File No. 861.77/579

The Ambassador in Japan (Morris) to the Secretary of State

[Telegram]

[Your] December 7, 11 a.m. and December 7, 12 p.m. [4 p.m.]. Stevens has telegraphed me under date of December 9, as follows:

Your cable 6th. There is no ambiguity whatever in section 2 of your cable 3d. It says explicitly Russians control operation and only role technical committee could play would be advisory. … Kinoshita fully agreed with me that full power must be had which the proposed agreement in no manner provides for. Technical committee, as proposed, would be basic error, raising instantly impossibility to [possibility of?] divided authority, which the Department has already disapproved. A body of men, equal authority, different nationalities, languages, methods operation, some of them with ulterior aims, would inevitably clash (see 2). Power must be one head. Service corps would not remain merely in advisory capacity. The question of loyalty during war no longer at issue. As an experiment, plan would discredit all protestations of assistance from us. Myself and commanders service corps have reputations we do not care to exchange for a useless sacrifice. Let us start right or not at all, far better to take a long time to negotiate than to undertake what would be not even a forlorn hope. We shall patiently wait for further developments.

I have replied to-day as follows:

Your December 9. Would your objections be met if the Japanese Government consented to the following, changing the plan which they submitted first? Strike out altogether last portion of the first sentence of section 2, which reads “while the management of the railways shall be left in the hands of Russians.” Add to the end of second sentence of section 2 the phrase “subject only to the supervision herein provided for.” Strike out the third sentence of section 2. Amend the first sentence of section 3 so as to read as follows: “The Technical Board shall elect a president, to whom shall be intrusted the executive supervision and operation of the railways and who may, with the approval of the board, appoint assistants and inspectors chosen from among the nationals of the powers having military forces in Siberia.”

I am trying to meet your wishes and at the same time submit as few changes as possible. I will not suggest these to the Japanese Government until I hear from you. Please answer promptly.

If Stevens replies favorably, I will discuss these amendments with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and press for their acceptance. Should Ishii mention the subject to you, would suggest that you urge such verbal modifications as will give Stevens power to make advice [Page 296] effective. With the approval of the Department, I will not proceed to Vladivostok until I can reach an agreement here which offers some reasonable hope of acceptance by Stevens.

Morris