861.77 Chinese Eastern/316
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
The Chinese Chargé d’Affaires, Mr. Yung Kwai, called today and stated that he wanted to give me such information as he had and he handed to me the attached copy of telegraphic reports72 concerning Russian military activities received from Mukden on August 20, through the Foreign Office at Nanking. I stated that these reports seemed to be old and that our information now was that conditions along the border were very quiet. Mr. Yung Kwai stated that this was the latest information he had received.
Mr. Yung Kwai then asked me whether we had any late information and I outlined to him the information we had received in recent telegrams, stating that I understood efforts were now being made to arrange for negotiations between the Chinese and Russians regarding this matter; that I understood the Russians desired to appoint a new Russian manager and assistant manager to the railway. I said that if this was correct, that it seemed the Chinese very well could accept such a proposal as they would have won their point with the Russians, namely, the right to get rid of employees for whom they had no liking. Mr. Yung Kwai agreed with me.
Mr. Yung Kwai hazarded a guess that it was the intention of the Chinese Government to take up this question of the Chinese Eastern Railway at Geneva at the League of Nations. I told him that I had asked the Minister about this but the Minister had told me he had no instructions. Mr. Yung Kwai stated that this was true, that the Minister had no instructions when he left, that it was merely his own surmise; that he himself would hear nothing further from his own government about the situation or about the question as they had probably decided to put the matter before the League.
- Not printed.↩