893.711/136a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss)
165. 1. Please repeat to the Embassy at Tokyo the message quoted below, as follows:
“Reference Shanghai’s 305, February 23, 7 p.m. The Department desires that you inform the Japanese Foreign Office that you are advised that the Japanese military authorities are planning to impose a censorship of mail at Shanghai. You should say that the censorship of American mail by Japanese censors at Shanghai would be an unwarranted infringement of the rights of the American nationals concerned and request that instructions be sent to the appropriate Japanese authorities at Shanghai to refrain from such censorship.
You may, before approaching the Foreign Office, wish to consult with your interested colleagues in regard to similar but separate action by them.”
2. The Department leaves to your discretion the question whether you should take similar action at Shanghai.69
- Representations were made at both Tokyo and Shanghai.↩