723.2515/3297: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Peru (Moore)
28. Your 33, March 15, 11 p.m. I am at a loss to understand what the President means by stating that evidently I do not fully appreciate his proposition; that he must have a port for Tacna and that if that is impossible then no settlement is possible. I made no such statement in my 24, March 14,14 that President Leguia should not have a port; in fact, that is what I meant when I asked them to come to an agreement as to the principles, that is, including the port. He must know that I have used every possible influence with Chile to obtain a port at the site proposed by the engineers. Of course, I urged both Peru and Chile, to the extent I felt I was justified, to make a reasonable settlement. I understand President Leguia’s proposition about President Hoover, and my suggestion about agreeing on principles was that, as soon as the formula of settlement was telegraphed, the President would not only endorse it but would propose it as a settlement to Peru and Chile. I do not believe I would experience any difficulty in getting him to do that if Peru and Chile came to a preliminary understanding as to what they were willing to accept. The proposal which I suggested in my 24, March 14, was along the same lines as the proposal of President Leguia contained in your 33, March 15, 11 p.m.