701.9311/359: Telegram
The Minister in China ( MacMurray ) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 15—9:05 a.m.]
771. Secretary’s No. 346 of October 12. Considering the situation in China, as reported to you hitherto, and fully realizing the possibility that the regime which had been given such marked evidence of our confidence might be revealed as nothing more than a transitional phase in the political evolution of China, it seems to me that the matter is resolved into a question whether it is the desire of our Government to make such a gesture in order to demonstrate its sympathy and its confidence in regard to the political ideals towards which the people of China are striving.