793.94/2161
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Castle)
The French Ambassador29 stated that he had come to talk about the Manchurian situation. The Secretary came in to say a few words to him about the Kellogg Pact and cooperation with the League. He told the Ambassador that it seemed that the time had come that the provisions of the Kellogg Pact probably should be invoked; that he had suggested this to Sir Eric Drummond, but that in a telephone [Page 165] conversation with Mr. Gilbert in Geneva this morning30 Mr. Gilbert had said that Sir Eric was afraid of invoking the Pact at this moment for fear that it might bring up other issues which would make settlement of the Manchurian problem more difficult. He suggested to the Ambassador that it might be well to telegraph to Mr. Briand, who will attend the meeting of the council tomorrow, informing him of our feeling in the matter, and assuring him that if the League should decide to call to the attention of the Chinese and Japanese their obligation under the Pact, we would act concurrently; also the Secretary pointed out that since the League had taken action from the beginning in the Manchurian matter, it might be better for the appeal to the signatories of the Kellogg Pact to act independently to go out from Geneva rather than was the case four years ago when it was sent out from Washington.
After the Secretary left the Ambassador asked a little about the present situation in Manchuria, and I told him what our feeling was. He said that in general, although he thought the Japanese had of course gone too far and that they had not lived up to the agreement made with the League on September 30th, nevertheless his sympathies were with Japan, because he felt that they had endured almost more from the Chinese in Manchuria than was humanly endurable. He said of course it was very serious that the military should have taken control as they have, but believed that the Japanese Government and especially Baron Shidehara, for whom he has great admiration, would get the upper hand of the military before war was actually declared.