724.3415/4392: Telegram
The Chargé in Brazil (Gordon) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:40 p.m.]
328. Department’s 176, December 1, 3 p.m. Minister for Foreign Affairs stated this morning that the view of the Brazilian Government was that its reply to the invitations of the League of Nations should be similar to ours as regards non-participation in the deliberations of the Advisory Committee and as regards participation in the Buenos Aires conference. As regards participation in the labors of the Neutral Supervisory Commission, Brazil feels that in view of its geographical position, contiguous to the belligerents, it is in an entirely different situation from ourselves and therefore that in appointing a representative upon this Commission he must be given full powers and not be subject to the limitations as we propose to impose upon our representatives.
The Foreign Minister pointed out that as a result of the schedule of time limits set forth by the League Report and the statements on the part of Paraguay and Bolivia as to when their answers might be expected, hostilities would still be continuing throughout this month, if not longer. His Government, therefore, felt that a determined effort should be made to secure the consent of Bolivia and Paraguay to the immediate cessation of hostilities in return for Brazil’s agreement to participate in the League peace plan. If this could be brought about it would constitute such an important new factor, altering the situation as it had hitherto existed, that Brazil would be justified in departing from her former consistently maintained policy of non-cooperation with League agencies. Accordingly, the Foreign Minister has sounded out the Bolivian and Paraguayan Ministers here both of whom today promised to recommend strongly to their respective Governments that this proposal be accepted. The Secretary-General of the Foreign Office also’ informed me that the Brazilian representatives in La Paz and Asunción have been instructed to endeavor immediately to obtain affirmative replies to this proposal.
The Minister stated that Paraguay could not consistently refuse to accede to this proposal and that he also had ground for believing that Bolivia would prove amenable.
The Minister, of course, only spoke for Brazil when making his proposal. If, however, the United States were disposed similarly to suggest to Bolivia and Paraguay immediate cessation of hostilities in return for American participation at Buenos Aires and in the work [Page 118] of the Neutral Supervisory Commission, the Foreign Minister would be much gratified. In any event, he wished definitely to request that our replies to the League invitations be held up until he received replies from La Paz and Asunción to his proposal, which he is confident will be within 2, or at the most, 3 days.
Will the Department therefore instruct me at its early convenience in the premises.
The Minister showed me the telegram which he sent Aranha81 last Saturday which clearly indicates the importance his Government attaches to the immediate cessation of hostilities as a new fact justifying the reversal of policy which Brazil is now prepared to’ consider.
I pointed out to the Minister this afternoon that there was nothing in the tenor of my instructions as I conveyed them to him this morning indicating that we had any idea of interrupting our further collaboration with League agencies upon the cessation of hostilities. The Minister consequently did not formally request us to take similar action but merely stated as set forth above how gratified he would be if we should see our way clear to do so.
I also stated to the Minister that in my opinion if Bolivia and Paraguay should agree to his proposal for an immediate cessation of hostilities on the express condition that Brazil cooperate with League peace agencies, that would be tantamount to acceptance by the two belligerents of the whole League plan; as both countries had indicated that they would not be able to give their answer on the League Report until a good many days hence, I did not quite understand how he felt so sanguine as to getting an immediate and favorable reply to his proposal. The Minister said that he agreed as to the effect of an acceptance of his proposal but he still felt that this acceptance could be obtained in short order with the result that Brazil and America would be leading the way to peace.
In explaining his optimism, the Foreign Minister stated that both the Paraguayan and Bolivian Ministers had not only promised, as indicated above, to recommend acceptance of his proposal, but also had told him this afternoon that they considered the chances of it being accepted in their respective countries were very good. In addition, the Minister also showed me necessarily in strictest confidence a short memorandum from the Bolivian Minister stating that if Brazil and the United States agree for an immediate cessation of hostilities as the condition precedent to their collaboration in the League peace plan he had good reason to believe his Government would accept it. Of course this was only the personal opinion of the Bolivian Minister and he may well have been exceeding his instructions in some of his conversations with the Foreign Minister.
[Page 119]In connection with the general discussion reported in the first part of this telegram the Secretary General made the statement that his Government very much wished that we could see our way to conferring full powers upon our representative on the Neutral Supervisory Commission.
- Oswaldo Aranha, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States.↩