701.0090/2008: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)
2177. American interests Far East—repatriation. Department has noted from your 5368, August 31,22 paragraph G–(1) last sentence that Japanese are refusing to authorize repatriation of 14 United States nationals from China. From your 5263, August 26, it appears that the refusal in the case of Ernest Leroy Healey is stated to be his conviction for espionage while in the case of Stuart, Bowen and Houghton, no reason for refusal is cited.
In view of foregoing Department feels it necessary to comment that, as explained in its 1275, May 16, 1942,23 first paragraph, United States Government has in order to make them available for exchange not prosecuted Japanese believed guilty of espionage and other crimes. On the motorship Gripsholm which has just sailed from United States are various individuals who might have been successfully prosecuted for espionage had the United States Government wished to withhold them from the exchange contrary to the exchange agreement. There are likewise other individuals on the vessel who could have been made the defendants in criminal prosecutions, with penalties running as [Page 923] high as $200,000. To facilitate the exchange, United States Government withheld action against these individuals. In return United States Government expects that the Japanese Government will withhold similar criminal action against American citizens in order to facilitate the present and future exchanges and that it will arrange commutation of sentence of Ernest Leroy Healey in order that he may be included in the present exchange.
With respect to Stuart, Bowen and Houghton, United States Government points out that as the Japanese Government can ascertain from the Spanish Government no Japanese alien willing to be repatriated has been withheld from the exchange whom the Japanese Government has expressed a desire to have included therein. The United States Government accordingly requests not only a statement of the Japanese Government’s reasons for removing from repatriation list names of Stuart, Bowen and Houghton, but expects their actual inclusion in the present exchange unless the Swiss representative at Shanghai upon interviewing them determines that for valid reasons they themselves do not wish to be repatriated.
- Not printed.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. i, p. 420.↩