893.00/11–145: Telegram
The Consul at Tientsin (Meyer) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 2—8 a.m.]
25. My 23, October 30, 4 p.m. The mission of American Marines here under their present directive of disarming Japanese and maintaining order at points occupied will soon be completed but meanwhile their position daily takes on more of political aspect. This development is natural and unavoidable in the circumstances and presumably was contemplated when Marines were sent in here. Any proposal now for the withdrawal of the Marines from this area should be given prior serious consideration as situation here is radically different from other areas of China where announcements of early withdrawal of American Forces have already been made. American Armed Forces are so closely associated with the tenuous political situation in this area that a premature withdrawal would produce serious political conseqences not only for the present but for the future.