Tragic Inside Story Of Diplomatic
Negotiations with japan Climaxed
By Attack On U. S. In Pacific
V
l ______
WASHINGTON—It is now pos
sible to tell the tragic inside
story of the diplomatic negotia
tion which Secretary Hull was
conducting while the Japanese
were preparing their secret at
tack on Pearl Harbor and the
United States.
The real story goes back to
early August when Prince Koh
oye sent a cable to the President
asking that they meet at a con
ference to discuss Pacific prob
lems. When this was received in
the State Department, Maxwell
Hamilton, chief of the Depart
ment’s Far Eastern Divison, pro
posed that the United States neg
otiate.
However, a group of his advis
ers in the Far Eastern Division
who had been in Japan recently,
wore convinced that everything
Japan was doing pointed to war
against the United States: They
were convinced that any Japan
ese diplomatic negotations were
mere bluff for the purpose of con
Burning time hile Japan finished
preparations.
This group of non-appeasers,
however, was not consulted re
garding appeasement conversa
tions. So finally they drafted a
two-page memorandum warning
that diplomatic negotiations
would lead to disaster. For the
sake of their own records, they
wanted it made clear that they
were opposed to appeasement.
Also they wanted to go over Max
Hamilton’s head to Secretary
Hull.
Those who signed this warning
were Cabot Coville, Joseph N.
Jones, Frank A. Schuler, John R.
Davies, Herbert Fales and E.
Paul Tenney.
U. S. CLIVEDEN SET
Immediately they were sum
moned before Hamilton, the chief
of the Far Eastern Division. Ham
ilton and his wife both are Bucb
manites, and like many of the
British Buchmanites who belong
to the Cliveden Set, they were
strong for appeasement.
Hamilton bawled out his sub
ordinates and told them they had
no business interfering. But they
insisted that their memorandum
be taken direct to Secretary Hull.
And Cabot Coville, in protest
against appeasement, resigned.
When his resignation came to the
attention of Assistant Secretary
Berle, however, Berle refused to
accept it. and Coville was trans
ferred to the Philippines where
he is today. The chief results of
his efforts to oppose appeasement
are that today he is being sub
jected to the bombing attacks
which he, himself, warned were
coming.
Frank Schuler, another of the
rebels, was shortly transferred to
a tiny post in the British Virgin
Islands.
These men were all hardened
experts on the Far East who had
lived there and who knew Japan.
They were not younsters. How
ever, their warning memoran
dum, though it finally reached
the hands of Secretary Hull,
made no impression. A few
weeks later, special envoy Kuru
su was sent to Washington with
a big blare of Tokyo trumpets
about peace, and the negotiatons
continued.
KOREANS WARN HULL
About this time, Secretary
Hull was receiving letters from
Koreans in the United States
warning that Japan was prepar
ing to attack the United States.!
Koreans, being a subject race,
hate their Japanese servants,
they have maintained as conquer
ors. Frequemly operating an am
azing underground intelligence
system in Japan.
On October 28, 1941, Kilsoo K.
Haan, a Korean who had been a j
member of the Japanese consular
service, wrote Mr. Hull, report
ing a meeting of the Black Dra- j
gon Society (secret fascist order
of the JaJpanese military) on
August 26 in which Foreign Min
ister Hirota revealed “a total I
war preparation to meet the arm
ed forces of the United States.”
“He (Hirota) also spoke of Pre
mt'r Tojo giving orders to com
piste the mounting of guns and
rush supplies to the Marshall and
Caroline group by November
1041. Hirota and others in the
meeting freely expressed . . the
most suitable time to wage war
with America as December 1941
or February 1942."
Mr. Haan was introduced to
Secretary Hull by Senator Gil
ette of Iowa, so his letter did not
come from an unknown crack
pot. In fact, Gi'ktte thought so
h ghly of the Korean’s informa
j tion that he propsed a Senate in
vestigation of Japanese activities
but was discouraged by the State
Department.
Despite this. Secretary Hull’s
conversations with Envoy Kuru
j su began shortly thereafter, and
continued in very earnest vein.
Mr. Hull apparently believed
i that somethmg could be worked
; out with the Japanese, and at
! one time he and his State Depart
ment advisers actually thought
that an agreement was just
around the corner.
CHURCHILL OBJECTS
This was on November 24 and
25. Mr. Kurusu suddenly seemed
willing to talk a three-month
commercial truce, and the State
Department worked out an in
volved formula whereby no more
Japanese troops were to enter
Indo-China, but were to remain
in China, and we were to resume
the sale of gasoline, oil, scrap
iron and other raw materials for
"civilian use.”
