123 Service, Richard M./57: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Japan (Dooman)
305. Your 493, September 26, 3 p.m., and Chefoo’s October 3, noon, to Peiping. The Department does not consider that the oral statement of the Foreign Office of September 26 in regard to the searching of Vice Consul Service is satisfactory. It was not until almost a week later that the American Consul at Chefoo was in a position to report that Chefoo police officials had tendered him an apology and had given assurances that disciplinary action would be taken against those responsible and that measures had been taken to prevent a recurrence. [Page 391] While the Department would regard as reasonably satisfactory an adjustment on the basis indicated in Chefoo’s October 3, noon, to Peiping, provided the proposed disciplinary action were carried out, the Department is nevertheless very much surprised that the Foreign Office itself apparently has not deemed it appropriate to offer an expression of regret for the searching by Japanese-sponsored police of an American consular officer.
The Department is also surprised that the Foreign Office appears to have made no reply whatsoever to your formal representations of September 8 (your unnumbered September 9, 10 a.m.69) in regard to the forcible searching of Consul Roberts, which case remains unsettled.
The failure of the Foreign Office to make reply to your representations in the Roberts case, and the nature of the oral statement of the Foreign Office in regard to the Service case indicates that the Japanese Government lacks appreciation of the fundamental considerations involved in both cases which were set forth in the Department’s 274, September 5, 7 p.m. The Department accordingly desires that, in discretion, you make a further approach to the Foreign Office and the Embassy at Peiping renew its representations to the Embassy there. Your approach should be along the lines indicated in the preceding paragraphs and should include a reiteration of the statement of this Government’s position as comprehensively set forth in the Department’s 274, September 5, 7 p.m., which is applicable to the Service case as well as to the Roberts case, and in general to the continuing problem of incidents involving mistreatment of Americans by Japanese military and Japanese-sponsored agents.
Sent to Tokyo via Peiping. Repeated to Chungking and Chefoo.
- Not printed.↩