723.2515/1660½: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul at Arica (Von Tresckow)
For Pershing: The Chilean Ambassador called at Department today and left copy of instructions he had received from Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs which is in substance as follows:
Popular feeling in Arica is excited and ripe for a rupture. This state of mind is caused by General Pershing’s suggestion to reduce number of troops in way considered vexatious. This is also sentiment in Chilean delegation. If immediate instructions were given to accept, no matter under what reservations, General Pershing’s plan would have unpleasant effect on populace, and without doubt would have bad effect on timid or wavering element in province. It seems advisable to Chile to employ time as factor in directing her action in Arica or to afford opportunity for opening way to conciliatory solution. Government of Chile proposes to call Edwards to Santiago and in consultation with him there to seek conciliatory solution. The Government of Chile needs an assurance that during Edwards’ stay in Santiago, session of Commission will not be called, and Mathieu was instructed to ascertain if suggestion to this end could be made to Pershing by Department. In meantime, Chilean Minister for Foreign Affairs was willing to give some practical evidence of accepting guarantees by making some changes in provincial authorities and by reductions in number of carabineers and police force. He desired immediate answer from Mathieu as Pershing had intimated advisability of meeting on Saturday.
Mathieu requested that I suggest to you that you give assurance asked for, and that he thought Edwards would not be absent more than 10 or 12 days. He said that Minister for Foreign Affairs has precisely same view as he himself holds, that your resolutions must be complied with, but that Barros Jarpa has not yet been able to bring Edwards around to it.
This is reason why he is sending for him to come to Santiago, and he hopes that outcome of Edwards’ visit there will be clarification of situation. The Ambassador was informed that I could make no promises whatever, that you were on ground charged with carrying out plebiscite, and that you are the one in position to judge what is necessary. Only thing I could promise would be to transmit Minister’s telegram for your consideration.