File No. 861.77/528
The Ambassador in Japan ( Morris ) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 26, 10.16 a.m.]
In a long and informal talk to-day on the railway question, the Minister for Foreign Affairs made it clear that the Japanese Government still hesitates to face the severe criticism which it fears would follow its assent to Stevens’s operation of the Chinese Eastern. There is no objection in regard to the Trans-Siberian Railway.
In seeking a possible solution it has occurred to me that we might suggest the following: that Stevens should agree to name as a member of his staff Kinoshita or some equally able Japanese railway expert and assign him to duty exclusively on the Chinese Eastern, subject to Stevens’s instructions in the operations of that road. Stevens thinks it feasible and I submit it for the consideration of the Department. If approved, I would hold it in reserve as a possible compromise, should the Japanese Government continue to press for entire control of the Chinese Eastern, which is the meaning of the phrase “Russian operation.”