351G.115/34: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul at Hanoi (Reed)
Washington, August 25,
1941—6 p.m.
16. Your 115, August 8, 11 a.m.,73 which please repeat to Tokyo.
- 1.
- It is not clear whether representatives mentioned desire to present claims direct to Japanese or Indochina authorities for possible local settlement or desire the Department espouse diplomatic claims on their behalf.
- 2.
- While the Department is not in a position to pass upon the validity of claims prior to presentation of such claims to it, in view of the general principle that the taking of property without payment of just compensation constitutes confiscation, the Japanese Government may be regarded as internationally responsible for value of American-owned property seized by Japanese authorities.
- 3.
- So far as the Indochina Government is concerned it may be pointed out that while, generally speaking, a government is responsible for failure to take reasonable measures to protect alien-owned property within its territorial jurisdiction, inability on its part to accord such protection may relieve it of responsibility in the absence of evidence that such inability was due to negligence on the part of its authorities.
Sent to Hanoi. Repeated to Chungking, Peiping and Tokyo.
Hull
- Not printed.↩