893.51/6860
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck)
Under instruction by the Under Secretary, Mr. Welles, given orally, Mr. Hamilton present,84 I asked the British Chargé d’Affaires, Mr. Mallet, to call on me at his convenience today. Mr. Mallet came to my office and, telling him that, in the light of the second paragraph of the British Embassy’s aide-mémoire of January 24, we felt slightly uneasy lest the British Foreign Office might be assuming more than it should on the basis of previous conversations with regard to its recent proposal for assistance to China, and also that we were somewhat uneasy over the idea of the British Foreign Office that it might to advantage make use in Parliament of statements indicative of an intention on the part of the American Government to take certain steps on parallel lines on a basis more or less of an agreed-upon cooperation between the two Governments, I gave Mr. Mallet, as a record of an oral statement for the phrasing of which I was assuming sole responsibility, an informal memorandum, an exact copy of which is here attached.85
Upon reading this memorandum and reviewing the second paragraph of the British Embassy’s aide-mémoire under reference, Mr. Mallet made the observation that he had understood from what Mr. Welles had said to him86 that the American Government would be prepared to take parallel action but had not been prepared at the time when Mr. Welles’ statement to him had been made to say what form its parallel action would be given. He said that he would have to consult his records in order to refresh his mind as to the exact words in which he had reported his understanding of the matter to his Government. [Page 645] I then took occasion to give Mr. Mallet my understanding that Mr. Welles had said that we would hope to be able to take parallel action, we would study the question, and, if we found ourselves able to take parallel action, we would be prepared to make an announcement of our intention simultaneously with an announcement by the British Government, if and when, of its intention. Mr. Mallet said that he would make sure that his Government had not misunderstood.
I then took occasion to emphasize the point made in the last sentence of the informal memorandum which I was giving Mr. Mallet. I said that in our opinion nothing could be more stultifying to the possibility of parallel but independent and separate action by the two Governments, insofar as this Government is concerned, than publicity the impression produced by which would be that of an Anglo-American act of collusion toward coercing Japan and therefore incurring risks attendant upon such a course. Mr. Mallet said that he thoroughly understood this and that he had been surprised at the request made by his Government and especially the statement made by them in the second sentence of the second paragraph of his Embassy’s aide-mémoire.