Office of the Historian

393.1115/4054: Telegram

The Chargé in China (Peck) to the Secretary of State

Chungking, February 14, 1939—6 p.m.
[Received February 14—3:20 p.m.]

102. Department’s 29, February 13, 8 p.m.

1.
On February 13 not having received any reply to the Embassy’s note to the Foreign Office of February 11 (see my February 11, noon) the Embassy telephoned to Foreign Office and was informed that the contents of the note had been transmitted on February 11 to the military authorities concerned; that no reply had yet been received; and that every effort would be made to ascertain and report developments. The Embassy again emphasized the importance of the matter.
2.
On receipt of the Department’s February 13, 8 p.m., I again telephoned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was informed that no information had been received from the military authorities. I therefore decided to approach the military authorities directly and asked the Assistant Military Attaché to call at once on General Ho Yao Tsu, chief of the Department of General Affairs of the Military Affairs Commission, who has had the matter in hand. General Ho appeared well disposed but in replying to questions of importance stated that the headquarters in Chungking had not yet sent any instructions to General Yang in command at Kuling to assist in evacuating American citizens from Kuling and declined to send any official orders to that effect until a report on the general situation had been received from him which report was expected on February 17th. General Ho agreed, however, to telegraph General Yang today in his [Page 286] personal and not official capacity urging that he render all possible assistance both to persons wishing to leave Kuling and to an escort party from Kiukiang.
3.
General Ho also agreed to transmit a further message to the committee in Kuling and I have asked him to send the following: Allgood,95 Kuling. Message received 11th. Japanese cooperation in evacuation still open and Embassy has requested similar cooperation from Chinese. Embassy strongly urges that all Americans who are inclined to evacuate set early date in consultation with Chinese local commander and notify Embassy of date and number of persons through him. Route should be [“]via Lienhuatung”.
4.
In a subsequent telephone consultation with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs I impressed on him once more the great urgency of the matter and received his assurance that while decision regarding action must remain with the military authorities the Foreign Office would do its utmost to bring about the results desired by the American and British Embassies.

Repeated to Davies, Hankow, Shanghai, Peiping.

Peck
  1. Roy Allgood, Kuling American School.↩