393.1163 American Church Mission/50: Telegram
The Consul General at Hankow (Josselyn) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 15—2:03 p.m.]
65. Yesterday morning I received a letter for [from?] Dr. Logan Roots of the American Church Mission Hospital, Wuchang, reporting that he had on November 13th been called to St. Michael’s Church of the same mission in which Japanese soldiers had trespassed and from which premises they were driving out refugees. At the church Roots states that after preliminary remonstrances he “tried to close the gates and stop the women being dragged off”. This action angered the Japanese who thereupon “hit the United States flag on the gate with their fists and threw carbolic acid in my face”. (It has been subsequently learned that disinfectant solution was throw and that Dr. Roots was not injured.)
[Page 537]I immediately despatched yesterday morning by messenger a letter to the Japanese Consul General reporting the incident and requesting that arrangements be made for a member of my staff to visit Wuchang “at the earliest possible moment” to investigate the matter. I have thus far, as in the case of all my previous communications addressed to him, received no reply. Yesterday morning an officer of the United States Consulate General orally asked a Japanese Vice Consul to attempt to make arrangements for a visit to Wuchang this morning. No such arrangement was made. The same officer this afternoon called at the Japanese Consulate General and its military liaison office and, expressing a hope that the matter might be expeditiously and locally settled, requested facilities for visiting Wuchang this afternoon.
This request was refused on the grounds that arrangements must first be made with the military authorities in Wuchang and that communications between Hankow and Wuchang are very slow. It was stated that a member of my staff will probably be able to visit Dr. Roots tomorrow afternoon.
Repeated to Chungking, Peiping. Peiping please repeat to Tokyo.