751.94/123: Telegram
The Chargé in France (Murphy) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 7—1:18 a.m.]
268. Wellington Koo18 tells me that he is reliably informed that the German delegates in Wiesbaden have repeatedly emphasized in private conversation with their French colleagues that it would be most unfortunate if France took any action to provoke a conflict with Japan in the Far East.
Koo, who was informed by Baudoin of the current Japanese proposals regarding Indochina, infers that Baudoin’s idea in placing the question on the American door step is to enable France after a mild show of resistance in Tongking to submit to Japan as gracefully as possible. The French Government entertains no hope of effective American intervention for the present.
- Chinese Ambassador in France.↩