723.2515/3225: Telegram
The Ambassador in Chile (Culbertson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:25 p.m.]
126. This morning Foreign Minister again stated that nobody in Chile would accept an agreement to give up the city of Arica. Foreign Minister is willing to give full commercial privileges to Peru in the city of Arica including free port and to erect a monument on Morro.
The Foreign Minister added that he fears war if the Tacna-Arica question is not settled. Without taking this statement too seriously, one must recognize that it reflects a general feeling, shared by the President, that Chile must still liquidate a war on her northern frontier. One reason for the delay in adhering to the anti-war treaty40 is the sincerity of this feeling.