740.0011 Pacific War/540
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)38
Dr. E. Stanley Jones called at his request upon Mr. Acheson. Mr. Acheson asked Mr. Hamilton to be present.
Dr. Jones opened the conversation by referring to a memorandum which he had prepared in regard to conversations which he had had with Dr. Kagawa and Mr. Miao. This memorandum had been forwarded to Mr. Acheson by Congressman Vorys under cover of a letter of July 11, 1941.38a A copy of Dr. Jones’ memorandum had also been forwarded to the President. (See file no. 740.0011 P. W./517.)
Dr. Jones said that he had received a further telegram from Dr. Kagawa, who is now in Japan, to the effect that the situation was very critical and that Dr. Kagawa was continuing to work earnestly for peace. Dr. Jones said that Dr. Kagawa’s message also contained expression of a hope that Dr. Jones might see the President and urge the President to do what he could on behalf of peace in the Pacific. Dr. Jones said that he had sent to the President a copy of the telegram from Dr. Kagawa, but that he did not expect to see the President in as much as he realized that the President was naturally tremendously busy.
Dr. Jones said that he wished to lay before us certain thoughts of his in regard to the matter. He said that there would seem to be certain obvious factors bearing upon the question of relations between the United States and Japan: (1) The United States would not wish to “sell China down the river”; (2) some way must be found which will permit Japan to save her face; and (3) Japan must turn away from the Axis to closer association with countries such as the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands.
Dr. Jones said that he felt that some bold move by the United States was needed and that in his opinion Japan would be responsive [Page 456] to any such move. He said that in his communications Dr. Kagawa had advanced the thought that Japan very much needed additional room to expand and suggested that New Guinea might be turned over to Japan. Dr. Jones said that Manchuria had not proven to be a suitable place for Japanese colonizing, due to the cold climate and the dense Chinese population; that New Guinea had a population of only 600,000; that the British and the Dutch did not need New Guinea; that the British and the Dutch were asking us to do things for them in reference to the Pacific situation and that we could therefore with right ask the British and the Dutch to make such a transfer to Japan; and that, if such an arrangement could be effected, he (Dr. Jones) thought that the Japanese pressure on China would be relaxed or removed and that Japan would move away from the Axis into a course of peace.
Dr. Jones said that he did not know whether Dr. Kagawa was of the opinion that the transfer of New Guinea to Japan would satisfy Japan, but that he could make inquiry of Dr. Kagawa on that point. Both Mr. Acheson and Mr. Hamilton emphasized a number of times that they thought that any such inquiry by Dr. Jones of Dr. Kagawa would be unwise and could not be expected to serve any useful purpose. Dr. Jones said that he would not make such inquiry of Dr. Kagawa.
Dr. Jones said that the foregoing suggestion with regard to New Guinea represented what he had especially in mind and that he would leave the matter with us unless we wished to offer any comments. Mr. Acheson said that he did not wish to make any comment. Mr. Hamilton said that there of course would arise in the minds of many people the question whether such a transfer of New Guinea to Japan might not simply represent a further step by Japan in a program to acquire control of islands in Eastern Asia which would enable Japan to fend off Occidental influence and to impose Japan’s will upon the peoples of the mainland; also the question whether, if an American or the United States were to sponsor any such suggestion, the suggestion should not apply to American territory (such as the Philippines or the United States proper) rather than to the territory of other countries; et cetera. Mr. Hamilton said also that he was of course not undertaking to express any definitive opinion but simply to indicate a few of the many complicated questions which would naturally arise in connection with any such suggestion as that made by Dr. Jones. Mr. Acheson referred to Dr. Jones’ statement that the British and the Dutch expected us to aid them and commented to the effect that many people might hold the view that in the present world situation we were expecting the British and the Dutch to do something on our behalf. Mr. Hamilton referred also to the comments which the Secretary had made at his press conferences [Page 457] in regard to inquiries relating to current exploratory conversations with the Japanese Ambassador and to the basic principles to which this Government and this country were committed.