Office of the Historian

722.2315/1230: Telegram

The Ambassador in Chile (Armour) to the Secretary of State

Santiago, October 14, 1938—midnight.
[Received October 15—8:25 a.m.]

117. Department’s circular telegram October 13, 3 p.m. I have just been handed a memorandum from the Foreign Office in reply to Embassy’s memorandum based on Department’s telegram of which the following is a translation:

  • “1. The Government of Chile has learned with the keenest interest of the important memorandum of the Government of the United States concerning the recent initiative of the President of Ecuador in requesting the Presidents of Argentina, Brazil, United States, Uruguay and Chile, mediatory countries in the Chaco conflict, to take under their auspices the continuation of the Ecuadoran-Peruvian negotiations.
  • 2. It shares entirely the observations of wisdom set forth in said memorandum not only concerning the American instruments of peace to which Ecuador and Peru are parties, but also regarding the opportunity of applying the obligation of consultation, contracting [contracted?] in Buenos Aires, in order to define the record under study.
  • 3. In that sense it wishes to express to the Government of the United States what the attitude of Chile is toward the initiative of the President of Ecuador: [Page 238]
    (a)
    Chile has never refused its assistance to pacific initiatives which seem feasible and has even inaugurated them, particularly where American problems are concerned.
    (b)
    It would have pleased her to proceed also likewise in the present case; but due to the existence of negotiations, in the customary diplomatic channels, Peru has declared that it does not accept any intervention in its dispute with Ecuador, which makes impossible, at this time, a démarche promising real results.
    (c)
    The fact that only the Chaco Conference would take part in this case might give rise to the fear that the participating countries sought to set themselves up as a permanent group to take cognizance of all the problems which could arise, a circumstance at variance with the traditional policy of Chile and favorable to the formation of opposing blocs, with attendant dangers to the harmonious development of Pan Americanism. The omission of other countries contiguous to one or the other of the two litigants could not be justified in the present case.
    (d)
    Consequently if we could later find an opportune moment for action in behalf of peace, Chile believes that the concept of continental solidarity should operate through the medium of the countries most directly interested in the solution of the controversies between Peru and Ecuador.
  • 4. In view of the foregoing considerations the Government of Chile proposes to reply tomorrow to [in?] the following terms:

    ‘I am grateful to Your Excellency for the flattering mark of confidence and friendship implied by your important telegram of the 10th of the present month, consistent with the traditional and old friendship which unites Chile to Ecuador. It would be a great satisfaction and a clear-cut duty for my Government to participate in an action such as Your Excellency suggests if the necessary antecedents were permitted to be brought to bear thereon and it were to contribute to the elimination of the existing disagreement between that republic and Peru. Your Excellency could in consequence count fully on Chilean cooperation in that sense if, as in the case of the Government so worthily presided over by Your Excellency, the Lima Government also should request it and if as in the case of my country, the rest of the Governments of the continent who ought also to take part, should be willing to extend their cooperation along the lines of a joint action envisaged by Your Excellency. Believe me, Your Excellency, that, subject to what has been set forth above, I fervently hope that the successful formulas for eliminating the last serious pending difficulty in South America can be found in order to realize in that way aspiration of peace and concord between sister nations. Arturo Alessandri, President of Chile, greets Your Excellency with assurances of the greatest esteem and consideration. Santiago, October 14, 1938.’”

Armour