At the very time Mr. Hull was
discussing this plan with Kurusu,
his Government in Tokyo is now
revealed as even then already
j launching its plans for attacking
Hawaii.
However, Secretary Hull was so
anxious to rush this truce to a
conclusion that he did not want
I to give Lord Halifax time to
cable the plan to London for
Churchill’s approval — even
though the British and Austral
ians were sitting in on the con
versations.
Lord Halifax insisted, however
and when Churchill got a cabled
report on the plan he hit the ceil
ing. He did not think the Japan
ese would keep faith, and argued
that it merely gave the Japanese
more time to increase thir arm
ament. Simultaneously the plan
leaked out to the Chinese, and
the Chinese Ambassador deliver
ed a personal protest from Gen
eral Chiang Kai-shek to the j
President.
In view of the Churchill and!
Chinese objections. Secretary I
Hull suddenly withdrew his pro]
posal of a three-month truce and j
fell back on the traditional Am
Go Anywhere
•/
WASHINGTON, Dec. — Con
gress moved rapidly to gi ant a >
War Department request for leg
islation permitting the sending of;
draftees in expeditionary forces!
to any part of the world. Th
les> lation would abolish draft
deferment of men over 28 years
old and permit the Army to call ,
up men who have been deferred j
because ihey are more than 28.
Sent to House Floor
The House Military Affair*
Committee approved the bill and'
sent it to the House floor. Senate
consideration was held over fori
a day or two by Senator Charles!
L. McNary, who said there was i
hardly nnv reason for such haste, j
I . introducing the bill in the
Senate. Sc ator Robert R. Rey
m 1 Democrat of North Caro
I:n:i. chairman of tile Military
AflVrs Committee, sa d:
“This country cannot bring
about that absolute and complete
victory to which it is entitled
merely bv air and naval action.
The bill would permit the Presi
dent as commander-in-chief to
use the land forces in any part
of the world where it is deemed
necessary.”
Might Go to Orient
Reynolds suggested that Am
erican troops might be sent to'
Honolu'u, Hongkong, Thailand
or the Dutch East Indies.
At the same time, the Housei
passed unanimously and sent to
the White House a bill permit
ting the Navy to hold all enlist
ed personnel for the duration of
the war emergency. Under the
measure any enlisted member of
the naval forces could be retain
ed indefinitely beyond his enlist
ment period provided that he be
released within six month after
the end of the present war. A
similar bill passed the Senate.
Buy Defense Bonds and Stamps
PIONEER WATER
DELIVERY
SPRING WATER
Always At Your Service
Phone Black 44
erican policy of the Open Door in
China plus withdrawal of all
Japanese troops.
If President Roosevelt is right
that the Japanese had begun pre
paring for the Hawaiian attack
well in advance, there seems no
question that none of Hr. Hull’s!
proposals, whether appeasement
or the Open Door policy, would
have changed the course of the
Japanese war lords.
(The Washington-Merry-Go
Round, by Drew’ Pearson and
Robert S. Allen).
A JAP SUBMARINE WHICH DII) NT GET AWAY
The United States Navy released this picture of a two-man Jap- !
anese submarine that was beached on the Hawaiian island of!
Oahu during the Japanese’ surprise attack on the Navv’fc Pearl
llarhor base. The Navq said the midget ships were approximately
41 feet long with a 5-foot beam and propelled by electric motors.!
J
ppQrrrn r *, pt ' • ■ ■ * * * * * *» ■* * r*
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... linn™... ■ ■■-- Ti f—-- — —Tr~~~ ~SHl»TM1nr—WTii"' irf" ~ illii-iTT itflj
Clew members ol' the torpedoed tanker Fmidio natheed will: th> ir "r»nt:iin (hands folded), aiter
<:<•% had been brought to safety at Kureka. Calif, (kriiin Clark A. la and 31 survivors, five
of them injured when an enemy submarine torj edoed the Fmidio, were taken abcard a Coast
Guard sltip.
AFTER JAP BOM BE IS PASSED OVER
v*.~ « .
Japanese bombers roared over Ilonolul in a surprise attack and le.t this wrecked c< rner. It once
was a thriving business district, but incendiar- bombs started a lire which destroyed :>0 buildings.
ARMY PLANES ABLAZE FROM JAP BOMBS
Blazing from Japanese bombing attack on the army’s Iliekam field near Honolulu, are B-17 bomb
| ers seen behind two motcjrs of one of the bombers which escaped damage.
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