Office of the Historian

723.2515/3305: Telegram

The Ambassador in Peru (Moore) to the Secretary of State

[Paraphrase]
Lima, March 18, 1929—7 p.m.
[Received March 19—9:40 a.m.]

37. It is evident that my 33, March 15, 11 p.m., was not clear. President Leguia did not mean to infer that you did not desire him to have a port. Not only that, but, as I told the President in my interview, after you had talked to Mr. Cady, you had made every effort to have Chile accept the San José port. What President Leguia intended to convey was this:

(1)
Chile refused to consider the San José port.
(2)
Chile offered two other ports, which President Leguia’s engineers state are impossible.
(3)
If President Leguia’s engineers are correct, then he would have no Peruvian port for Tacna.
(4)
Therefore, President Leguia states that without a Peruvian port for Tacna, no settlement appears to be possible.
(5)
However, as stated in my 36, March 17, 7 p.m., President Leguia is going to send engineers to investigate the sites offered by Chile, and the solution will depend upon their [report?].
(6)
To put the matter concisely, it is not merely the question of obtaining $3,500,000 to construct a port, but the question of finding a location for a port.

Will you kindly telegraph me the agreement you [say?] President Leguia should sign, and I will do all in my power to have him agree to it.

Moore