Office of the Historian

893.102S/1810: Telegram

The Commander in Chief, United States Asiatic Fleet (Yarnell), to the Chief of Naval Operations (Leahy)48

[Shanghai,] May 12, 1939.

I strongly recommend that the State Department inform the Japanese Government Foreign Office in Tokyo that any unilateral action against the present Government of the International Settlement will be viewed with grave disapproval. Such notification will enable the Foreign Office to control the action of their army. I believe that such notification should be made public by our State Department in order that the Nipponese Army will know, without being informed by [Page 46] their Foreign Office, of the views and attitude of the United States Government.

I recommend this action because much apprehension is being felt by the authorities in the International Settlement that the Japanese Army may take action regarding the Settlement probably without knowledge or approval of the Tokyo Foreign Office. Any such action would undoubtedly lead to a dangerous situation for foreigners due to the large population of Chinese in the Settlement and French Concession.

  1. Paraphrased telegram transmitted to the Department on May 12 by the Navy Department.↩