File No. 861.77/451
The Secretary of State to the Chinese Minister ( Koo )
My Dear Mr. Minister: I have the honor to enclose herewith the text of a telegram dated September 13, 1918, which has been sent to the American Ambassadors at London, Paris and Rome, relative to the service, in Siberia, of the Russian Railway Service Corps.1
As you are no doubt aware, the American Chargé d’Affaires at Peking has already communicated to your Government my belief that Mr. Stevens and the Russian Railway Service Corps of American engineers in the service of Russia, could best undertake the actual and technical operation of the Siberian Railway and its branches at the present time.
You are also aware of the importance which this Government attaches to its purpose to assist Russia in the matter of transportation. I have felt it not only necessary and a part of frank understanding but also advisable that our aim should be disclosed fully in order to anticipate the formation of opinion based on partial information.
[Page 253]Accordingly, I should be very glad if you would bring this telegram to the attention of your Government. It states the whole purpose of the United States on the subject it covers without any reservations whatsoever. I am communicating in the same sense with your colleagues of the Allied Governments and confidently expect that the Chinese Government may not only come to a thorough understanding of our purpose but also extend its cordial cooperation.
I am [etc.]