723.2515/752

The Peruvian Ambassador (Pezet) to the Secretary of State

Sir: About six weeks ago, I read to and left with Your Excellency a Memorandum on the subject of the Peruvian-Chilean controversy. Not having received a reply to this Memorandum, on the 26th. of August I wrote to Your Excellency in relation thereto.

I regret to say that until this writing no answer to these communications has been received.

This matter is of extreme importance to my Government, especially in view of the fact that Doctor Cornejo, the Peruvian Minister to France, has very earnestly urged that the United States be requested to join with France and Brazil in securing a mandate from the League of Nations to hear and determine this controversy. To this we answered that in our opinion the Department of State of the United States could not, consistently with its policies, ask the League of Nations for a mandate to determine an American [Page 241] question, nor could it accept a mandate jointly with France or any other European Power to determine a question so essentially American.

Now, in view of the attitude of Bolivia and Chile before the present Assembly at Geneva, it has become imperative that Peru should know the attitude of the State Department, for as Your Excellency is aware, Peru has not been represented at the Assembly this year because of its declared policy not to present any demand before any Assembly wherein the United States has no voice and vote.

May I not, therefore, express the hope that I may receive an early reply in this connection?

Accept [etc.]

F. A. Pezet