Knowledge of any movement of American warships to the Orient w: denied to-day by the Twelfth and Fourteenth Naval districts, Following Shanghai rumours that 9 contingent of the United States fleet was despatched to the Orient, inoulries revealed that the only vessels fu Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, were five destroyers, eleven submarines and no aircraft carriers.
The Mine Force Division was returning to Hawaii from the Pacific [Coast on December 21 but assignment to Asiatic duty was considera? unlikely. The cruiser, U.SS. Salt Lake City was in drydock—United Press. to inform him of the latest developments, He later received the press, but had virtually nothing to impart.
Asked. about the reports from London that the British and Amer-tean Governments were ce-operating closely in matters arising from the incidents in the Yangtze River, the Secretary of State replied that he had "nothing new to say."
Tt has been unofficially gathered, however, that the two Governments have maintained very close contact since the bombings were first re-Ported.
Japan's eagerness 10 apologize even before the Note leaves the State Department is something of a quandary, as it is not quite clear whether a further formal reply should be expected or whether the apologies should be regarded as sufficient. Mr. Hull, closely questioned fon this subject, declined to commit himself, Isolationist members of Congress have seized on the passage in the Note referring to the Sino-Japanese hostilities, as a pretext for demanding the enforcement of the Neutrality Act. Scareely a vole has been raised, however, against the President's' action in' handling the situation without reference to Congress, as he is empowered to do by the diplomatic experts and the President dent Roosevelt at the White House Constitution—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.