Office of the Historian

793.94119/670: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, September 20, 1940—10 p.m.
[Received September 20—9:15 p.m.]

870. 1. With reference to my 864, September 19, 10 p.m.,50 penultimate paragraph, second sentence, it may be significant that last evening the Soviet Ambassador expressed to my British colleague the opinion that Chiang Kai Shek is now considering making peace with Japan. When Sir Robert Craigie said that according to his information the Generalissimo is more determined than ever to prosecute the hostilities, Mr. Smetanin replied that in spite of the fact that the road over the Pamirs is in excellent condition for the transport of war materials to China until the snow comes, there has recently been a marked falling off of Chinese orders. (Please compare my 748, August 26, 2 p.m.,50 second paragraph of paraphrase.)

2. The possibility of some sort of understanding between Japan, France, Germany and Soviet Russia with regard to the Far East seems to me to bear watching.

Sent to the Department. Repeated to Shanghai and Moscow. Shanghai please repeat to Chungking.

Grew
  1. Printed in vol. i, section entitled “Relations of Japan With the Axis Powers and With the Soviet Union.”↩
  2. Printed in vol. i, section entitled “Relations of Japan With the Axis Powers and With the Soviet Union.”↩