793.94/14047½
President Roosevelt to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek42
The appointed Chinese Ambassador at this capital has communicated to me your message of October 8.
The situation in the Far East has been and continues to be a subject to which I give close attention and a great deal of thought. The need for a solution of the tragic conflict which has arisen in the Far East through pacific negotiation, on a basis of justice and neither through the exercise of force nor under the threat of the exercise of force, is daily becoming more imperative in the interest of the re-establishment of the reign of law and order in the world. I am profoundly hopeful that in this manner adjustments and settlements may be found in the Far East which will remove causes of conflict, conform to the standards of real equity, and thus contribute effectively to the cause of peace.
You may rest assured that if in my opinion an appropriate opportunity is presented for me to assist in the furtherance of these objectives, I shall gladly avail myself of the occasion.
- This message was handed to the appointed Chinese Ambassador on October 19 by the Adviser on Political Relations, for transmittal to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.↩