File No. 893.77/1573
Minister Reinsch to
the Secretary of State
No. 1266
American Legation,
Peking,
November 15, 1916.
Sir: In continuation of my despatch No. 1252
of the 31st ultimo, reporting on the protest made by the Russian
Minister against the construction of a railway from Fengchen to
Ninghsia, I have the honor to enclose copies of memoranda of
conversations with the Russian Minister and with his excellency Hsu
Shih-ying, Minister of Communications, on November 7.2
In order to protect general American interests in the region affected, it
was necessary for me to take a strong position with the Minister of
Communications, notwithstanding my knowledge that the International
Corporation did not desire at present to proceed with the railway.
Upon receipt of your telegraphic instruction of November 2, I first
orally informed the Minister of Communications specifically of the
position of the American Government; and I have now, also, addressed a
note to the Foreign Office on this matter, a copy of which is enclosed.
The status of the northern railway at the present time is that the claim
to the right to build it has been asserted by both the American and
Chinese Governments, but that the execution of the construction is to be
postponed until one or more of the other lines have been commenced.
The Chinese Government has modified the alignment as granted in the
original contract as from Hengchoufu to Nanning, so as to make Chuchow
(in Hunan) the northern terminal, the railway to proceed thence to
Nanning by way of Kweilin and Liuchowfu. There is also added a branch
line from Liuchowfu to Sunchow and Yam-chow, a port on the Gulf of
Tongking. The railway is to be known as the “Chu-Chin Railway,” the
latter syllable referring to the coastal region of the Gulf of Tongking.
The managing director of this line has been appointed, and surveying
parties are preparing to leave Peking within a week.
I have [etc.]
[Page 207]
[Inclosure.]
Minister Reinsch
to the Acting Minister for Foreign
Affairs
No. 532
American Legation,
Peking,
November 15, 1916.
Excellency: Through the courtesy of your
excellency’s Ministry I have been informed of the protest made by
the Russian Legation on account of the granting to American citizens
of the right to finance and construct a railway from Fengchen to
Ninghsia. Under instructions from my Government, I have the honor to
notify you that the position of the American Government concerning
the right of American citizens to undertake the construction of this
railway agrees with that taken by the Chinese Government. The
alignment of this railway is not embraced in the scope of the
Chinese Government’s note to the Russian Legation of June 1, 1899,
as it does not run from the region of Peking toward the Russian
border, nor is it a branch of the Peking-Kalgan Railway. The right
to prevent Americans from operating in the region affected by the
Fengchen-Ninghsia line could therefore be founded only upon a claim
to an exclusive sphere of influence there, which the American
Government cannot recognize. Moreover, as the Russian Government
itself in 1910 suggested that American capitalists should undertake
the financing of the Kalgan-Urga Railway, American activity in a
region far more extended than that affected by the present
concession was as late as 1910 admitted by the Russian Government to
be in accord with its rights and interests. The exclusion of
Americans from the region in question, beyond specific concessions
made to the Russian Government, would also not be in accord with the
assurance given by the Russian Government to the American Ambassador
at Petrograd on August 22 [23], 1916, to the effect that it is the
definite Russian policy to maintain unimpaired the principal of
equal opportunity for the commerce of all nations in China.21
I avail myself [etc.]
