723.2515/2070: Telegram
The Ambassador in Chile (Collier) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 28—12:10 a.m.]
48. I have just received a memorandum from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of which the following is a translation:
“The Minister for Foreign Affairs has received the memorandum of His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States dated March 26th,38 in which under instructions from the Secretary of State he communicates the acceptance on the part of the Government of Peru of the good offices of the United States, already accepted by the Government of Chile, for the friendly arrangement of differences pending between the two countries.
In this situation Your Excellency suggests, under instructions from your Government, the Plebiscitary Commission immediately adopt a resolution calculated to agree upon a suspension of the plebiscitary proceedings without prejudice of renewing them if later it [Page 360] should appear that the differences between the two countries are not susceptible of being solved by an arrangement other than that of the plebiscite, and upon the basis that the authority of the Plebiscitary Commission and the general arrangement made by it for the holding of the plebiscite, shall be maintained without alteration.
Your Excellency terminates by saying that the Secretary of State desires to know if the Government of Chile would be disposed to instruct its delegate in Arica to cooperate in the adoption of such resolution and if it will authorize some representative to participate in Washington with representative similarly authorized by the Government of Peru in the said exercise of good offices.
In reply to this memorandum, the Government of Chile takes pleasure in seeing the good offices of the Government of the United States accepted and its (Chile’s) sincere, desire to seek a friendly arrangement for the pending differences recognized.
The Government of Chile reiterates on this occasion its support manifested in its memorandum of February 19th, to accept the good offices offered ‘with the understanding that the proceedings to which they may give place will not impede, as set forth in the memorandum which Your Excellency has been pleased to deliver to me, the plebiscitary proceedings’; and, with that understanding, will immediately give instructions to its Ambassador in Washington that he participate, upon conditions expressed by Your Excellency, of [in?] the corresponding negotiations.
The Government of Chile keenly deplores that it is not in condition to accept the suggestion to suspend immediately the plebiscitary proceedings, especially since that would signify a return to the situation uncertain and full of peril to which an end was put by the recent resolution of the Plebiscitary Commission; and it is certain that the prosecution of those proceedings, which in no way can prejudice the exercise of good offices, will favor a solution which, once reached, even in principle, will indicate the hour for considering without the inconveniences which in this moment exist, the suggestion which Your Excellency has been pleased to transmit. Santiago, March 27th, 1926.”
The words within quotation marks are new and possibly more literal translation of exactly the same Spanish words as appeared in the text of the memorandum of the Minister for Foreign Affairs dated February 19th,39 which I assume you have received by this time. The Spanish text of the memorandum which I am now telegraphing to you, as well as of the memorandum received on March 16th, will go to you in the next pouch due at Washington about April 20th.