893.6363 Manchuria/71
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hornbeck)
During the course of my call on the Japanese Ambassador today, the Ambassador made some references to his trip in “Manchukuo” and brought in a reference to the proposed “Manchukuo” petroleum monopoly. He said that he had very little knowledge of the facts but that the American newspapermen had been pressing him on the subject and he had told them that the “Manchukuo” government had given its word that it would respect the principle of the open door and that he was confident that it would do so. If other governments felt that it was about to act not in accord with that principle, they should inform it of their views and he was sure that it would wish to do whatever was right in the matter. He said that he had just received from Tokyo a summary of the Japanese Government’s latest memorandum to the ambassadors of the interested powers at Tokyo and that he supposed that we had been informed of the contents of that memorandum. I said that we had received a summary; that we understood that the other missions concerned in Tokyo had received a text similar or identical to that which the American Ambassador had received; and that it seemed to us that the solution of the question involved was not very much advanced thereby. I took [Page 135] occasion to express in the form of a casual remark the view that one might expect that the Japanese Government would be as much interested as any other in the maintenance by the “Manchukuo” régime of an open door. The Ambassador said that the Japanese Government could do nothing more than “advise the ‘Manchukuo’ government.” I said that the foreign governments assume that when the Japanese Government “advises” the “Manchukuo” authorities in terms which indicate that it desires that its views be followed, the views expressed by the Japanese Government prevail. To that the Ambassador did not reply. Instead, he said that he had suggested to the “Manchukuo” authorities that they should buy more of goods and services from countries other than Japan than they have been doing; that they had replied to him that they were making their purchases on the basis of bids and prices and that in almost every connection they could get what they wanted from Japanese sources at less prices than from other foreign sources. Nevertheless, they had given to French firms the contracts for the building of the Foreign Office at Hsinking; and they had placed an order for structural steel with German firms, the price having been low. And they had agreed with him in principle that they should throw more trade to other countries. And the conversation then turned to other subjects.