Evening star., 1946-12-24
U. 5. Holds Reds
Within Rights
In Daiiren Case
State Department Gets
Preliminary GorbIed
. Report on Ship Issue
By Gornett D. Horner

A State Department SpokeS-
man said today that Russian
authorities in Dairen were ''le-
gally within their rights" in
requiring a United States Navy
courier ship to leave that Man
churian port after expiration of
its agreed-on 48-hour stay with
out landing an American bust
nessman and two newspaper
correspondents.
The State Department has re-
ceived preliminary "garbled' re-
port regarding the incident which
confirms the substantial accuracy"
of a story by William H. Newton
which reached American newspa-
pers yesterday, Lincoln White, State
Department press officer, said.
Mr.. Newton reported that the
American ship left Dairen after
receiving a verbal ultimatum from
Russian military officials to the ef-
feet that unless you leave within
20 minutes we will not be re-
sponsible for the consequences"
The ship left about two hours after
expiration of it's 43-hour stay.
Mr.. White said the departments
report was so garbled in transmits
sion that it was impossible to say
definitely that it confirmed the ulti-
matum. He said, however, that the
word consequences" was clear in
the report, and it was presumed
that this part of Mr., Newton's
story was supported.
Full Reports Awaited.
The State Department, Mr.. White
added, will not take any action in
the matter until it gets full reports
showing precisely what the situa-
tion was.
Mr.. White said the Soviet authori-
ties were legally within their
rights" however, because Dairen is
under Soviet military control pend
ing arrangements for turning ad-
ministration of the city over to
China as provided in the Sino-
Soviet treaty of August, 1945.
"It has been the hope of this Gov
ernment," Mr.. White said, that the
Chinese and Soviets would be able
to work out these arrangements for
q transfer of control, but we recog-
nize that it is matter to be handled
by those two governments"
The State Departments report on
the incident came directly from Fl.
Morrell Bennington, American Con-
sui General at Dairen, who's can
send cables to Washington only
through Moscow.
In this instance memorandum
to Mr.. Bennington was taken by
Harris H. Ball, State Department
courier, from Dairen to Tsingtao.
The American Consul General at
Tsingtao sent it and the couriers
report to the Consulate General at
Shanghai, which relayed it to the
State Department.
Stewart Calls for Probe.
Earlier, Senator Stewart, Demo-
crat. of Tennessee, declaring we've
been entirely too easy with Russia,
urged a thorough investigation OF
the Dairen incident.
This is matter which ought to
be gone into thoroughly, I will be
much interested to see what the
State Department and the Navy
have to say
The only Navy comment thus far
has been an acknowledgment that
the landing craft described in the
Dairen dispatch had left there for
an American base in China last FIJI
day. the day the ultimatum was
issued.
Russia ought not to have been
allowed to enter Manchuria in the
first place." Senator Stewart de-
clared. "They have done nothing
but pillage that whole area
The Tennessean contended thai
the Soviet Union made no contri-
button of any consequence to the
war against Japan, since the atom
bomb already had been dropped" "
when Russia entered the Pacific
uyoro