124.018/11–948: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai ( Cabot ) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 9—7:56 a.m.]
2358. Following excerpts from November 7 Tribune (MOI1) editorial on Badger’s2 remarks re use Marines in Shanghai is typical straw-grasping thinking now prevalent there:
“But there seems no reason why the Chinese Government should not, if the occasion arise, seek the cooperation of American Navy and Marines in preservation of law and order in this great city—one of world’s largest—where so many international interests are represented. It might be well perhaps if Shanghai could be considered ‘open city’ and free from anxieties of war until such time as agreed arrangements could be made for its future role in Chinese economy.”
Sent Department 2358, repeated Nanking 1786.