393.115/641: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Japan (Dooman)
138. Your 197, April 24, 9 p.m., and Chungking’s 329, May 13, 6 p.m., 331, May 14, 1 p.m., and 335, May 16.68 The Department desires [Page 328] that you make early and vigorous written representations to the Foreign Minister in regard to the recrudescence of bombing by Japanese military of American property as reported in the telegrams under reference. In view of the killing or wounding of members of the Nyhus family during the bombing on October 24 by Japanese of the Lutheran Brethren property at Tungpeh and of the improbability that the Japanese military could have been ignorant of the location of that property after the subsequent representations, the Department regards as especially flagrant the bombing and destruction of that property which occurred on May 2. Similarly, the property at Kingmen was unmistakably known to the Japanese military in view of the representations made in regard to the bombing of the property there on February 22. (As definite information in regard to the bombings mentioned in the third paragraph of Chungking’s 335 of May 16 is lacking, it is suggested that you make no reference to them at the present time.)
Referring to paragraph 3 of the Embassy’s 136, March 20, 2 p.m., and its 147, March 25, noon, the Department would appreciate an expression of your views as to the advisability of making public the texts of the representations herein suggested and of the representations reported in the Embassy’s 156, March 30, 8 p.m., and in the Embassy’s telegram 219, May 11, 5 p.m.69
Repeated to Peiping and Chungking.
- Nos. 329, 331, and 335 not printed.↩
- Latter not printed; see the Ambassador’s oral statement of May 11, Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 647.↩