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96.
The Under Secretary of State
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6
May 24th, 1916. 703
This is co-
as I just said - a definite offer of return commission. pled moreover with a gondition (as to expenses) which makes the terms of this offer uncertain and far worse than the terms accepted by their Mr.Holyoak in Hongkong only a few weeks ago leaving alone our loss of prestige to relinquish this business in all the circumstances,
in
In giving this opinion and strongly advising a cash basis of settlement (if we at all continue to negotiate with Meesre, Rei89, deference to the apparent predilections of E.E. the Governor), counsel particularly stresses the point that Messrs. Re188 in London wrote and threatened my Company (on the 24th January last) that their Hongkong house would only undertake the handling of the Panama cargo on condi- tion that the contract made between us on the 25th June last be with- drawn and "the terms therein be considered null and void" and that "failing this arrangement, our Hongkong firm have decided to give up the agency at once", It would of course have meant great and irreparable damage to the Texas Company's interests and curs had kesars. Keiss per- sisted in this extraordinary threat and intimidation.
Reverting to the cable which the New York agent (Mr. Wade Gard'ner) of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in Hongkong received on the 1st instant, (as I had the honor to report to you in my letter of the 4th instant), Messrs. Reiss, London have since written my Company that their Hongkong house telegraphed them that the statement made in my cable to them (London) was false. 1 added to my report of the 8th instant (page 4) a copy of this cable of mine to mesars, keiss in London, which they evidently passed on to Hongkong. The actual re-
ply, according to Messrs. Reiss's letter, is: (Sanders') statement false,