723.2515/697a

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Peru (Gonzales)97

No. 18

Sir: An Associated Press report was published in the local press on September 10, communicating an article published on the preceding day by La Nacion of Buenos Aires, stating that a settlement had been reached of the Tacna and Arica dispute. It was alleged that representatives of the Chilean and Peruvian Governments had been holding, for some time previously, conferences on board the U.S.S. Tacoma, recently ordered to Callao, and that a settlement had been agreed upon by the representatives of both Governments by which Chile was to pay Peru six million pounds in return for which Peru was to relinquish all claim to her former territory. The report stated also that the representative of Chile in these conferences was Doctor Puga Borne, former Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Department has announced that it has no information which would confirm any portion of this report. In view of the fact that it has been advised that Doctor Puga Borne has been in Lima for the past two weeks, the Department has however inquired confidentially of the Peruvian Embassy as to the exact nature of Doctor Puga Borne’s mission in Peru, and has requested information as to whether he has entered into any negotiations with the Government of Peru. The Department has been informed by the Peruvian Embassy that it received, on September 8, a telegram from the Peruvian Foreign Office, stating that Doctor Puga Borne, upon his arrival in Lima, requested the Prefect of Police of that capital to inform the President of Peru that President Sanfuentes of Chile had received a letter intimating that the President of Peru was desirous of initiating negotiations for the settlement of the Tacna and Arica controversy. The Peruvian Embassy has advised the Department that President Leguía has refused to receive Doctor Puga Borne because of the manner in which he approached the President.

The Department believes, from the fact that Doctor Puga Borne has been sent to Lima and from reports recently emanating from Chilean sources, that the Chilean Government may be desirous of effecting at this time some settlement with Peru whereby the long standing difficulty may be solved. The Department desires that you keep it closely informed of all developments in the situation, reporting [Page 347] fully, by cable if necessary, of any reports which may come to you tending to show that the Government of Chile is in fact desirous of bringing about a settlement of the dispute, or that the Government of Peru would now receive favorably any representations from the Government of Chile regarding this question.

I am [etc.]

For the Secretary of State:
Alvey A. Adee
  1. The same to the Ambassador in Chile as no. 244.