393.1121/97
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. William R. Langdon of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs
I called up Mr. Iguchi to ask whether he knew if the Byrams and Hunt had been released. He said he didn’t know but would cable tonight to find out. I said we would appreciate not only his cabling but his urging his Govt to bring about the release of the missionaries, it being three weeks now since “Manchukuo” said it would release the missionaries and let them leave the country. Iguchi then asked whether we had urged the mission boards to recall the missionaries on home leave or otherwise, (suggesting in my mind that “Manchukuo” is holding the missionaries until they receive orders from the mission boards to leave Manchuria and make some declaration about leaving). I replied that we had not made any such request to the mission boards, as we could not be parties to the recall of, so far as we knew, innocent persons. I stated, however, that we had communicated all we knew of the case to the boards so they could make their own decision. I asked Mr. Iguchi why his side was making an issue of such a small matter and bothering about such little details when we were cutting red tape right and left to accommodate the Japanese Government, cabling about special treatment of Japanese holders of re-entry permits, licensing special accounts for the Japanese consuls to finance the expenses of the Tatuta Maru at Los Angeles, Balboa, and Honolulu, shortening the time required for aliens to obtain exit permits in the case of Japanese planning to leave on the Tatuta Maru, etc. Mr. Iguchi said he understood and that the Embassy was doing its best in the Byrams-Hunt case, but that the case was a “Manchukuo” matter and that the Japanese Government was only in the position of a mediator, etc.