File No. 893.51/1808
The Secretary of State to Minister Reinsch
Washington, September 25, 1917, 4 p.m.
The Department has received a telegram from the Ambassador at London stating that the British Foreign Office had written him that Alston telegraphed to the effect that in an unofficial discussion of the Chinese Government’s loan projects the Chinese Minister of Finance made some informal proposals to the representatives of the Consortium concerning a loan for currency reform which Group representatives could not decline to examine, but that the matter had not gone further than the stage of informal discussion.
The British Foreign Office telegraphed Alston that while His British Majesty’s Government appreciated advantages of currency reform in China, they have not modified their views regarding these loan proposals as explained to Secretary of State in memorandum of August 21. Substance was communicated to you in Department’s August 22, 4 p.m.