493.11/1318
The Secretary of State to Mr. William B. Tower, Recording Secretary, Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Sir: The Department acknowledges the receipt of your letter of December 22, 1927,25 transmitting the text of a resolution adopted by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church at its annual meeting on November 15, 1927, in relation to the filing of claims for losses sustained by the Board in China during the present disturbances in that country.
In accordance with the request contained in the resolution above mentioned, the Department will take no action toward presenting any claims against China on behalf of the Board without previous consultation with the Board. In this relation, however, it may be added that the Department reserves the right, without consulting the Board, to enter protests against the destruction of Mission property and to include in such protests a further reservation of its right to file claims therefor. The Board will, of course, appreciate that these are substantive rights which the Government of the United States cannot relinquish in view of the possibility that it may be necessary for it to protect the interests of Americans generally in China at some time or other by a demand for punitive or [Page 146] exemplary damages. The Department has transmitted appropriate instructions to the American Legation at Peking in the premises.
I am [etc.]
- Not printed.↩