394.115 Panay/303: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
23. Your 46, January 21, 7 p.m. The Department appreciates the concern of the Embassy over reaching a solution of this matter which will not wound Japanese susceptibilities and is itself giving sympathetic consideration to the problem, but finds itself confronted with serious difficulty in reaching a decision owing to the lack of clear indication as to what was in the minds of the donors. There is no explicit indication whether the donations have been intended for beneficiaries of those killed as well as for survivors, whether civilians are to be included as well as Government personnel and whether the donations are to be apportioned equally among all or in amounts proportionate to individual injuries and losses sustained. It is apparent that in the absence of such indication, any disposition or allocation which might be made by this Government of the donations might be open to criticism or objection on the part of dissatisfied individual potential beneficiaries.
The Department realizes that in the circumstances the Embassy may not be able on the basis of such indications as it may have had from the contributors to clarify the foregoing points. It occurs to the Department, however, that you may wish to approach Prince Tokugawa again for suggestions in regard to these difficulties or perhaps for a statement either by himself or some other outstanding personality which you and we could regard as interpreting the spirit of the donors collectively in regard to the allocation of the funds. The Department will await your further report on this matter before reaching any decision.