Office of the Historian

600.939/209: Telegram

The First Secretary of Embassy in China (Salisbury) to the Secretary of State

Peiping, July 13, 1938—4 p.m.
[Received July 13—1:30 p.m.]

440. Embassy’s 437, July 12, 4 p.m.44 A Secretary of the Japanese Embassy states that the embargo on export of skins and hides was imposed by the direction of the Japanese military to meet increasing army need for leather, Terauchi45 being responsible for the order. Informant requested to be informed of the extent of American interest in that export trade and particularly of the amount of the shipments now being held up by the imposition of the new order, and expressed willingness to take up the matter with the military, [Page 26] “in consideration of friendly relations between Japan and the United States.”

The Embassy is furnishing him the pertinent information from Tientsin’s telegrams. Has the Department any instructions?

Repeated to Tokyo, the Ambassador at Hankow and Tientsin.

[
Salisbury
]
  1. Not printed.↩
  2. Gen. Count Terauchi, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Army in North China.↩