Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1926, Volume I

893.00/7329: Telegram

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

Peking, April 15, 1926—2 p.m.
[Received April 15—11:58 a.m.]

177. My telegram number 171, April 12, 3 p.m.

1. Such government as may be said to exist in China is in abeyance, with the Provisional Chief Executive, his Prime Minister and all but four of the Cabinet in hiding. On the 10th two telegrams were circulated to the provincial authorities in the name of the Cabinet to the effect that as consequences of the coup d’état “not only did it become quite impossible to transact any public business, but law and order in the capital could not be maintained,” and that “the Cabinet has temporarily ceased to function.” On the 12th the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Justice and Education and acting heads of other ministries met and circularized all military and civil governors to the effect “the central organization (i. e. the Cabinet) is of crucial importance and no interruption to it of even a day can be permitted. Until political affairs are settled it is of course our duty temporarily to maintain the status quo” This has been explained to Senior Minister in behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to mean that while not acting as a cabinet the several remaining ministers and heads of ministries will continue at their posts for the purpose of carrying on the necessary routine of their respective organizations. The Prime Minister, April 13th, addressed to the Senior Minister a letter in which while stating that “the Government has temporarily ceased to function,” he said, “although the rebellious forces of the one locality of Peking have made it temporarily impossible for the Chief Executive Tuan to exercise his functions and power, this does not signify that he has resigned his position.”

2. The whole status of the Provisional Government remains indeterminate pending an outcome of political intrigues and military operations now in progress. It is credibly reported that there are internal dissensions within both Fengtien and Kuominchun ranks which complicate still further the process of mutual bargaining by all parties for the loyalty of one and another element. So-called Fengtien-Shantung allies have for some days been making a concentrated attack upon the Kuominchun defenders of Peking along an arc stretching from southwest to northeast at a distance of from 10 to 30 miles from the city. There are today some indications that the Kuominchun forces are beginning a general retreat towards Nankow. At the instance of prominent Chinese residents and commercial organizations there has been formed an unofficial committee of public safety comprising 10 members (most of them former Prime Ministers including Wang Shih-chen and W. W. Yen) to assume responsibility for order in the city in the event of interregnum.

3. Kail communication with Hankow [Nankow?] has been closed since March 6th and with Tientsin since March 24th. Limited passenger and postal service with Tientsin was maintained by motor until 5 days ago since which time Fengtien forces beyond Tungchow have been firing on all cars attempting to pass. A party of Americans in a motor bearing an American flag was yesterday turned back by machine-gun fire, fortunately harmless.

4. While some degree of progress in work of Customs Conference continues to be made through informal discussions and through consultations among the experts, no regular meetings permitted in the absence of any actual governmental [apparent omission] and C. T. Wang (who has taken refuge in one of the foreign concessions in Tientsin) and all the other Chinese delegates and commissioners, with the exception of Yen and Tsai, have in fact disappeared. Apart from the fact that it has been notified that such investigations would not be welcome in the territory giving adherence to so-called Canton Government, Extraterritoriality Commission has thus far found it impossible to visit any other city in pursuance of its plan of investigations, by reason of interruption of all means of transportation elsewhere than to the Gobi Desert.

5. Copy by mail to Tokyo.

MacMurray