793.94/4146

Memorandum by the Secretary of State

I met the Japanese Ambassador at 3:30 this afternoon as I was coming into the building and as he was coming out from a conference with the Under Secretary. The Ambassador told me of the report he had made to the Under Secretary and referred to negotiations which he understood were going on at Shanghai.

I told him that I understood that some negotiations were going on there, but so far as we were concerned, they must be considered entirely as a proposal coming from the Japanese; that I did not wish to have any misunderstanding on the part of his Government as to that; that the four powers had made a balanced proposal which we considered fair for both sides; that the Japanese had rejected [Page 190] one of the elements which was considered in favor of the Chinese. The Ambassador nodded his head and said, “You mean the fifth point”. I said, “Yes. Our proposal having been thus rejected, we have not renewed it, and whatever proposals are now made can be understood as coming from the Japanese.” He asked me whether we were going to make any further proposals. I told him I did not know.

H[enry] L. S[timson]