761.93 Manchuria/140: Telegram
The Consul at Harbin (Merrell) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 2—7 a.m.]
31. The Kwantung Army officially released at 2:30 last night a statement to the effect that during the afternoon Soviet planes bombed the railway and bridges along the Tumen River both in Manchuria and Korea and that five of them were shot down.
An American visitor in Hsinking last week declared the officials there were relieved when the tension appeared to be relaxing. He was certain that the Russians were the aggressors. It therefore follows that the present incident, if reported correctly by the Kwantung Army, is undoubtedly causing great concern in Hsinking and Tokyo, as all evidence indicates that the Japanese do not desire a Soviet war at the present time.
It has been reliably learned that civilian movements in the affected districts in Manchuria and Korea have been strictly controlled for the past 10 days.
Repeated to Mukden, Tokyo.