File No. 861.00/2241

The Chargé in China ( MacMurray ) to the Secretary of State

[Telegram]

The French, British, and Japanese Ministers, considering it imperative to transfer Czech forces from Vladivostok to assist Czechs [Page 272] in western Siberia, are requesting Russian Legation to arrange with the Russian railway authorities at Harbin for the transportation of these troops by the Chinese Eastern Railway; and upon receiving the expected favorable reply they propose simply to inform the Chinese Government that these forces are to pass through Manchuria.

In the absence of instructions I have not felt warranted in associating myself with these demarches which contemplate the probability of conflict with Bolshevik forces near Chita and which might therefore be considered as an act of intervention. I beg to request instructions as to the attitude to be taken in regard to this and other movements of the Czech forces in Siberia.

MacMurray