893.512/459: Telegram
The Minister in China (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:22 a.m.]
607. 1. Senior Minister informs me he has been approached by Admiral Tsai with an inquiry whether the powers would consent to the levy of a surtax to replace the present famine-relief surtax, for the purpose of enabling the Government to pay approximately gold dollars one million of arrears in the Chinese contribution to the League of Nations and to pay salaries of representatives abroad which are now approximately 19 months in arrears.
2. I am disposed to recommend that I be authorized to accede to such a surtax for the reason that China’s membership in the League of Nations constitutes one of the few ties which bind her to normal relationships with the other nations; and loss of such membership would tend to force her into the Russian Soviet camp. While less sympathetic about her failure to maintain her foreign representation, I believe that that question cannot as a practical matter be dealt with separately from the other.