724.3415/4068: Telegram
The Ambassador in Brazil (Gibson) to the Secretary of State
Rio de
Janeiro, September 1, 1934—6
p.m.
[Received 6:40 p.m.]
[Received 6:40 p.m.]
203. Department’s 117, August 30, 4 p.m., badly garbled and could not be taken up with Foreign Office until today.
- 1.
- Minister for Foreign Affairs states that he plans to go along with us in dealing with League intervention in Chaco question, and is advising Brazilian Ambassador in Buenos Aires and Minister in Berne to this effect.
- 2.
- Minister offers as suggestion that in view of the fact that Bolivian Government requested the application of article No. 15 it should apply to the League for the withdrawal of the request or postponement of action.
- 3.
- Bolivian Minister here has informed Minister of Foreign Affairs that Bolivia accepts in principle the seven points of the Argentine formula,51 but wishes to offer certain modifications in order to avoid commitments which they read between the lines of the Argentine formula. They wish particularly to make reservations in regard to the conditions of arbitration.
- 4.
- Bolivian Minister was urged to impress upon his Government the necessity for unconditional acceptance of the conciliation formula as it stands. Brazilian Minister at La Paz is also being instructed to make similar statement to Bolivian Minister for Foreign Affairs, which in effect is only reiteration of stand previously taken.
- 5.
- Confidentially, Foreign Minister believes that failure of Bolivian Government to make unconditional acceptance of conciliation formula is due to’ the fact that Bolivia has no confidence in the outcome of any conciliation conference at Buenos Aires and therefore prefers action of League of Nations. We may be able to judge better as to foundation for this view when we have Bolivian reply to latest representations.
- 6.
- Brazilian Ambassador at Santiago’ reports that Cruchaga has told him that in further effort to settle the Chile–Paraguay incident52 he is willing to accredit a Chilean Chargé d’Affaires to Asunción, and requests Brazil to ask whether this will be acceptable to Paraguay. This offer is coupled with the condition that Paraguay in her official acceptance make statement regretting newspaper attacks on Chile and reiterating confidence in Chile’s neutrality. This is of course the original Chilean position.
- 7.
- The Brazilian Minister in Asunción having been instructed to sound Minister of Foreign Affairs on this subject, has just telegraphed that the Paraguayan Government is not interested in Cruchaga’s suggestion and prefers to await developments.
- 8.
- Foreign Office expresses in strict confidence conviction that this stand has been taken by Paraguay under the direction of Saavedra Lamas who prefers to keep the present incident alive and thus exclude Chile from active participation in Chaco negotiations.
Foregoing for your information and not as my own views as I am not in a position to form an opinion on the subject.
Gibson