File No. 861.77/375
The Secretary of State to the Minister in China (Reinsch)1
Your April 30, 2 p.m.,2 also telegram April 29, 4 p.m.,3 from Harbin, in which Consul reports that Semenov desires American railway engineers under Stevens to take over operation of all railways [Page 233] behind him, apparently with view to facilitating passage of supplies for his forces and also for civil population back of his lines which is in great need.
Inform Stevens that the Russian Railway Service Corps was organized at the request of the Provisional Government of Russia to assist in the reorganization of Russian railways and to help Russia as a whole, and to enable the people to strengthen their resistance against Germany. It is consequently impossible to permit this corps of American engineers to be drawn in to take sides in a movement which partakes of civil war, consequently their work on the Chinese Eastern Railway must not have any semblance of supporting Semenov or contributing to the success of his military operations. If this can only be accomplished by their withdrawal then they should be withdrawn and the Department will instruct Stevens as to their further movements.
- The same information telegraphed, on the same date, to the Ambassador in Russia (No. 102).↩
- Vol. ii, p. 147.↩
- Not printed; Semenov was the Ataman of the Far Eastern Cossacks.↩