The situation, however, is far from satisfactory. The military
aviation group is constantly placing obstacles in the way of the Pan
American service and raising other irritating difficulties. It is
clear that the military people fear the efficiency of the Pan
American and, instead of showing a spirit of cooperation, desire to
exploit the Company in every possible way for the interests of the
Chilean national service. This general attitude of hostility toward
the Company is stimulated by competing concerns who, while having
their own troubles with the Chilean authorities, believe it to be to
their interests to undermine the position of the Pan American which
is in a more secure position because of its contracts with the
United States Post Office.
I am sending this despatch by air mail since it may be necessary
relatively soon for me to request more detailed instructions from
the Department. It will be noted that I have taken a firm attitude
in the enclosed note and it may be that on the basis of present
instructions I
[Page 591]
shall be
able to handle the situation. The Department, however, should
consider how far it is willing to go in insisting on fair treatment
of the Pan American Grace Airways Inc., and in case the situation
becomes more difficult than it is today, I shall request
instructions by cable.
[Enclosure]
The American Ambassador (Culbertson)
to the Chilean Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Barros
Castañón)
Santiago, September 20,
1929.
No. 259Excellency: I have the honor to inform
Your Excellency that the United States Post Office under its
ten-year contract of March 2, 1929 with the Pan American Grace
Airways, Incorporated reserved the option to extend the
international airmail route to Buenos Aires and Montevideo and
that now I am advised by my Government that, the Post Office of
the United States having exercised this option, this extension
of the international airmail service will be inaugurated by the
Pan American Grace Airways, Inc. on October 12, 1929 by a flight
from Buenos Aires to Santiago connecting here with the
northbound planes of the Company.
In the various communications which I have had with your
Government on the subject of the Pan American Grace Airways,
Inc. the objective of my Government to create a fast express
airmail service between the Canal and Buenos Aires and
Montevideo by way of Santiago, has been referred to and so far
as I knew, accepted. The permission asked by and in behalf of
the Company has always been co-extensive with this objective.
The petition of the Company dated May 18, 1929 on which Decree
No. 2001, June 24, 1929 was based, stated:
“The Company that I represent has been favored by the
Department of Post Office of the United States for a
period of ten (10) years with the contract to effect the
transportation of international correspondence to
Santiago, Chile, susceptible of being made extensive to
the Argentine and Uruguayan Republics”
and in order to be able to fulfill this
commission, in so far as Chile is concerned, the Company
requested at the same time, amongst other things, the following
privileges:
“2nd. Permission to land for the purpose of receiving and
delivering international mail and passengers, in the
following points: Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Chañaral,
Caldera, Coquimbo and Santiago, and to be permitted to cross
the frontiers for the purpose of continuing to the Argentine
and to Uruguay”.
[Page 592]
The permission granted to the Pan American Grace Airways, Inc. on
the basis of the above mentioned petition stated in Clause I
that the Company has the right to enter and fly out of Chile
following “on the south the railroad line of Uspallata”. This
provision from its very phraseology can have no connection
whatever with the service of the Company to the north and can be
given only one interpretation, namely, the permission to fly out
of Chile into Argentina and to enter Chile from Argentina.
No doubt this feature of the Decree needs clarification and
perhaps amplification. This is true of other provisions of the
Decree and your Government has recognized this by permitting the
Company to operate provisionally under Decree No. 2001 (see
communication of General Blanche transmitted to me by a note of
your Ministry No. 8290 dated July 19, 1929).
Pending the issuance of the revised decree, however, I wish to be
sure that we are in agreement on the scope of the provisional
permission under which the Company is now operating in Chile.
Having already set forth its requests in its petition of May 18,
the Company is under no necessity to file a new petition for the
extension of its service out of Chile to Buenos Aires and
Montevideo and return. It should be emphasized that its original
petition covered this service and that only within a few days
has any doubt been raised as to the scope of the Company’s
permission. If the permission requested by the Company was not
given with sufficient clarity in the Decree it is not the fault
of the Company. Pending the issuance of the revised decree we
are willing to accept the language of Decree No. 2001 as
sufficiently definite for the inauguration of the extension of
the international airmail service to Buenos Aires as ordered by
my Government; if, however, your Government feels that further
clarity is necessary I suggest the amplification of the above
mentioned provisional arrangement on the basis of the Company’s
petition of May 18, 1929.
I feel certain at times that certain officials in the Direction
of Aviation of your Government do not fully appreciate the
effort which my Government is making to establish a rapid
airmail service between the United States and Chile and
Argentina. In competitive bidding the Pan American Grace
Airways, Inc. was granted a substantial mail subvention by my
Government in order to make this service possible and without
this aid you will of course realize that no such rapid
communications can be established for the time being between our
countries. No monopolistic privileges have been requested and in
accordance with the declared policy of your own Government it
would seem that the permission which has been requested by the
Company would be granted as a matter of course. I may be
permitted
[Page 593]
to recall to
Your Excellency that Chile signed the Havana Convention38 and furthermore that
she signed and ratified the Paris Convention.39
I have urged upon the officials of the Pan American Grace
Airways, Inc. that they give generous cooperation in assisting
your Government in the development of aviation in Chile. At the
suggestion of General Blanche and with the knowledge and
approval of His Excellency the President, the Company is
bringing to Chile an expert to study the illumination of the
airport of Antofagasta and a secondary installation in Arica. It
is expected that his report will be ready during the first part
of October and I venture to hope that at that time we may
proceed to the formulation of the revised decree in terms
satisfactory to your Government and to mine.
In the meantime, however, if your Government believes that Decree
No. 2001 is not sufficiently clear to permit the international
mails to proceed from Buenos Aires to the United States by way
of Uspallata and return, I suggest that your Government give at
its earliest convenience the necessary assurances on the basis
of the Company’s petition of May 18, 1929 and the provisional
arrangement transmitted by the note of your Ministry No. 8290 of
July 19, 1929, so that the extension of the airmail service to
Buenos Aires may be opened on October 12 in accordance with the
instructions of the United States Post Office to the Company and
in accordance with the agreement reached between the Argentine
Post Office and the Post Office of the United States.
I avail myself [etc.]
