893.76/71: Telegram
The Consul General at Tientsin (Caldwell) to the Secretary of State
[Received 11 p.m.]
16. Referring to my telegram No. 97, December 31, noon,22 local representatives of Radio Corporation of America and Mackay Radio have informed me that they were considering establishment in Tientsin British Concession of sending and receiving station; that they have received provisional permit to operate from Chinese Government Communications Department through head of Chinese Government Telegraph Office here, formal permit to be delivered to their head offices in Shanghai; that they have not requested permission to operate from British Concession authorities; but that they were informed yesterday by British police that they would not be permitted to operate such station in British Concession as the Japanese Consul General objected and the British are unwilling to permit in their Concession a cause of friction with the Japanese Government, additional to those already existing. (See my telegram No. 15, January 20, 2 p.m.)22 Chairman of the British Municipal Council yesterday informed [me?] that a letter had been received from the Japanese Consul General stating that he had learned that the station mentioned above was preparing to operate and making objection. The Chairman informed [Page 243] me that the British authorities would not permit the station to operate in their Concession. I told him that I was not informed concerning the present plans of the company in question and that I had no objection to the British Concession police making inquiries concerning the matter. I informed the representatives of the company concerned today that I was not prepared to approach the authorities of the British Concession in an effort to persuade them to withdraw their objection to the proposed station unless instructed by my Government to do so but that I would report the status of the matter to the Embassy and the Department.
Repeated to Embassy at Peiping and Hankow and Consulate General at Shanghai.