722.2315/1035
Memorandum by Mr. Selden Chapin of the Division of Latin American Affairs
After carefully going over the memorandum books in the Division I find a memorandum of January 31, 1922, with respect to three conversations between Mr. Fletcher, then Under Secretary of State, and the Ecuadoran Minister, Mr. Elizalde.
[Page 47]The Ecuadoran Minister called about ten days prior to January 31, 1922 (apparently it was on January 9, 1922), to inquire informally how the United States would regard an effort on the part of his Government to settle the Ecuadoran-Peruvian boundary dispute along the same lines as were then being followed with regard to the Peruvian-Chilean controversy. Mr. Fletcher stated in part as follows:
“I then told him that the Department was not prepared to give any expression of opinion at that time; that I was not familiar with the details of the controversy, and asked him to give me a memorandum of just how the matter stood and what his Government proposed to do. I intimated strongly, however, my personal opinion to the effect that the Ecuadoran Government should not complicate the situation at that time—which was before Peru had accepted the President’s invitation—(presumably the invitation to participate in the Tacna-Arica conference.5 (SC)) and that I believed that it would be the part of wisdom to wait and see how our invitation was acted upon, et cetera.”
The Ecuadoran Minister never submitted a memorandum since his Government stated that it had no concrete plans at that time. On January 31 he called again to see Mr. Fletcher, suggesting that Peru and Ecuador appoint representatives in Washington for the purpose of arranging for the settlement of their boundary dispute. Mr. Fletcher stated in reply,
“I informed him that we would take note of this and, while I could not make any expression which would indicate any intention or desire on our part to interfere in the matter now or at any future time in any way, he could say to his Government that if an arrangement of their difficulties satisfactory to both Governments could be reached this Government would be very gratified thereat.”
Mr. Elizalde then insinuated “that arbitration of the difficulties by the United States would be, from our position and prestige in this hemisphere, et cetera, welcomed by his Government.” Mr. Fletcher stated in reply, “I made clear that I could not discuss even the possibility of the United States acting as arbitrator,” and in answer to the complimentary things which Mr. Elizalde had to say about the United States and the feeling that an American arbitrator would render a just decision, Mr. Fletcher stated in his memorandum:
“I again declined to consider this phase of the question and he requested that this Department take sympathetic note of the move which his Government had made looking toward a settlement of this question by direct approach to the Government of Peru. I told him that we would take due note of what he had had to say.”
There is no other memorandum of a conversation in 1922 between Mr. Fletcher and the Ecuadoran Minister on the subject of the Ecuador-Peru [Page 48] boundary dispute, except the brief one of the conversation on January 9, 1922, included in the memorandum of January 31. Mr. Fletcher retired as Under Secretary on March 6, 1922.