724.3415/4122: Telegram
The Minister in Paraguay (Nicholson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 2:50 p.m.]
42. Department’s No. 35, September 13, 3 p.m. At the President’s invitation and before receiving the Department’s telegram I called at his house the eve of September 12 and talked with him for more than 1 hour. He seems to feel that nothing will come of the present peace negotiations and I assumed that the Paraguayan reply to the Bolivian counter proposals had been sent.… The President stated emphatically that the Bolivian demand for a port on the river is not a proper subject for arbitration but for discussion and negotiation after the fighting has ended and the armies have been demobilized. He objected strongly to the Bolivian insistence upon Paraguay’s recognition in advance of the juridical claims affecting territorial rights. He reiterated his anxious desire for peace with guarantees against the renewal of the war. He stated his confidence in the loyalty of the Paraguayan people and army. For the first time the President expressed the opinion that neither side could obtain a decisive victory in the field.
The President told me of a new plan in which he is much interested. He spoke in strictest confidence and I respectfully request that my relations with the President be protected in whatever use the Department may see fit to make of this information.
The President had just finished a letter to the Paraguayan Minister in the Argentine Republic containing the suggestion that if possible the Presidents of Argentina, Brazil and the United States should join in a peremptory demand upon the two belligerents to stop the war, exude [withdraw?] their armies and appoint representatives to meet in order to discuss arbitration. I inferred that the President expects the Paraguayan Minister in Buenos Aires to sound the President of Argentina directly on this matter. The President expressed his admiration of the character and ability of the President of Argentina. He asked me whether I thought that President Roosevelt would join [Page 203] in such a movement. I replied that I was not in a position to express an opinion but that I felt sure that my Government probably would continue in its policy of having South American Republics take the initiative in peace efforts. The President then requested that I keep this matter strictly confidential until he had heard from Buenos Aires.
I realize that if such a movement succeeds it would place Paraguay in a strong position since President Ayala is not prepared to accede to such a demand. Bolivia naturally would refuse if it suspected that the idea was Paraguayan in origin. However, I am convinced of the President’s genuine and pressing desire to end the war, even though it is complicated by his desire to avoid Argentine domination and his refusal to cede territory in advance of the discussion and negotiation. My despatch No. 115 leaving Asunción September 16 contains further details.38
- Not printed.↩