893.86/7
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Welles) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Berle)
T. V. Soong came in to see me this morning and told me that he and Lord Leathers17 had agreed that Dr. Wellington Koo18 in London would reach an understanding with Lord Leathers, upon the latter’s return, covering the question of the treatment of Chinese seamen. Dr. Soong told me that he believed that a satisfactory agreement would be reached in the immediate future, and that all the Chinese Government was endeavoring to obtain was the establishment of the principle of equality of treatment to be accorded Chinese seamen—not from the standpoint of pounds and shillings, but in the abstract. He asked if I would request you, consequently, to see if the pending legislation in the Senate could not be delayed in view of the probability that an agreement would soon be reached.