Posted on 06/02/2008 5:03:17 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Washington strongly protested in Tokyo yesterday against the Japanese refusal to permit American missionaries and business men to repossess their properties in the Shanghai and lower Yangtze areas. The note observed that hostilities had long since ceased in this region and that Japanese nationals had been allowed to re-enter it.
On the Central Chinese front relief reached the besieged division of Lieut. Gen. Doihara at Lanfeng in the form of 1,000 troops that crossed the Yellow River from the north. The Japanese were predicting a Chinese “debacle” equivalent to the defeat at Suchow.
Revelation of a Manchukuoan insurrection that was forestalled last April was made by a NEW YORK TIMES correspondent who has just toured Manchuria. Forty army officers were sentenced to death, he disclosed.
With the war costing her $5,000,000 a day, Japan was declared to be rationing herself sternly, the people are foregoing luxuries, working longer hours and paying high taxes.
The note pointed out that American rights in China were being infringed contrary to repeated assurances of the Japanese Government and asked that immediate steps be taken to return missionary and other property under occupation of Japanese armed forces “to their rightful owners.” Attention was called to the fact that hostilities in many areas had ceased long ago.
The conditions complained of exist in the Shanghai area and in the lower Yangtze Valley. The note stressed that Japanese merchants and their families had been permitted to return to these places and that in Nanking alone there were 800 Japanese nationals, including women and children.
Special reference was made to the University of Shanghai, which is owned jointly by the Northern and Southern Baptist Missionary Societies and which is still being used by Japanese troops for military offices and an air field.
This situation was recently called to the attention of the State Department by representatives of Baptist missions, who were told that the department had long been active in the matter. Before Ambassador grew delivered the note he had held many informal conversations with the Foreign Office.
Details as to other properties affected are not available at the department, as the situation has been handled directly by Mr. Grew from the first and the information is kept in the embassy in Tokyo.
Secretary Hull said today the embassies in Tokyo and Peiping were studying the tariff reductions made by the Japanese in North China early this week and that complete reports from the embassies had not yet been received.
WASHINGTON, June 1, (AP). – The text of the note presented yesterday to Japan by Ambassador Joseph C. Grew in Tokyo follows:
The problem of enabling American citizens in China to re-enter and repossess their properties, from which they have been excluded by the Japanese military and of which the Japanese military have been and in some cases still are in occupation, is giving the Government of the United States increasing concern.
An illustrative case is that of the property of the University of Shanghai, a large and valuable plant located at Shanghai in the Yangzepoo district. This university has been engaged for many years in educational work and is jointly owned by the Northern and Southern Baptist Missionary Societies. The premises of the university have been under continuous occupation by Japanese military and naval units since shortly after the outbreak of hostilities at Shanghai in August, 1937.
It is understood that the premises have been used by the Japanese for quartering troops and for military offices, and a portion of the campus for stationing airplanes and supplementing the runway for airplanes on the adjacent golf course, which has been converted by the Japanese into a military flying field.
During the period of Japanese occupancy several buildings have been damaged and the majority looted. Japanese occupation of the property has continued for a period of nine months, notwithstanding the fact that hostilities in this locality long ago ceased.
Repeated written and oral representations made by the American Embassy at Tokyo to the Japanese Government and by the American Consul General at Shanghai to the Japanese authorities there have not so far resulted in bringing about restoration of the premises to the rightful owners. Recently, representatives of the Baptist missionary societies have stressed, on behalf of the 6,000,000 Baptists in the United States, the urgent need for the return to their possession of this important missionary educational property.
In various places in the Lower Yangtze Valley business men and missionaries have been prevented by the Japanese authorities from returning to their places of business and mission stations and are denied even casual access to their properties. The American Consul General at Shanghai has made applications for passes in behalf of several American firms with important interests in that area, in order to permit the representatives and employes of the firms to resume business there, but such applications have repeatedly been refused by the Japanese authorities on the ground that peace and order have not been sufficiently restored.
This has been the case even when the applications were for visits for the purpose of brief inspection and checking of losses or for the purpose of taking steps to prevent further deterioration of their properties, including stocks and equipment, during their enforced absence. Many Japanese merchants and their families are known to be in the localities to which these Americans seek to return.
American missionaries also have been prevented from returning to their stations in the Lower Yangtze Valley. Certain mission properties in this region, which were formerly under occupation by Japanese troops, are now reported to have been vacated as a result of Japanese troop transfers, and the missionary societies concerned feel it highly important that their representatives reoccupy and preserve such properties.
In view of the fact that Japanese civilians are freely permitted to go into and reside in such areas – as, for example, at Nanking, where some 800 Japanese nationals, including a substantial number of women and children, are reported to be in residence – it is difficult to perceive any warrant for the continued placing by the Japanese authorities of obstacles in the way of return by Americans who have legitimate reason for proceeding to the areas in question.
My government is confident that the Japanese Government cannot but concede that the infringement of and interference with American rights in China by the Japanese authorities involved in the situation to which attention is herein brought are contrary to the repeated assurances of the Japanese Government that the American rights will be respected; that the Japanese Government will take immediate steps, in keeping with such assurance, to cause the return to their rightful owners of the premises of the University of Shanghai and other American property under the occupation of Japanese armed forces; and that the Japanese Government will issue instructions to have removed the obstacles interposed by the Japanese authorities in China against return by American nationals to places such as those mentioned in the areas under Japanese military occupation.
