893.51 Salt Funds/230: Telegram
The Chargé in China (Peck) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:50 a.m.]
367. Department’s 99, June 7, 4 p.m., Salt Administration. I have consulted with Tenney, American citizen and a responsible foreign official of the Salt Administration, and have learned that there is a new development in the situation. This is an attempt (reported to be well advanced) on the part of certain officials of the Ministry of Finance to complete the process of merging the Salt Administration with the Ministry of Finance thereby destroying the identity of the former. This attempt may lead the administration to seek to remove causes of complaint by the foreign officials in order to gain their support against the attempted merger. I have decided therefore to postpone action and to await developments. In any case Chu, Director General of the Administration, is engaged in setting up new offices in pursuance of the order for the evacuation of Chungking and the Minister of Finance is recuperating at a resort some 30 miles from the city.
Repeated to Peiping, Shanghai.