793.94 Conference/82
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)
Mr. Welles read to the President over the telephone Tokyo’s strictly confidential telegram No. 487, October 22, 10 a.m., reporting that so far as the Japanese Foreign Office is concerned decision has been made to decline the invitation to the Brussels Conference. In view of the fact that it is probably now too late for this Government to take any action toward influencing Japan not to decline the invitation, the President thought that we should now await the opening of the Conference and then proceed at once toward clarifying the two points [Page 102] mentioned by the Japanese Foreign Office that a favorable reply could not be expected as long as the invitation did not specify that the Conference does not arise out of the League Resolution and the Secretary of State’s statement of October 6. The President thought that, after the Conference had clarified these two points, the Conference should extend a further invitation to Japan and at that time we should give consideration to the question whether the President would send a message to the Emperor of Japan urging that Japan attend the Conference.
At the time when Mr. Welles telephoned the President, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Ballantine23 were also present in Mr. Welles’ office.
It was decided that we should take no action for the present but should await the receipt of the text of Japan’s reply to the Belgian Government. With the text of Japan’s reply before us, we should draft a telegram to Norman Davis on board the Washington apprising him of the situation and of the course which he should follow at Brussels toward having the Conference send a further invitation to Japan.
It was decided that we should also consider sending Mr. Grew a telegram indicating our attitude: that the Conference has no relationship to the statement made by the Secretary on October 6; that it is not our idea that the Conference should undertake to declare Japan an aggressor; and that our concept in regard to the Conference is as indicated in the Department’s telegram 261, October 14, 5 p.m., to Tokyo, and in the statement made by the President at Hyde Park on October 19.
- Joseph W. Ballantine, Assistant Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs.↩