390.1115A/232: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Lockhart) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:40 p.m.]
1280. 1. With the departure of the Washington this afternoon 839 Americans have evacuated Shanghai on the 3 special ships sent here for that purpose. 436 embarked on the Washington. An estimated additional 216 have left on the regular President Lines sailings, together with 96 on the Canadian Pacific, making a total of 1151. Also a few, approximately 10, left on Japanese vessels.
2. The Department’s withdrawal advice was communicated by the Consulate General on three different occasions in circular instructions [Page 953] to all registered Americans in this consular district and by frequent interviews and through the medium of deportation. Except in certain groups in missionary circles there has been a satisfactory response. Business people in large numbers have responded by sending their families home and the only complaint was that voiced in the beginning both among business men and missionary groups against the schedule of fares to be charged. This dissatisfaction, however, quickly disappeared so far as Shanghai was concerned when the rental of transpacific fares were established for the evacuation ships.
3. The opposition in certain missionary groups appears to be based on a desire to defer withdrawal to await more specific signs of a crisis rather than an outright ignoring of the Department’s advice. It is believed that many more missionaries will withdraw within the next 2 months. It has been made plain to these groups that facilities might not be available later. Missionaries in the interior are apparently more prone to remain than those here.
4. Steamship representatives saw no justification and rightly so I believe for the complaints lodged in Korea in connection with the travel facilities made available to the American missionaries there. The Matson Line put at the disposal of a large number of special class passengers superior accommodations on the Mariposa at special class fares and gave them all first class privileges. It seems to me all the steamship companies have done an excellent evacuation job and certainly they have shown, so far as this office is concerned at least, a cooperative spirit throughout a rather harassing undertaking. Both the Matson Line and the United States Lines sent special representatives here from their home offices and the American President Lines cooperated with them in every possible way [apparent omission] lines with this Consulate General [to its?] complete satisfaction.
Sent to the Department. Repeated to Chungking and Peiping, by air mail to Tokyo.