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Memorandum by the Minister in China (Johnson) of a Conversation With Mr. David Drummond 44
Mr. Drummond called today and said that Mr. Monnet wished to see me, if possible, on Saturday afternoon, May 5. I told him that I would [Page 378] be very glad to see Mr. Monnet on Saturday afternoon at such a time as might be agreeable to him. Mr. Drummond asked me if I knew about their activities. I stated that I did not but would be very glad to hear anything that he might care to tell me.
Mr. Drummond referred to T. V. Soong’s visit in Europe last year, at which time there were discussions regarding the possibility of giving financial assistance to China. He said, however, that these discussions led no place at that time because T. V. was unwilling then to permit Japanese participation and the Japanese had intimated that they would prevent the successful accomplishment of any effort that might exclude them. Mr. Drummond stated that it was the opinion of Mr. Lamont and Sir Charles Addis that an effort of this kind could not be successful without Japanese participation and even T. V. Soong recognized this, and indicated his willingness to invite Japanese participation once the business was started. However, all that came out of this was that Mr. Monnet, who was in no way connected with the League but was quite independent, having been employed in the United States during recent years with Blair and Company and other financial organizations, had been invited to come out and look over the situation from a purely practical businessman’s point of view. Mr. Drummond said that Mr. Monnet had asked him to come along, and that the two of them had come out to China, and as a result of Mr. Monnet’s discussions and visit, he had now worked out a scheme which called for the organization of a Chinese bankers syndicate.
It was Mr. Monnet’s idea when he came out that he should find something stable in China with which to work, and he felt that he had found this in the Chinese bankers of Shanghai. It was expected that with these bankers a syndicate would be organized with a capital of ten million dollars, which would be purely Chinese, operating under a Chinese charter. It was a further idea that this syndicate should be able to offer any business proposals to foreign interests, either singly, or as a group. Mr. Monnet felt that in this way they might get rid of the consortium which was anathema to the Chinese, and also of the complaints that the Japanese might make, who are opposed to foreign assistance to China which would not include Japan.
Mr. Drummond stated that while in Hong Kong apparently rumors as to what was being done got out, which disturbed the Japanese considerably and he thought that the Japanese press statement of April 1745 was probably due to their misunderstanding of what Mr. Monnet was undertaking. Mr. Drummond thought perhaps the Japanese had connected Mr. Monnet and his work with the League, and with Dr. Rajchman, whom they dislike. He stated that Mr. Monnet had had a [Page 379] long conversation with Mr. Suma and he thought that probably the Japanese had a better understanding of the matter now.
Mr. Drummond said that Mr. Monnet was in Ruling at the present time for the purpose of having a final consultation with Dr. Kung46 and General Chiang,47 and that when Mr. Monnet returned from Ruling on Saturday, he would likely know whether this scheme would be consummated or not.
Mr. Drummond told me that all of the principal Chinese bankers in Shanghai were being included and one or two from North China, although, at the present time, they had no participants from South China.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Minister in China in his despatch No. 2715, May 9; received June 4. Mr. Drummond was a British national who accompanied M. Jean Monnet to China in 1933–34.↩
- Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 224.↩
- H. H. Kung, Vice President of the Executive Yuan (Vice Premier) and Minister of Finance.↩
- Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the Chinese Military Council and Commander in Chief of the Army, Navy, and Air Forces.↩