393.1115/348: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 28—2:30 a.m.]
586. Reference Department’s telegram No. 281, August 26, 7 p.m. Following is submitted after a consultation with Commander-in-Chief.
- 1.
- With departure President Lincoln from Shanghai today for Manila all Americans now desirous leaving south-bound will have gone and unless conditions become much more unsafe south-bound ships can omit this port.
- 2.
- Americans in Shanghai now wishing proceed to the United States, probably not to exceed 300, most of whom can be accommodated on Hoover and McKinley sailing August 31st and September 1st.
- 3.
- Suggestion that ships anchor at sufficient distance from Shanghai to avoid necessity of war risk insurance can be complied with; in fact all ships so far have anchored in Yangtze off Woosung or in the lower Whangpoo and have remained at anchor less than 4 hours in each case. No neutral merchant ships have been attacked or harmed. Definite information is requested whether anchorage in areas indicated will eliminate war risk insurance. We are definitely of the opinion that risks involved do not justify war risk insurance rates quoted.
- 4.
- Commander-in-Chief states he is concerned about number of our nationals in North China who total roughly 3,500. With the stoppage of coastal merchant traffic and the suggested elimination of Shanghai as port of call the removal of these nationals may become difficult. Naval vessels especially destroyers are generally unsuitable for transportation of civilians especially women and children owing to lack of any suitable accommodations. They can be used for short hauls of not over 31 hours in length. Use of such vessels for transporting any number of nationals from North China to Manila or Kobe is out of the question except in case of grave emergency.
Plans for homeward bound ships to call at Shanghai after departure Hoover and McKinley on August 19th [31st] and September 1st may be deferred until situation at Shanghai clarifies. There are substantial advance demands for passage for Americans from North China on Lincoln and Grant due here September 10th and 11th homeward bound. It is possible that shipping coastwise and foreign may be able fully to resume at Shanghai without Government’s direction before any decision need be made on those vessels. Possibility of omitting Shanghai and substituting Tsingtao might be considered. Would war risk insurance be demanded [of] diversions to Tsingtao?