723.2515/2415: Telegram
The Ambassador in Chile (Collier) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:10 p.m.]
201. After a talk with the Under Secretary and consideration of the action of last night’s meeting of notables, I consider a diplomatic solution hopeless and feel that Lassiter ought not to delay a moment longer.
The element here which fails to appreciate the seriousness of a solution condemning Chile for electoral frauds rallied all the jingoists and succeeded in overcoming the great number of influential persons who wanted a diplomatic settlement. For instance, the Mercurio has a headline today running across the page “Only the sons of the heroes are worthy of guarding the sepulchre of the martyrs,” and subheading [Page 474] “This is the voice of the Chileans who with their blood bought Tacna and Arica.”
There was unquestionably a set-back yesterday to those who were working for a diplomatic settlement, a sort of mysterious slump. …
I keenly regret that we are not to have the satisfaction of bringing Chile and Peru into better relations and personally am confident that Chile has yielded to influence which has brought about results that I think will be disastrous for her; but you and I certainly have both worked and endured in order to aid Chile, and I think our Government at least will have the satisfaction of having kept faith and that Lassiter’s resolution will be a new declaration of our high standing of honor which must be kept unimpaired if we are to have any influence in Latin America or the rest of the world or if we are to maintain our own self-respect.