725.34/63
The Ambassador in Chile (Sevier) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 1.]
Sir: I have the honor to inform the Department that I called this morning upon Dr. Cruchaga and delivered to him the substance of the Department’s telegram No. 69, September 18, 7 p.m., congratulating him upon the termination of the incident between Chile and Paraguay. Dr. Cruchaga expressed not only in words but in his demeanor a keen appreciation of the Department’s sentiments and seemed greatly pleased at the allusion to his personal efforts toward terminating this incident. He stated that if I saw no objection he would appreciate having this message in writing and I of course assured him that since the incident has now been terminated I would be glad to communicate it to him officially.
Dr. Cruchaga very naturally considers the satisfactory solution of this incident as a decided feather in his cap. His sentiments are clearly expressed in the enclosed translation of his official statement11 which appeared in El Mercurio of September 19th.
I am informed on reliable authority that credit for the good sense shown in settling this incident is directly due to Señor Felix Nieto, the political adviser in the Foreign Office. In fact, Señor Nieto has informed me that a few days ago he called Dr. Cruchaga’s attention to the fact that Chile’s national holiday, September 18th, was approaching and that it would be a happy gesture if the Paraguayan incident could be settled before that date. He informed Dr. Cruchaga that in his opinion the Paraguayan Minister in Buenos Aires, Señor Rivarola, was a man of great ability and adroitness and very friendly to Chile. He suggested that Dr. Cruchaga telephone Señor Rivarola personally and suggest that the two countries arrange to resume diplomatic relations without any further splitting of hairs over the fine points of the dispute.
[Page 320]At present a spirit of jubilation is evident in Foreign Office circles at the fact that through their own efforts the incident with Paraguay has been settled and also because of the election of the Chilean delegate to a seat on the Council of the League of Nations. A very natural personal equation enters into the sentiment of jubilation in the sense that the Foreign Office feels that Dr. Cruchaga has scored a diplomatic victory over his friendly rival, Dr. Saavedra Lamas. As the Department is of course aware, this rivalry between the two men, each of whom is seeking the highly commendable reputation of being the greatest Latin American peacemaker, is an important element to be taken into consideration in evaluating the political situation in Latin America generally and the diplomatic relations between Chile and Argentina in particular.
The press announced this morning that Señor Gallardo Nieto, formerly the Chilean Minister in Asunción who returned to Santiago some time ago following the break of relations between the two countries, will very probably be reappointed to his former post at Asunción.
Respectfully yours.
Counselor of Embassy
- Not printed.↩