Office of the Historian

893.515/1334

Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton) of a Conversation With the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Taylor)

[Washington,] October 21, 1938.

After discussing the matter49 with Mr. Feis, Mr. Hornbeck and Mr. Hackworth,50 and obtaining their concurrence, and under authorization from the Secretary, I telephoned Mr. Wayne Taylor of the Treasury Department and told him that the Secretary felt that, inasmuch as we have heretofore handled this matter orally, it would be preferable to continue that procedure and to communicate to him orally a statement of our attitude which he had requested yesterday on behalf of the Secretary of the Treasury. I then said that we were of the opinion that any move by this Government toward acquiring [Page 328] a property interest in the silver in question under the circumstances now pertaining thereto would be inadvisable. Mr. Taylor made note of this statement. I also said that we proposed issuing an instruction to the American Consul General at Shanghai asking the Consul General to inform the British Embassy orally and informally, in response to its inquiry, that he had no comment to make other than to say that he understood that the silver in question was not specifically included in any arrangement now in effect between the Chinese and American Governments. I asked Mr. Taylor whether that was a correct statement as to fact. He replied in the affirmative. I said that we would not send off such a telegram at once and that we would appreciate being informed that the Treasury Department had no objection to such a telegram.51

During the conversation I said that we of course assumed that so far as the Chinese Government was concerned, the Chinese Government was aware of the fact that if this silver should be delivered at some American port the Treasury Department in all probability would be prepared to purchase it. Mr. Taylor indicated that this assumption was correct.52

M[axwell] M. H[amilton]
  1. Possible interest of the American Government in Chinese silver stocks held in North China.↩
  2. Green H. Hackworth, Legal Adviser.↩
  3. See telegram No. 594, October 27, 6 p.m., to the Consul General at Shanghai, p. 346.↩
  4. See also memorandum of November 9, by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs, p. 567.↩