File No. 893.773/34.
No. 63.]
American Consulate,
Newchwang,
January 6, 1915.
The Department is referred to my No. 52 dated November 28, 1914, with
which was transmitted a copy of the Legation despatch referred to in the
correspondence.
[Inclosure 1.]
Ambassador Guthrie to Consul Pontius.
American Embassy,
Tokyo,
December 31, 1914.
Sir: With reference to recent
correspondence between our offices regarding discrimination in
through freight rates on the South Manchuria Railway, I beg to
request that you will inform me with as little delay as possible
what is the present situation. I should be glad if you would give me
your opinion as to the manner in which, and the extent to which,
imports of American goods from Shanghai for distribution to interior
points by that road have been affected.
In your letter of November 28 last to the Legation at Peking, you say
that “assuming that the through bill of lading facilities were made
available to all steamship lines instead of only to Japanese lines
as at present,” etc. I am uncertain whether or not this means that
the 30% reduction is to be extended to goods coming from Shanghai by
other lines than the Nippon Yusen Kaisha.
I am [etc.]
[Inclosure 2.]
Consul Pontius to
Ambassador Guthrie.
American Consulate,
Newchwang,
January 6, 1915.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of an instruction from the Embassy dated December 31, 1914,
asking [etc.]
Since my last report to the Legation dated November 28, 1914, copy of
which the Embassy has received, I know of no further developments
which have occurred. The port of Newchwang is icebound during the
winter months, and any pronouncement of the railway with regard to
this question as affecting this port would very likely be delayed
until just previous to the opening of navigation in the coming
Spring. In the sentence quoted by the Embassy “assuming that the
through bill of lading facilities were made available to all
steamship lines instead of only the Japanese lines as at present,”
etc., by the use of the words “assuming that” was meant “in the
event of” or “even if,” and there
[Page 610]
was no intention of giving the impression that
the 30% reduction was to be extended to goods coming from Shanghai
by other lines than the Nippon Yusen Kaisha.
In a despatch to the Mukden Consulate General dated December 2, 1914,
certain information was transmitted with regard to this matter, and
a quotation of the salient points embodied in that communication
will more or less clearly acquaint the Embassy as to how imports of
American goods from Shanghai for distribution to interior points are
likely to be affected.
In the last sentence of my despatch to the Legation dated
November 28, 1914, equal treatment asked for is but fair and
should not be considered in the light of a special favor. By
“all cases where goods,” etc., is meant such commodities as are
shipped, say, from Shanghai to Newchwang for later distribution
to inland points, the cargo shipped to correspond in all cases
with the bill of lading shown to the railway as evidence of a
right to the 30% reduction. The shipper at Shanghai could easily
apportion each cargo shipment so that several or more bills of
lading would be issued, and shipment to an inland point within a
reasonable time limit—say four months—of any part of the cargo
covered by one of the bills of lading could thus conveniently be
effected. Most of the cargo received from Shanghai and shipped
to inland points is contracted for locally after arrival in the
port, and often several months must elapse before the sale is
arranged. Such cargo should in all fairness be accorded the 30%
reduction applicable to “through” shipments, and not the 15%
reduction supposed to apply on “local” shipments. It is thus
evident that most of the cotton goods shipped to Newchwang from
Shanghai could not be sent under a, “through” bill of lading to
an inland point, and under existing conditions such cargo is
only granted the discriminative “local” rate reduction.
I do not know of one Chinese or non-Japanese local firm which
imports cotton goods from Japan, such importers invariably using
Shanghai as their base of supply. The Japanese importer takes
especial care, as is to be expected, that the cotton goods of
Japanese manufacture occupy first thought, and the supplying of
any local demand for the American article of manufacture, from
Japan, is considerably handicapped under the circumstances. The
attempt to regain any part of the large American cotton goods
trade previously had throughout Manchuria, cannot well be
effected through Japanese firms, and as no other firms in
Newchwang will import cotton goods stocks from Japan (owing to
connections and affiliations being at Shanghai) it requires no
stretch of the imagination to perceive the trade set-back the
present existing condition of affairs is likely to cause. It is,
therefore, important that an effort be made towards securing
similar treatment on goods shipped from Shanghai to Newchwang,
stored there temporarily until sold and then railed to an inland
point, as is at present accorded through cargo shipped from
Japan through the latter port.
I have [etc.]
