393.1115/9–1449
The Secretary of Defense (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I wish to thank you for your reply of 7 September to my letter to you of 27 August,63 concerning the SS General Gordon. The Department of Defense appreciates receiving such an extensive explanation of your viewpoint in this difficult matter.
I fully share your belief that every reasonable effort should be made to evacuate American citizens from Shanghai, and I can easily appreciate their full expectation now of being able to leave Shanghai very soon on the SS General Gordon. I also realize that the negotiations to effect this evacuation have culminated in written commitments from both the Communist and the Nationalist to guarantee safe passage of the ship although the nature of these commitments is apparently open to further investigation and clarification before they can be considered [Page 1340] satisfactory. Furthermore, I note with regret that according to your letter neither coastal steamers nor other facilities are now available in Shanghai for a call outside the harbor.
Calculation of the relative risks involved in this is obviously very difficult. The Department of Defense continues to believe, however, that entry of the SS General Gordon into the restricted waters of Shanghai constitutes a military risk unjustified as a reasonable effort to evacuate American citizens. This Department which had no part in the development of negotiations concerning this ship cannot concur in this apparent commitment of the United States. We feel strongly that we should not jeopardize United States passengers on this vessel nor the crew and the vessel itself. Nevertheless, we stand ready to assist your Department in every way to work out a method whereby United States citizens can be evacuated with the least possible risk to American interests.
Sincerely yours,
- Latter not printed.↩