Office of the Historian

611.939/263 Suppl.: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)

Washington, February 7, 1940—7 p.m.

55. Reference Department’s 50, February 6, 3 p.m., and your despatch No. 4421, January 16,47 in regard to interference by the Japanese with linen shipments from Swatow.

Your despatch under reference has just been received. The Department authorizes you to amend the proposed aide-mémoire in order to take cognizance of the Japanese reply of December 27 to your representations of November 1548 and to express dissent with the contention of the Japanese military authorities at Swatow that the exactions of $500.00 per ton are voluntary donations.

Please send to Shanghai for repetition to the Department by naval radio the text of the aide-mémoire which you leave at the Japanese Foreign Office.

Sent to Tokyo via Peiping. Repeated to Shanghai and Swatow.

Hull
  1. Latter not printed.↩
  2. Neither printed.↩