Chinese newspapers report that Admiral Shen has left Taohsien, which has been his capital since he was appointed to succeed General Han Fu-chu, executed Shantung leader, and has already launched his guerrilla campaign in Western Shantung. Chinese regulars still hold Tsaohsien.
This problem, as well as the Czechoslovak question, was discussed at length at a Cabinet meeting today. It is understood the Prime Minister also hopes to employ British influence in helping to arrange a lasting peace between Prague and the Sudeten Germans.
The unexpected duration of the Spanish war is most important to Great Britain, if for no other reason because the Anglo-Italian agreement does not become operative until Italian “volunteers” are withdrawn from Spain. At the time the agreement was signed, the Insurgents had just cut Loyalist Spain in two, and it seemed the war would be over in a few weeks, but the Republican [Loyalist] resistance has stiffened considerably recently and the British are swinging back to the old view that the war will end in a stalemate.
It is recognized that it is useless to attempt mediation until something effective is done or begun about the withdrawal of “volunteers” and the restoration of international control. Progress by the non-intervention subcommittee in the past few days has been encouraging to Britain, and at the meeting tomorrow the Earl of Plymouth is expected to exert all his influence in an effort to speed up the adoption of a system of financing the plan.
If Russia continues to refuse to cooperate fully, it is assumed Lord Plymouth will finally insist that the other four leading powers – Britain, France, Germany and Italy – go ahead without her.
The Czechoslovak question is recognized to be even more difficult, but Britain may propose to Chancellor Adolf Hitler that, if he will induce Konrad Henlein, Czechoslovak Sudeten Nazi leader, to negotiate with the Czechoslovak Government, Britain will undertake to apply sufficient pressure on Prague to make possible the most favorable settlement.
What with Germany’s refusal thus far to take over Austria’s debts, the time is scarcely right for such a proposal to Berlin, and no move in this direction is to be expected immediately. But the proposal is receiving the most serious study and, in view of Mr. Chamberlain’s known hope and ambition to reach a settlement with Hitler, developments may be expected later.
Today we have some front page stuff on China and a shortie on Great Britain having a spat with ally Italy over the Spanish Civil War. I will add a reply with a new feature I want to try out. See it below (eventually).
Thanks in advance...
Cleve -------------24 - 13 ---.649
N. Y. -------------20 - 15 ---.571 -------- 3
Wash -------------23 - 18 ---.561 -------- 3
Boston ------------20 - 17 ---.541 -------- 4
Detroit ------------19 - 18 ---.514 -------- 5
Phila --------------15 - 20 ---.429---------- 8
Chic --------------12 - 19 ---.387---------- 9
St. L --------------11 - 24 ---.314-------- 12
N. Y. ------------25 - 12 ---.676
Chic -------------24 - 15 ---.615 --------2
Boston ----------18 - 14 ---.563 --------4 1/2
Cincin -----------20 - 18 ---.526 --------5 1/2
Pitts -------------18 - 18 ---.500 --------6 1/2
St. L. ------------15 - 20 ---.429 --------9
Bklyn ------------14 - 26 ---.350 --------12 1/2
Phila -------------11 - 22 ---.333 --------12
They have the microfiche files at my local university library (UC Santa Cruz). They let you make copies off the readers. Then I transcribe them into Word and post from there.
And so the spring offensive continues in China. The Henan province continues to face the throws of attacks and counter attacks with the capital city of Kaifeng under threat at this point. There are a couple of interesting results from this comming up in the next few days, but I’ll save them for now.
Thought you might be interested in the China related articles.
I would like to thank you for going to so much trouble to create these new transcriptions and for posting these on Free Republic.
When you say "transcribe", does this mean that you are retyping each of these articles? If so, have you considered instead using an OCR system to automate some of the work?
Thanks Homey...appreciate the posts.
Did you get that Barbara Tuchman book on Gen Stillwell yet?
I tried scanning an article into Word. The result was unsatisfactory. For one thing the original is not good quality, being a photocopy of a photograph of a newspaper. There are lines and other flaws that confuse the program. So it would take a lot of work to correct the errors. Which brings me to problem number 2: The resulting copy did not act like regular Word text that can be edited. I admit I gave up rather easily and went back to manual transcription. At the time I was out of work and I found it to be a calming way to pass the time. But mid-May I got hired at another company and now my time is much more limited. I have articles saved through the rest of June. They just need to be html formated. I have July and August copied and ready to transcribe, but I won't be able to get to them for a while. Maybe necessity will be the mother of me figuring out how to make better use of technology. I don't think I have you on my ping list. I will check and add you so you don't miss any of the coming attractions. There are some good ones, if I do say so myself.
I did, indeed. It looks like a good one. I am almost through The Rising Sun, by John Toland. Then I will start the Stilwell book.
IMO, I think you’ll reference the Tuchman book repeatedly. It covers a wide sweep of time that was very ‘content rich’ on a number of levels.
One read for setting the scene...review for various incidents...review for various actors...reviews for political scene at the time...review for looking at scenarios set from actions at the time...review for actors family and their influence later...you get the idea.
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