Peking, Jan. 16.
The American Legation announces that the following statement was made public by the Depart ment of State in Washington on January 13 last:
On December 8, 1919, the Japanese Ambassador at Washington, pursuant to instructions from his Government, invited the attention of the Secretary of State to the recent unfavourable development of the situation in Siberia, and inquired whether the United States proposed to maintain the status quo or to proceed to entire or partial withdrawal of its troops or whether it was ready to send reinforcements in case of need.
The Secretary of State has to-day communicated to the Japanese Ambassador the decision of the Government of the United States in the following memorandum "The Government of the United States has given the most careful consideration to the subject matter of the communication from the Japanese Government which w: rend to the Secretary of State b; the Japanese Ambassador on December 8 and which concerns the recent unfavourable developments of the y__sitnation with which Admiral Koltchak's forces have been confronted, ds which proposes three alternative courses for the Allied and Associates Powers to take.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.