Office of the Historian

724.3415/4178: Telegram

The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State

Geneva, September 25, 1934—4 p.m.
[Received 5:30 p.m.]

271. Costa du Rels the chief Bolivian delegate here called on me in my office today and after making statements respecting the course of events during the Buenos Aires mediation procedures gave me the chief points of Bolivia’s present policy vis-à-vis the League’s handling of the Chaco matter together with an explanation of that policy.

The substance of what he had to say to me respecting the current situation is as follows:

1.
The stage reached in the Buenos Aires mediatory procedures at the date of the opening of the Assembly was that Bolivia had made formal objections to the two disputants and the mediatory powers had not yet made a reply to the Bolivian objections. Thus Bolivia regarded the mediation as continuing.
2.
Bolivia took a position against the reference of the matter to the Assembly feeling herself to be at a disadvantage in that respect inasmuch as the mediatory procedures were in course and her objections had not yet been answered.
3.
Bolivia understood that the action of Argentina before the Assembly was taken without the authority of the other mediatory powers, the United States, and Brazil. This was confirmed respecting the United States through advices telegraphed from La Paz that a note to that effect had been presented by the United States Minister at La Paz to the Bolivian Foreign Office.
4.
Bolivia was forced to consider the Buenos Aires mediation procedures terminated as of the date of Argentina’s action in the Assembly inasmuch as this action had been taken over Bolivia’s formal protests to Argentina.
5.
In view of the non-existence of mediatory or peace negotiations elsewhere Bolivia’s present policy is to press for League action. For this reason she clarified the situation and opened the way for League action by her declaration of yesterday before the Sixth Commission (Consulate’s 268, September 25, 9 a.m.), which could be understood as a definite notification that the Buenos Aires mediation had terminated.
6.
Bolivia’s reason for pressing for action in the quarter where immediate action seems most possible to achieve is due to the present situation respecting the embargo. She feels the longer the embargo continues the greater will be her disadvantage inasmuch as Paraguay has current access to materials of war despite the embargo which access is not available to Bolivia.
7.
With reference to the proposed League plan of setting up a large Assembly committee (Consulate’s 269, September 25, 10 a.m.), Bolivia does not favor that type of committee but rather one with a larger proportionate representation of Latin American states. I gained the impression, which was however an indefinite one, that Bolivia objected to Italy’s participation in such a committee.

Gilbert