893.102 Tientsin/578
The Department of State to the Chinese Embassy
Informal Record of Oral Comments
American banks are, within the framework of the laws and regulations governing them, free to make their own decisions in the conduct of their business. If the National City Bank were to ask for the views of this Government in regard to the question of storing in its vaults at Tientsin the silver under discussion, this Government would feel impelled to point out that, as the matter now stands, the Japanese have not assented to the formula tentatively agreed upon between the Chinese and British authorities, that the formula makes [Page 846] no provision for the final disposition of the silver, that it also leaves open the question of who would decide when or whether hostilities had ceased, and that there would thus arise the possibility of serious complications for the bank if it were to accept the silver for storage under the conditions of that formula.
The Department of State desires, however, to be appropriately helpful and, if all of the parties concerned are able to work out an arrangement that would not give rise to the possibility of complications for the American bank concerned, the Department would willingly give further consideration to the attitude to be adopted by it toward such arrangement.