793.94/4933: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Consul General at Shanghai (Cunningham)
Washington, March 31, 1932—3
p.m.
124. For the Minister. Your March 29, 5 p.m., particularly paragraph 6, and your March 31, 1 p.m., paragraph 3.
- 1.
- With regard to the insistence of the Chinese upon a specified time limit for the final retirement of the Japanese troops into the Settlement and extra-Settlement road areas, the Department feels that the all-important point to be kept to the forefront is the urgent and immediate need of reaching a signed agreement relating to the cessation of hostilities at Shanghai in order that at least one step forward, however small, may be made by the peace machinery set in motion for a liquidation of the difficult situation at Shanghai.
- 2.
- The Department suggests, therefore, that you discuss the matter with Sir Miles Lampson and, if he is willing to join with you, that both of you seek to impress upon the Chinese and Japanese representatives at the negotiations the desirability of arriving at some such arrangement as proposed by Lampson when he suggested the addition of the paragraph referred to in paragraph 6 of your March 29, 5 p.m. If the Chinese are still insistent upon their point of view, might not the question of the time limit be reserved (a) for consideration at a later conference or (b) “pending later arrangements upon the reestablishment of normal conditions”, the phraseology used in Article 2 referred to in paragraph 1 of your March 31, 1 p.m.? The Department feels that the success of the negotiations which are now in progress at Shanghai will be influenced to an important degree by the personal influence which you and Sir Miles Lampson can bring to bear on both the Chinese and Japanese representatives in persuading them to accept [Page 654] provisions which are reasonable and realistic in the light of all the circumstances.
Castle