MG This message must be closely paraphrasd be- fore being communicated Bangkok to anyone. (BR) Dated September 2, 1940. Rec'd 7 a.m. Secretary of State, Washington. 66, September 2, 10 a.m. CONFIDENTIAL FOR THE SECRETARY. Roy Howard, newspaper publisher, stopped in Bangkok last night between planes en route to various points in the Far East including Chungking, Manila and possibly Tokyo. Accompanied by the leading American business- man in Siam, Howard called to see me at the Legation and launched into a bitter attack on the President, accusing him of bad faith in inviting him Howard to go on a mission to South America, alleging that he the President was down and out physically and mentally, that he had made a mess of our foreign affairs during the crisis and that he is desirous of leading the country into war. Apparently Howard is out on a political junket to discredit the administration among the political and business leaders in the Far East and at the same time to collect data for a subsequent attack on the administration's Far Eastern policy. |