724.3415/4395: Telegram
The Chargé in Brazil (Gordon) to the Secretary of State
329. My 328, December 3, 7 p.m. last paragraph. The Minister for Foreign Affairs confirmed the statement made by the Secretary General emphasizing his opinion that if both the American and Brazilian representatives on the Neutral Supervisory Commission were given full powers the situation entrusted to this Commission would be much easier to control.
Yesterday the Foreign Minister and the Secretary General had been somewhat non-committal as to Brazil’s probable course of action should her confidential démarches in Bolivia and Paraguay not result favorably. I brought the point up again by saying that as this démarche was a confidential and individual one on the part of Brazil alone even if its outcome should contrary to the Minister’s hope and expectation prove unfavorable I assumed that Brazil would not consider that she would then be definitely precluded from cooperating with League peace agencies but that if she felt that her larger interests lay in that direction would still be open for such cooperation.
The Minister replied that this was the case but that he felt even more confident than yesterday afternoon that his proposal would be accepted by both Bolivia and Paraguay. He has a telegram from the Minister at La Paz which while not final indicates that a definitely favorable reply from the Bolivian Government may be expected during the course of today.
Aranha’s telegram of yesterday was shown me by the Foreign Minister who expressed regret that you did not share his (the Foreign Minister’s) views as to the feasibility of securing the agreement of both belligerents to an immediate cessation of hostilities and as to this constituting the “new fact” of capital importance. He concluded by saying that although Brazil alone had taken the risk in this démarche if, as he had more than ever reason to believe, its outcome proved satisfactory [Page 121] he would be more than glad to share the benefit thereof with the United States: and he firmly hoped that if such a solution were now to be attained the United States in replying to the League invitations would join Brazil in stating that the belligerents having requested an immediate cessation of hostilities at their request they were now respectively prepared to cooperate with certain agencies set up by the League report. The Minister felt that if we took such action the United States and Brazil would be preserving in signal and effective manner their leadership in the efforts to establish peace.
- Telegram in two sections.↩