393.11/1112: Telegram
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
291. Legation’s 289, April 25, noon, and Department’s mail instruction No. 54, March 25, 4th paragraph of enclosure dated March 21st.99
[Page 107]1. In mail despatch of April 10 American Consul General, Hankow, encloses letter to him from Bishop O’Shea at Kanchow, dated March 28th, with the comment, “in spite of the fact that he is apparently of the considered opinion that there is very little hope for peace in Kiangsi Province under existing conditions, Bishop O’Shea does not mention leaving that area or issuing instructions to his subordinates to evacuate to places of greater safety.” From the correspondence it is not wholly clear to the Legation whether the Americans at Kanchow would have been able to withdraw within the last few weeks since the Bishop states, “the country side is still too unsafe for travel.” There is, however, no indication that Bishop O’Shea has, since the original warning given him in January by the American Consul General at Hankow, manifested any intention of withdrawing or that he has at any time applied to the Chinese authorities for a military escort to enable him to effect the withdrawal of the Americans under his charge.
2. As having a possible bearing upon the attitude of the American missionaries at Kanchow the following excerpt is quoted from a memorandum of a conversation at Peking on April 10 between Minister Johnson and Archbishop Constantini, the Apostolic Delegate in China:
“I said that it was impossible for the American Government to afford protection for Americans living in the interior of China under these conditions and that for many years it will be impossible for any Chinese Government to afford protection in isolated places particularly in times like the present when the government itself is under attack. I said that I felt that all American citizens should remember this in establishing themselves in interior of China and govern themselves accordingly.
The delegate stated that he well understood the matter; that of course my responsibilities were the responsibilities of the agent of the state and that my thoughts must be the thoughts of the state while his views were the views of the Holy See. He said that their belief was that their missionaries were like soldiers in the trenches. They must of course not take any unnecessary risk but on the other hand if it were necessary for them to die they were prepared to die. He said that he quite understood the difficulties that any foreign government would be under at any time in furnishing protection at all places.”
- Telegram in three sections.↩
- Instruction not printed; it refers to the Department’s press release of March 21 regarding Kanchow, Kiangsi. The fourth paragraph reads: “In view of the serious situation which appeared to be developing at Kanchow, the American Legation on January 25 requested the American Consul General at Hankow to advise Bishop O’Shea and the other Americans at Kanchow to evacuate as soon as they could safely do so. The American Consul General at Hankow informed the Legation that he fully concurred in this recommendation and that he telegraphed this advice to Bishop O’Shea on January 27.” (393.11/1091a)↩