793.94/9579: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Tientsin (Caldwell)
14. Your No. 25 [26], August 21, 3 p.m., in regard to Japanese censorship of mail at Tientsin.
While the Department realizes that, under the conditions now prevailing at Tientsin, a protest might not prove effectual, it feels that you should informally and as on your own initiative advise your Japanese colleague that the censorship of American mail by Japanese censors in Tientsin would be an unwarranted invasion of the rights of American nationals concerned, and express the hope that the Japanese will refrain from action which, if taken, would constitute grounds for protest by your Government on behalf of its nationals.
[Page 279]Before taking the action outlined in the foregoing paragraph, you should endeavor to ascertain the attitude of your interested colleagues and consult the Embassy in the matter.