Office of the Historian

893.51 Russian Issue/56: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in China (Johnson)

Washington, January 30, 1937—3 p.m.

18. Your telegram 20, January 14, 3 p.m., in regard to Russian issue of Reorganization Loan. Department has received from J. G. White and Company authorization for the unrestricted use of the material, including citation of the sources of such material, submitted to the Department by the company and in turn transmitted to the Embassy as enclosures to the Department’s instruction No. 252 of September 5, 1936.82

Department desires that the Embassy, unless it perceives objection thereto, tactfully and informally inform the appropriate Chinese authorities to the effect that, whereas the archives of the Ministry of Finance may contain no record of settlements with bondholders of British and Japanese nationality, there would appear to exist ample proof that settlements were made with some agency of the Chinese [Page 663] Government and that the American Government naturally assumes that the Chinese Government will not wish to discriminate against American holders of the bonds under reference by withholding from them an opportunity to receive payment on terms no less favorable than those granted to bondholders of other nationality.

In your approach to the Chinese Government judicious use may be made of the pertinent portions of the aforementioned material, particularly the letter of July 15 addressed to White, Drummond and Company by Sir Leonard Franklin.83

Hull
  1. Ibid., p. 595; enclosures not attached to file copy of instruction.↩
  2. Not printed.↩