793.94/3758g: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Forbes)

30. 1. Navy Department has ordered Admiral Taylor, Commander in Chief United States Asiatic Squadron, Manila, to proceed on flagship Houston with available destroyers to Shanghai.

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2. Department wishes it to be understood that ship movements and American action involve and imply no threat to anyone but are measures of precaution for ensuring safety of American lives and legitimate interests and fulfilling our responsibilities in general at Shanghai and other exposed ports in the Yangtze and elsewhere in China.

Stimson