793.94/2515: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in France (Shaw)
551. For General Dawes: The Japanese Ambassador here some time ago brought to my attention articles 3 and 10 of the “Protocols attached to the Sino-Japanese treaty relating to Manchuria, December 22, 1905”. Possibly some mention will be made to you of these articles. [Page 457] In anticipation, I am moved to inform you that I understand the Chinese long have claimed these “Protocols” were not adopted as a part of the treaty agreement they concluded with the Japanese negotiators in 1905.
Should the Japanese bring the “Protocols” to your attention, I suggest you make no comment whatever. The right time, if and when, to discuss their character and interpretation will be not now but in the negotiations to be carried on ultimately, it is hoped by all, to settle the long-outstanding issues beween the two countries.