793.94/8184: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:25 p.m.]
465. Reference Embassy’s 459, September 21, 6 p.m.18 It now appears that the establishment of the proposed “inspectorate” has been abandoned at least for the time being. The representative of the Ministry of Finance who was sent to Tientsin to investigate the local situation, particularly with a view to the establishment of the “inspectorate”, after several conferences with General Sung Che Yuan and the local customs authorities, is said to have made a report to Nanking but no information is available regarding his recommendations.
Due to the very effective interference by the customs with the transport of smuggled goods by the Tientsin–Pukow and Pieping–Hankow Railways, large quantities of smuggled goods are now being sent from Tientsin to the interior by motor trucks as far as Tsinanfu and through Central and South Hopei. It is reported that this trade is so profitable that the motor trucks used pay for themselves within 2 weeks.
The Consulate General at Hankow which itself never appears to have been seriously affected, reports that the authorities there are confident that their preventive measures have effectively checked [Page 314] the movement of smuggled goods on the Peiping–Hankow Railway. With North China flooded with smuggled goods, however, any action that tends to weaken the effectiveness of the customs measures will be viewed with concern by American and foreign merchants there.
Copy by mail to Tokyo.
- Not printed.↩