893.113/1235: Telegram
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 24—1:03 p.m.]
286. 1. The following telegram has been received from the Minister for Foreign Affairs:
“I have received the following reports: (1) That a Mr. Li has telegraphed to America from Hong Kong for the purchase of 6 military airplanes, and that 2 of them have already been shipped; (2) that Yen Hsi-shan recently purchased from Europe 40,000 rifles with ammunition which are being sent to the Krippendorff Company, an American firm at Tientsin,82 for forwarding.
[Page 617]The purchase of the above-mentioned military materials has not been approved by the Central Government.
- 1.
- Please quickly telegraph your Government to prohibit the sale and shipment.
- 2.
- Please instruct the American Consul at Tientsin by telegraph to investigate and to stop the delivery of the goods.
A telegraphic reply would be appreciated.”
2. I am replying to Wang that the text of his telegram is being repeated to the Department and that the American Consulate General at Tientsin is being instructed to investigate the report that the Krippendorff Company, an American firm at Tientsin, is concerned in the importation of arms and ammunition into China without the approval of the Central Government.
- Known as America-China Export Import Co., Inc.↩