793.94 Commission/306: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 23—1:30 p.m.]
102. Your 101, July 22, 11 a.m. Drummond is leaving on vacation to-morrow and I have therefore talked to him today. We had an entirely informal and comprehensive review of situation. I told him of your desire to continue to cooperate with the League and to avoid working at cross-purposes.
Drummond believes that the report will be received about September 15, that he will print it, distribute it to members of the Assembly and cause it to be published perhaps 2 days later. This will take until approximately September 25. The report will be addressed to the Council and the Council will be summoned to consider it about October 10. Drummond estimates that it will sit for a week and that the Japanese and Chinese delegates will express their opinion on the report. In the improbable contingency that Japan is prepared to accept the report it may be possible to start negotiations at once. In the more probable event that Japan will not accept it the report together with the views of the Japanese and Chinese will be forwarded by the Council to the Assembly. In this event the Committee of Nineteen would probably meet about October 25, recommend to the Assembly the adoption of the Lytton report, call the Assembly about November 1st whereupon the Assembly presumably will adopt the report.
As to Japan’s action it is of course impossible at this juncture to predict. Drummond has heard from Haas that the Commission had a very short interview with Uchida and at that interview the Commission urged that no immediate steps be taken to prejudice the situation. Uchida replied that the Japanese policy was to make [accord?] recognition of the Manchukuo government at an early date. The Commission then refused to discuss the matter further and terminated the interview. Haas is of the impression that this does not necessarily represent a definite Japanese policy since opinion even in military circles is divided on the question of recognition. The internal state of Japan is very doubtful and anything may happen in the immediate future. Drummond assumes as you do that the report [Page 182] will be thoroughly objective and comprehensive and has received a message from Haas to the effect that there is no truth in the report of certain newspapers that members of the Commission are desirous of soft-pedaling the report in the fear that Japan may retire from the League. Drummond is not informed as to the nature of the report save in one particular, namely, that it will be made clear that the present Manchurian Government is not there by the will of the people but is purely a creature of the Japanese and dependent upon them for its existence.
On my own initiative I brought up the question of what contribution could be helpfully made by the American Government. Drummond replied that he saw nothing that could be usefully done until the reception of the report, that if the report was of a character satisfactory to you and of a character which he hoped to see it would of course be very useful if the Council could receive a message stating that you agreed with the tenor of the report and that the policy of the United States would be guided by its recommendations. This naturally would be entirely dependent on what the nature of the report shall prove to be. If Drummond has further thoughts on the subject of our cooperation he will send me word regarding them.