793.94119/443: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in the United Kingdom (Johnson)
466. Your 791, August 18, 2 p.m. With reference to the first sentence of your telegram under reference you will note from the Department’s 443, August 12, 6 p.m.,70 that the Secretary in his talk with the Chinese Ambassador here71 made no categorical statement of the attitude of this Government such as appears from your telegram to have been attributed to this Government by the British Foreign Office in the information given the Chinese Ambassador at London; the Secretary merely posed a question, offered for consideration general comments and indicated that additional action on our part was not to be expected at this time. Your telegram would appear to indicate that the information conveyed by the Foreign Office to the Chinese Ambassador at London carried the implication that the [Page 269] responsibility for a negative decision on the question of good offices rested on this Government. While we would have seen no objection to the British Foreign Office informing the Chinese Ambassador that we had been consulted and that our views were as indicated by us, we feel that the Foreign Office should not have left, if indeed they did leave, the Chinese Ambassador in any doubt that the British Government’s decision was made on its own initiative.
Department desires that in your discretion you bring this point orally and informally to the attention of the Foreign Office.