711.942/621: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
329. Your 756, August 27, 6 p.m.,29 numbered paragraph 4, second sentence. The Department feels that on all occasions when it is convenient and practicable there should be interposed objection to statements that the United States Government “suddenly and without warning abrogated the commercial treaty of 1911.” For many months before this Government gave notification, in accordance with express provision in the treaty for that procedure, of its desire that the treaty be terminated, it had been a matter of common knowledge and had been a topic of discussion in the press, that the taking of such a step was under consideration. The notification itself involved a 6 months’ period before the termination would take place. We feel that neither the charge of suddenness nor the charge of absence of warning is warranted. We feel that certain spokesmen and certain press correspondents and publicists, seeking to dramatize such matters and to make it appear that Japan was the injured party, choose to describe the action as sudden and without warning. We feel that unless we make use of convenient opportunities to combat that description of it, something which is really a myth will attain the character of an [Page 636] assumed fact and pass for such and be used, as in this case, as an argumentative weapon in the hands of diplomatic adversaries and critics in general of our policies and operations.
Sent to Tokyo via Shanghai.