Feb. 7.
At very long last Colonel Henry Stimson, US. War Secretary, has sought to correct 1 widely held impression, avising from state~ ments made by him ina book "The Far Eastern Crisis," that the British Government had failed to "go along" with him, when he was Secretary of State in 1032, in'his desire invoke ihe Nine-Power Treaty when Japan seized Manchuria. Tt was in February ff that year that he put forward to the British Foreign OMfice a proposal for a joint in~ vocation of the Nine-Power Treaty, and in his book, Col, Stimson wrote:
"While no explicit refusal to my sugges:
tion was ever made T finally became con-hat the British Government were 0 join in such a demarch The facts of the case are well known in British diplomatic circles, and have been given wide publicity during the last nine years, On receiving the draft of Col. Stim Son's proposed joint invocation, the Foreign Omfce telephoned to Geneva a paragraph con~ taining the non-recognition doctrine, and this paragraph was embodied in the declaration Issued by the twelve n.embers of the Coun cil of the League of Nations on February 16, 1932, At the same time a written answer was handed to the American Embassy for transmission to Washington stating that the British Government was most anxious to cooperate with America in this matter, and that in view of its adherence to this declara~ tion, it was hoped that those of the League Powers who were signatory of the Nine~ Power Treaty might also associate themselves in the proposed invocation.
As Sir John Pratt, ina letter to "The "Times" on November 10, 1938 wrote "The Foreign Office, ce for from refusing to 'g0 along' with Mr, Stimson did all they could to further his proposal. 'To obtain the feoncurrence of several Governments in a particular draft is, however, always 0 cum Eersome and' somolimes "a lengthy process not in general the kind of procedure that' commends itself to the State Depart-rent, and Me, Slimson preferred to drop the dea of a joint invocation and turn his draft into the etter from himself to Mr. Borah of February 24, 1852."
In giving evidence before the U.S. Senate {Foreign Relations Committee in Washington on January 29, Col, Stimson in reply to ques~
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