The Chilean Minister to the Secretary of State.
Washington, April 16, 1909.
Sir: Referring to the conversation which I had with your excellency yesterday, and to the desire expressed by the honorable Mr. Wilson to know the circumstances on which the Chilean Government based its action in reducing the amount of the claim of Alsop & Co.; premising the remark that the Chilean Government considers this claim to be that of a firm declared to be Chilean by an international tribunal and recognized as such by the President of Bolivia in his last message, and that, consequently, it can not be defended diplomatically by your excellency’s Government; and without any intention of analyzing the merits of said claim, since the locus of the discussion of the subject is in Santiago, I have the honor to give to your excellency the following explanation:
The treaty of peace concluded between Chile and Bolivia on October 20, 1904, provided in article 5 that the Government of Chile should devote the sum of 2,000,000 gold pesos of 18 pence to the cancellation of some of the debts of Bolivia, therein determined, among them being that of Mr. Pedro López Gama, represented by Messrs. Alsop &Co.
With this sum of 2,000,000 gold pesos of 18 pence the said debts were canceled pro rata, the amount corresponding to Alsop & Co. being indicated in the note sent by the minister of foreign relations of Chile to the American minister at Santiago, where your excellency will find it. The other creditors declared that they were satisfied and received the quota corresponding to them, executing an acknowledgment of receipt in full. My Government hopes that the representatives of Alsop & Co. will do likewise.
The Government of Chile has absolute confidence in the spirit of justice of the Government of the United States and is firmly convinced that your excellency will consider warranted the attitude assumed by our chancelry in the note to the American minister to which I referred.
I avail, etc.