723.2515/2741: Telegram
The Minister in Bolivia (Cottrell) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1:40 p.m.]
78. Referring to my No. 74,47 I transmit herewith translation of reply received this afternoon [sic] from the Minister for Foreign Affairs to my note transmitting memorandum of the Secretary of State as to Tacna and Arica and also in reply to the proposal embodied in such memorandum, as follows:48
“La Paz, December 2[, 1926]. Mr. Minister: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s note of yesterday together with which and in compliance with instructions of your Government, you have delivered to me the memorandum of the Secretary of State of the United States relative to the problem of Tacna and Arica. You have informed me that other copies of the same memorandum were delivered yesterday likewise to the Governments of Chile in Santiago and of Peru in Lima. [Other copies were delivered the day before to the Ambassadors of Chile and Peru in Washington.]
Your Excellency is good enough to say that the memorandum has been sent to this Government in order that it may be informed of the [Page 511] proceedings adopted by the Department of State in Washington with a view [to] arriving at a solution of the problem of Tacna-Arica that it may be fully and definitely determined without injuring or offending the susceptibilities and pride of neither Chile nor Peru. The indicated solution of said problem, that of the transfer of Tacna-Arica to Bolivia by virtue of compensation which this country would recognize for the improvements and public works made by the Governments of Peru and Chile during the time that they have had [the] said territories under their Governments, embodies a formula which harmonizes all interests and all legitimate claims. In accord with and being duly authorized by His Excellency the President of the Republic I have the honor to manifest to Your Excellency that Bolivia accepts fully the form of solution proposed by the Government of the United States and will [pledge her every effort] to arrive at an agreement, under the conditions of said transfer, with the Governments of Chile and Peru by means of the good offices of the Government of the United States.
The Government of Bolivia [experiences] a high feeling of satisfaction and Americanism in contributing in this manner to the solution of a problem that has had no other means of settlement and which in each instance has placed international peace in danger. The Government feels equally pleased to see that its repeated appeals to international justice and equity have been heard and have assumed a form of satisfaction without injuring the fundamental interests of Chile and Peru nor giving either country the advantage of a victory or the disappointment of a defeat in the settlement of a matter which had the point of exciting all the energies and all the pride of the two signatory nations to the Treaty of Ancon.
The Government of Bolivia, upon assuming the role of a participant in this solution, wishes to communicate to the Government of the United States its most profound appreciation for having satisfied a national aspiration and for having contributed with such a lofty spirit in offering definite bases for the peace and the harmony of this continent.
I take advantage of this new opportunity [to] reiterate to Your Excellency the assurances of my high and distinguished consideration. A. Gutierrez.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs referring to my statement upon the delivery of the memorandum of the Secretary of State to him, also sends this Legation a note in which he says:
“This manifestation of Your Excellency’s Government is greatly appreciated and contributes to strengthen the feeling of gratitude of the Government and the Bolivian people for the wise and just manner as set forth for the solution of that problem.”