825.24/583
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The Chilean Ambassador called to see me this morning at his request.
The Ambassador came to my office after the conclusion of his interview with Secretary Hull and gave me the following information.
The Ambassador stated that he had seen the President of Chile at the insistent request of the latter the moment he arrived in Santiago. The President, he said, could not have been more affectionate or more demonstrative, and stated to the Ambassador that the latter possessed his full confidence and support. He said that at this conference a good many senators and deputies were present and he consequently did not have the opportunity of discussing confidentially various questions with the President. He stated that on the following day he saw the President again. The Ambassador said that he found that the President was very greatly misinformed, not only with regard to public opinion and the views of the Government of the United States, but also with regard to the world situation in general. He said that this applied equally to the members of the Cabinet. The Ambassador said that in this conversation and in subsequent conversations with the President he had explained in detail and very frankly to President Ríos the precise position and views of the Government of the United States. He said that he had told the President that no one who knew what the United States was doing and no one who was following the world situation from Washington could have the slightest doubt as to the ultimate outcome. The victory of the United States, he said, was inevitable. He had told the President that it might be three years or five years longer before the end of the war came about, but that there was no question as to who would attain the ultimate victory. For that reason, he said, he had told the President that a continued delay on the part of Chile in severing relations with the Axis powers and thus removing a source of grave danger to the United States and the other American Republics would inevitably increase antagonism in the United States against Chile, with very serious detriment to the latter country.
[Page 29]In the final conversation which he had had with the President, the President told the Ambassador specifically to state to the United States Government that Chile would be prepared to break diplomatic relations with the Axis powers should the United States Government deem this desirable. President Ríos did not wish to give for a moment the semblance of negotiating a deal with the United States, but he wished to make it clear nevertheless that unless Chile could obtain military and naval matériel which would make it possible for Chile to undertake at least a minimum of self-defense, public opinion in Chile, on account of the panic which had been created by Axis propaganda, would not support his Government in a breaking of relations with the Axis countries. President Ríos also wanted to receive some assurances that in the event that, through Japanese or German attacks, the Chilean mining industry was put out of commission and 100,000 Chilean miners thrown out of work, the Government of the United States would do what was necessary to see Chile through the economic crisis which such unemployment would create.
These two points appeared to be the only points upon which the President of Chile desired assurances. I told the Ambassador that it seemed to me that, in view of the very friendly and frank statements made to this Government, through him, by the President of Chile, the first immediate need would be to ascertain from the communications already made to us by the Chilean Government what the minimum defense requirements of Chile might be; that if it then appeared that these requirements were within limits which this country could meet, a tentative agreement be worked out between the Ambassador and myself stipulating the amounts and times of deliveries of military and naval equipment to be furnished Chile under a Lend-Lease agreement which would then be signed. I said that once such an agreement had tentatively been agreed upon, we would then be in a position to assure Chile that if Chile severed relations with the Axis powers this Government would then be prepared to sign a Lend-Lease agreement with Chile and deliver matériel to Chile under the schedules carried in such agreement. The Ambassador stated that this would be most satisfactory to his Government.