393.1163 American Church Mission/58: Telegram
The Consul General at Hankow (Josselyn) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10 p.m.]
77. Department’s telegram No. 19, November 21, 7 p.m., Roots. On November 21 I wrote to the Japanese Consul General in part as follows:
“This Consulate General, having completed an investigation of the case, is prepared to consider the incident closed on the understanding that measures have been taken to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in the future and that should this office again consider it necessary to establish personal contact with an American citizen in Wuchang, it may be enabled to do so without delay.”
I assumed that the Department did not object to this procedure since I had received no reply to my telegram No. 70, November 17, 6 p.m.
This morning I called on the Japanese Consul General and informed him that I had been instructed to request an expression of regret in connection with this case. He stated that from his information the case was not serious but that he would say that it was very regrettable that misunderstandings of this kind took place. I stated that while fortunately it was not serious yet I could not treat it as unintentional; that the facts as told by Roots were that a Japanese soldier had intentionally struck the American flag and also sprayed carbolic solution on Roots. I stated, however, that I would accept his statement that the affair was regrettable.
Repeated to Chungking, Peiping.