Office of the Historian

393.115 Chase National Bank/14: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, October 31, 1938—6 p.m.
[Received November 1—3 a.m.]

696. Department’s 368, October 27, 7 p.m., shipment of bullion on President Coolidge. As the Foreign Office stated that it was physically impossible for the Foreign Minister to receive me today, I saw the Vice Minister and fully carried out the Department’s instructions, leaving with Sawada an informal memorandum as a record of my oral presentation setting forth the pertinent facts and then following closely the language used in paragraph 3 of the Department’s telegram.

The Vice Minister replied that the permits for the shipment of the bullion had been issued by the Chinese Customs under a misunderstanding because the shipment of bullion had been prohibited both by the Provisional Government and by the Japanese military authorities. I replied that we do not recognize the Provisional Government nor the jurisdiction thereof nor do we recognize the authority of the Japanese military authorities touching this matter. The Vice Minister made no further comment.

Repeated to Chungking.

Grew