793.94/4187: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Wilson), at Geneva
16. Your 21, February 14, 11 a.m., second paragraph.
Upon receipt of an informal request from Drummond you may give him the following as an informal memorandum.
On January 20th, the Japanese Consul General at Shanghai presented to the Mayor certain demands. At the same time the Japanese Admiral announced that, in case the Chinese failed to give a satisfactory reply to the demands, he would take necessary measures to protect Japanese rights and interests. On the afternoon of January 28th, the Mayor accepted the Japanese demands in their entirety.
On the morning of January 28th, the Municipal Council of the International Settlement at Shanghai had declared a state of emergency, to be effective from 4 o’clock that afternoon. The defense forces of various powers began taking position in their defense areas. A Japanese force was already on garrison duty in the normal Japanese defense area. On the night of 28th, the Japanese mobilized additional forces and having given definite notice at 11 p.m., moved at [Page 357] midnight from their normal defense sector westward into the Chinese district of Chapei east of the railway line. There they met resistance from Chinese troops. This clash developed into the phase of serious combat which still continues.
The course of the subsequent efforts at conciliation may be sketched briefly as follows:
Toward the end of January the American Government was informed from Nanking and Tokyo that the Chinese and the Japanese Governments respectively had asked for the good offices of the American and other Governments toward the prevention of further hostilities.
The American Government, the British, the French and the Italian Governments immediately conferred with regard to the matter. As a result, representatives of these four Governments, under instructions, on February 2d presented concurrently at Tokyo and at Nanking proposals, in five articles, for cessation of conflict.
The Chinese Government replied almost immediately, accepting the proposals in their entirety. The Japanese Government replied, on February 4th, favorably with regard to two articles (the third and fourth), somewhat inconclusively with regard to one other (the first) and in definite rejection of two (the second and fifth); and they stated that they would be willing to consider any further suggestions the powers might desire to present.
While these replies were being given consideration, officials of the Japanese Foreign Office on February 6th informed officials of the American, British and French Embassies at Tokyo that they had a project for negotiations to be initiated at Shanghai toward effecting a cessation of hostilities and the creation of a neutral zone to be patrolled by neutrals. The powers, taking this as a proposal in good faith, gave appropriate instructions to their representatives in Shanghai to expect such an initiative from the Japanese authorities and when such proposal was made to cooperate. The powers in the meantime desisted from further consideration of the Japanese reply to the proposals which they had made in tender of good offices and awaited the development of this proposal of the Japanese Government.
During the next 4 days it became apparent that the Japanese armed forces at Shanghai were being substantially augmented and there appeared no evidence that any serious effort was being made by the Japanese authorities there toward proceeding with negotiations such as had been outlined at Tokyo to the foreign ambassadors. Japanese authorities at Shanghai and at Tokyo declared that the Chinese armed forces must be withdrawn to a distance of 20 miles from Shanghai [Page 358] and that fighting would be continued until they had been so withdrawn. At the same time the Japanese forces, notwithstanding protests which had been made repeatedly by several governments and by the International Municipal Council, continued to use the International Settlement in various respects as a base for their operations and to jeopardize its safety by various acts connected with those operations.
By February 11, it had become clear that the Japanese were continuing and increasing the scope of their military operations and were sending to Shanghai large bodies of troops and considerable equipment, from which it could only be concluded that they intended to make a more substantial military effort.
Under these circumstances, the American Government felt it necessary to refrain for the time being from any renewal of initiative on its part in efforts of conciliation, but informed its representatives that it would look with approval upon any impartial efforts which might be made toward bringing about a cessation of violence and prevention of further hostilities.
The American Government has throughout this period frequently communicated with other governments concerned and endeavored to make its views known to them; it has assumed that through other governments members of the League of Nations its position would be made known to the Council of the League; and it has given careful consideration to the information supplied to it regarding the views of other governments and the proceedings of the Council.
As the matter stands today, the American Government is not actively participating in any express effort on behalf of any “peace proposals” or project. Its representatives at Shanghai are cooperating with representatives of other countries in relation to the problem of maintaining the rights, fulfilling the obligations and insuring the safety of the lives and property of their nationals at Shanghai and are ready at any time, if and when so requested by the disputants, to participate in efforts to conclude arrangements whereby the hostilities there, both actual and impending, may on terms fair to both of the disputants be brought to an end. The American Government remains ready, if and when asked by the disputants to do so, again to exercise, in cooperation with other governments, good offices. It is also prepared to give solicitous consideration to any project in the nature of a peace proposal intended for possible consideration by or submission to the disputants which may be brought seriously to its attention.