Office of the Historian

893.6363 Manchuria/156: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, March 29, 1935—11 a.m.
[Received March 29—7 a.m.]

69. Department’s 44, March 22, 6 p.m., paragraph 3,

1.
I do not believe that further, last-minute appeals to the Japanese Government in the hope of preventing or postponing the oil monopoly in Manchuria would be effective in any respect.
2.
I have discussed the advisability and character of future steps, taking the oil monopoly as a fait accompli, with my British colleague, who agrees with me that we cannot accept without further protest [Page 888] the replies made by the Japanese Government to our representations. (This assumes that the reply to our representations will be substantially the same as that made to the British representations.) It appears to us both that our Governments might well put in a final word, to the general effect that the replies of the Japanese Government have in no way altered our views; however, that we still consider the establishment of the monopoly and the participation by Japanese nationals in the privileged Manchuria Oil Company to be plain infringements of treaties and declarations; and that therefore we feel that the Japanese Government cannot escape a measure of responsibility for losses suffered by our nationals through the operation of the monopoly. We ourselves cannot of course take this action until after the receipt of the reply to our own representations. Clive is consulting his Government.
3.
In addition to the above, the British Embassy is considering the advisability of suggesting to its Foreign Office that the entire correspondence between the British and Japanese Governments in regard to the oil monopoly in Manchuria be published, in view of the fact that the Japanese Foreign Office, without consulting the British Government, released for publication an English version of its reply (which was marked “confidential”) to the British representations.

To Peiping by mail.

Grew