124.946/131: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
388. Your 970, July 10, 10 p.m. I have given personal attention to your telegram under reference and I assure you that I appreciate [Page 305] and sympathize with the point of view you express. The problem you raise is one of the most difficult with which the Government is confronted from point of view of effective organization and coordination of activities. There is certainly no desire to deny to you prompt access to information of the most confidential character which may be available to us here. At the same time other highly important considerations on occasion operate to cause us not to send to anyone by cable or by radio certain types of information which we may have. In existing circumstances in the world today we are convinced that it is not safe to entrust to the cable or to the radio information which it would be definitely against the interests of the United States to have reach certain foreign governments. At times certain highly confidential information forms the basis of decisions which are to be carried out at some future date and it is essential from point of view of the interests of the United States that every precaution be taken to insure that the information in question as well as the decision to be carried out should not become known to certain foreign governments. In some instances the source of information is so highly confidential that under no circumstances would we feel at liberty, for fear of compromising the source, to entrust that information to cable or radio communication. It is of course obvious that the greater distribution there is of confidential information the greater the likelihood that the information may through some means or other fall into undesired hands.
With regard to my conversation on July 3 with the British Ambassador, you were informed in my telegram no. 372, July 4, 3 p.m.,88 of the general purport of the reports reaching this Government. No source was disclosed and no particularization of the detailed reports was given to you by us. In thinking the matter over in retrospect, we might well have informed you that we had new reports that Japanese nationals in the United States were taking new steps to liquidate their assets in this country. This development in itself was not regarded as of special significance, in as much as Japanese nationals in the United States had been taking such steps from time to time over a period of a good many months. Other reports which we took into account in formulating our telegram no. 372, July 4, 3 p.m., to you were to the effect that the Japanese were recalling some of their vessels from United States ports. Reference to reports on this aspect of the situation was contained in Radio Bulletin No. 157 of July 3.
If the British Ambassador in reporting to his Government, and in repeating his reports to his colleague at Tokyo, is revealing sources of information or communicating details and types of information transmission of which by cable or by radio creates in our considered judgment great danger that such information may fall into the hands [Page 306] of the aggressor governments and operate to the definite disadvantage of the interests of the United States, there is presented the question whether we should restrict the nature of information which we have been communicating to the British Ambassador here or whether we should repeat to the Ambassador requests previously made that he not forward certain types of particularized information by radio or by cable.
We realize the importance of your having promptly significant information having relationship to the very difficult mission with which you are charged and which you are discharging with such credit, distinction and devotion to duty and to the interests of your country. We have been making special effort to that end. You will realize of course that in so doing we shall necessarily have to keep in mind and be guided by the considerations which I have set forth in this telegram.