393.115 Hunt Company, William/65: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received 2:45 p.m.]
1273. 1. I have received a letter from the Japanese Consulate General the gist of which follows:
On September 17 the Japanese naval landing forces found at Wusueh a hulk marked with an American flag and the inscription “W. H. and Co.”
It was found that no hulk of American nationality was at Wusueh prior to the outbreak of hostilities and documents belonging to the hulk give reason to believe that it is the property of the China Merchants’ Steam Navigation Company, formerly at Kiukiang.
Therefore the “hulk is to be regarded as Chinese property camouflaged as foreign property, and it will be disposed of as such by the Japanese naval authorities, together with articles found in the [Page 485] hulk”. A detailed list of these articles is given, including two automobiles, one truck and other miscellaneous cargo of lesser value.
2. I have replied as follows:
“I have the honor to refer to your letter of September 26, 1938, regarding the discovery by the Japanese naval landing forces at Wusueh on September 17 of a hulk, marked with an American flag, together with certain articles found therein. As Wusueh is not in the Shanghai Consular District, I am referring the matter to the appropriate American authorities for investigation. Meanwhile, I must reserve all rights in connection with any of this property which may be American owned.”
3. William Hunt and Company has been informed of the contents of the letter from the Japanese Consulate General without comment.
4. Full text of Japanese Consulate General’s letter follows by mail.98
5. Repeated to Chungking, Peiping, Hankow, code text to Tokyo by mail.
- Not printed.↩