393.115/709: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 8—2:50 p.m.]
702. My 527, June 23, noon,32 regarding transportation of employees of Andersen, Meyer and Company to Kiukiang. Rouse and Russian interpreter were issued Kiukiang landing permits and boarded Japanese transport Murasaki Maru on August 7, for the trip to Kiukiang. The following Americans boarded same vessel for the trip to Hankow: A. R. Boynton of Seventh Day Adventist Mission, his wife and two children; George Campbell of Standard-Vacuum Oil Company and C. L. Pickens of American Church Mission. Ten Americans and eight Chinese employees of American organizations are still awaiting transportation to Hankow. It is hoped that they will be able to proceed on another Japanese transport scheduled to leave Shanghai on or about August 20.
Admiral Hart33 has supplied a translation of a letter dated July 29, 1939 addressed to himself and to the senior British, French, and Italian Naval officers in Shanghai by the Japanese Commander in Chief, China Sea Fleet which states in part: [Page 364]
“As regards the transport of your nationals on your gunboats on the upward trip, we are prepared to approve the following:
Army and navy officers and their families.
Diplomats, consulate staffs and their families. Landing permits will be issued upon consultation on lists submitted to us in advance.
With regard to the transport of your nationals on your gunboats on the downward trip, we request that consultation be held in advance with the Japanese authorities on the spot. As regards the transport of third power nationals, both up and down, the Japanese authorities would welcome a decision of the third power authorities to avail themselves of the Japanese military and naval transports as heretofore, instead of using their own gunboats.”
American naval authorities anticipate that two American gunboats will leave Shanghai for Hankow late this month. It is believed that the requirements of American nationals and organizations will be satisfactorily met if Japanese transports continue to offer passenger travel facilities on an average of twice a month and that therefore compliance with the Japanese request to use only Japanese transports for the purpose would not in practice prove a serious hardship to Americans and American organizations.
I have to point out that the Japanese authorities can readily make their restrictions effective by refusing permission to land to persons traveling by gunboat.
I have suggested to Rear Admiral Glassford,34 now senior American Naval officer present, that it would seem to me desirable to make an appropriate reservation of our rights to transport our nationals on our naval vessels at any time and to and from any place as circumstances may require, but that we might add the statement that the procedure heretofore followed of requesting transportation facilities by Japanese transports to and from Hankow will in general continue to be followed so long as such facilities are made available on reasonably frequent sailings.
Repeated to Chungking, Peiping, Tokyo, and Hankow.