125.0094/151a: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Consul at Lourenço Marques (Preston)
6. This Government has agreed with the Japanese Government that there shall take place at Lourenço Marques an exchange of official personnel and non-official nationals of the American Governments coming from Japan and Japanese-controlled territory against Japanese official personnel and non-official nationals coming from the United States, Canada and the other American Republics. It has, furthermore, been agreed that there may take place simultaneously at Lourenço Marques a block exchange of other diplomatic and consular officials being expelled from Japanese territory against Japanese consular and diplomatic officials being expelled from non-American areas. There is no information at present to indicate whether this separate exchange will include non-official persons.
It is not now possible to state with assurance when the exchange will take place but it is hardly likely to occur before the last week in May. In addition to a vessel arriving from the United States with perhaps 1500 persons on board, there will probably be three vessels arriving [Page 399] from Japan with as many as 3500 persons and vessels arriving from other directions with perhaps as many as 500 Japanese nationals.
The carrying out of the exchange at Lourenço Marques will constitute a burdensome and complex task in which the Department hopes to be able to extend to you all proper and necessary assistance. It would be helpful to the Department if you could promptly telegraph the following information in so far as it may be available:
- 1.
- Availability of quarters suitable for a booking office to be set up by the passenger agents appointed to handle the embarkation on the American vessel of passengers coming from Japan on their way to the United States. Probable length of advance notice necessary to obtain such quarters.
- 2.
- Extent of banking facilities available to meet needs of passengers arriving from Japan en route to the United States. The terms of the agreement with the Japanese Government do not envisage that these persons will be in possession of funds upon their disembarkation at Lourenço Marques, and it will be necessary that there be facilities to provide them with local and dollar currency for their expenses while awaiting embarkation and on the vessel proceeding to the United States. If necessary and feasible Department is willing to propose and facilitate the temporary establishment of an American-manned private banking office at Lourenço Marques during the period of the exchange.
- 3.
- Facilities available at Lourenço Marques for temporary accommodation of the persons being exchanged and minimum length of advance notice necessary to reserve such accommodations for shelter of persons en route to the United States bearing in mind that other governments will be endeavoring to make similar arrangements for their nationals.
- 4.
- Adequacy of your quarters to handle the anticipated volume of business during the exchange period and to accommodate the personnel which the Department hopes to be able to detail temporarily to your office to assist you. Availability of suitable temporary quarters for official personnel and length of notice necessary to obtain such quarters.
- 5.
- List briefly all consular establishments of other countries at Lourenço Marques giving name of country, number of career officers, if any, number of honorary officers and extent of subsidiary staff. This information is necessary in order to enable Department to estimate extent of probable appeals to your office for good offices in behalf of nationals of friendly nations not represented at your post.
- 6.
- If there are any other considerations regarding the foregoing which you would like to bring to the attention of the Department, please consider yourself at liberty to do so now and subsequently whenever the occasion arises.