File No. 893.51/814.

The American Ambassador to Germany to the Secretary of State.

[Telegram.—Paraphrase.]

German minister at Peking instructed to join colleagues of four-power group in protesting against Belgian loan, in which, according to information received by German Foreign Office, both English and French bankers are interested. Germany considers that it would be very unwise to increase size of group, which has already been made somewhat unwieldy by the admission of Japanese syndicate and Russia, whose entry was agreed to for political rather than financial reasons.

Leishman.