought however that those interests are satisfied to follow the course adopted (as outlined in the preceding paragraph) for the time being. He added that so far as the Netherlands Government is concerned, that Government would be prepared to follow the lead of the British Government.

It is hoped that the foregoing will answer the question put and the assumption expressed in paragraph 4 of your telegram.

In regard to the last sentence in paragraph 1 of your telegram: Orde expressed the thought that for the time being it might be advantageous for the American and British Governments to maintain contact through their respective representatives at Tokyo.

Orde and Randall were obviously disappointed that American Government was unable to give assurance of effective cooperation among American petroleum interests being achieved.

Bingham
  1. Alec W. G. Randall, First Secretary, Far Eastern Department, British Foreign Office.↩