ROOSEVELT APPEALS JTO HIROHITO ' 421

and I requested an audience with the Emperor in order to present
the President's message, which I then read aloud and handed a copy
to Togo. The Department had left to my discretion the appropriate
method of communication, and I felt it important to give it the
maximum weight by asking to see the Emperor myself—and to make
sure that it got to him personally. Togo at first said that he would
study the document, but when I asked if that meant some doubt as
to whether he would ask for an audience for me, he replied that he
would present the matter to the Throne, He made some further
remarks about the Washington conversations, but when I said that
I had not yet received a report of the conversation of December 5
and that it would merely complicate matters if I should undertake
to repeat his comments to the Department, he said that it was not
necessary. I left him at about 12.30 a.m.

The Secretary's instructions and the President's message to the
Emperor were as follows :

TRIPLE PRIORITY
818, December 6, 9 p.m.

Confidential

Please communicate at the earliest possible moment in such
manner as you deem most appropriate a message to the Emperor
from the President, reading as follows :

" His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Japan :

"Almost a century ago the President of the United States
addressed to the Emperor of Japan a message extending an offer
of friendship of the people of the United States to the people of
Japan. That offer was accepted and in the long period of un-
broken peace and friendship which has followed, our respective
nations, through the virtues of their peoples and the wisdom
of their rulers, have prospered and have substantially helped
humanity.

" Only in situations of extraordinary importance to our two
countries need I address to Your Majesty messages on matters of
state. I feel I should now so address you because of the deep and
far-reaching emergency which appears to be in formation.

" Developments are occurring in the Pacific area which threaten
to deprive each of our nations and all humanity of the beneficial
influence of the long peace between our two countries. Those
developments contain tragic possibilities.

" The people of the United States, believing in peace and in
the right of nations to live and let live, have eagerly watched the
conversations between our two Governments during these past
months. We have hoped for a termination of the present conflict
between Japan and China. We have hoped that a peace of the