File No. 893.00/590.
The American Ambassador to Great Britain to the Secretary of State .
London , October 20, 1911 .
I am informed that Sir J. Jordan states that he has consulted with the United States Chargé d’Affaires, who agrees with Sir J. Jordan that circumstances do not at present call for the concentration of [Page 165] foreign nationals. The British Minister observes that great difficulties attended a similar step at Chungking when the Szechwan troubles broke out, and that the movement now in progress has no anti-foreign character. The risk to foreigners in remaining where they are is, he thinks, scarcely such as to justify the expense and inconvenience of moving them in large numbers to Shanghai. Moreover, the Chinese Government would probably be averse from accepting the responsibility of protecting mission property unless the owners were forced to abandon it by stress of circumstances.
In view of Sir J. Jordan’s opinion Sir Edward Grey deems it unnecessary at the present stage to resort to the step contemplated in your October 14.