The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1879-05-17
Our Olio.
WHAT THEPERU- -UHILI WAR MEANS

II any one should be required to express !
IN brief terms the immediate motive Of /
Peru in causing the three.sided war be-
tween Chill on the one hand and Peru aud
Bolivia on the other, it might be done very
fairly in this way the immediate cause Of |
the war is the effort Of Peru to get up
corner in fertilizers, guano and nitrate OF
soda. Behind this, as a contributory
cause, was the great earthquake wave a
year or SO ago, which swept destruction
along the coast ef Peru, erippling her fer
tilizer works and shipping depots. Further
back is Peru's heavy public debt, mostly
due to England, which debt aud interest
IS secured on her euano aud other trade in
fertilizers, which trade aud her ability to
pay her obligations on her bonds were en-
barrassed BY her losses and by competition
springing up among Chilians domiciled on
Bolivian territory, and by Ghilians on their
own territory, in which nitrate and guano
beds are now being worked. And beyond !
alhthis are the treaties aud other relies Of /
an o'a dispute between Chill and Bolivia /
about piece Of seaeoast territory lying
between the two countries. These are all /
complicated in the war now begun, and of
which we are now hearing the far-ofF
echoes Of the cannon fired in the naval
combat of the mouth Of the river I.on, on
the 18th Of April, in which there was no
body hurt, as far as hearl from.
Beginning with this ancient territorial
dispute, We shall endeavor to furnish tho
readers of the Ledger with the nature of
the troubles between our little sister Re
publics on the Pacific coast Of South Amer
lea. Any reader who will take down his
or her atlas and turn to a map Of South
America will fiDd on the Pacific coast Peru
stretching from above Cape Blanco, about
the Sd degree of south latitude, to the
river Lon, which is near the 22d then
further down he will find Chill, stretching
from Lavota Bay below the 25th degree,
all the way south to Cape Horn. Some
maps, however, place the northern boun-
dairy Of Chill at the 24th degree, accord.
ing to the treaty of 1866 between Chill
and Bolivia But whichever boundary Is
taken, the reader will perceive, it leaves
strip OF seacOast from two to four degrees
in width, which is not covered by either
Peru or Chill, and this, whether it be two
degrees wide or four, belongs to Bolivia,
and is the only seacoast frontier for Boil
Was immense tract Of interior country
which lies back of Chill and abuts against
Brazil and the tributaries Of the ANA.
zon. This little strip of coast line contains
three or four harbors where ocean com
merce may be carried on, and in this re
: spect is important TO Bolivia. At Que
time it was considered to have no other
value, being nearly utterly barren land.
/ Still its ownership, or the ownership ol
part of it, was in dispute between Chill
and Bolivia until 1866, when, by treaty
, 1t was settled that the southern boundary
: of Bolivia, on the scacoast, should extend
, to the 24th degree of south latitude. But
: about this time, guano deposits were found
in this desert place, and Chilli stipulated
: that she should have one-half of whatever
revenue might be derived by Bolivia frou
b that source, as compensation for yieldin,
y the ownership. Eight years later (ls74
: another treaty, 10 run % years, was mad,
between Chill and Bolivia, by which Chill
+. renounced her half Of the revenue aboy,
= mentioned, and Bolivia on her part agreed
0 that no additional export duties should b.
? levied on the products Of Chilian citizen:
? who were engaged or might thereafter b.
t engaged in working mineral deposits il
G the relinquished territory; and so the mat
ter stood until last year, when Bolivia
$ stimulated by Peru, anxious to establish
G complete Government monopolies in tht
5 guano aud nitrate trades, placed an almos
< prohibitory export duty on these produc
Y tions of the Chilians in the territory men
toned, and in violation of the treaty.
e The reader must now track back a few
+ years to take up another part of the story
4 Betwcel 1866, when the disputed territor,
E was in part ceded by Chill to Bolivia, auC
y the present date, explorations of that ter
t ritory have shown that, whilst il is barrer
= for agricultural purposes, it is rich in yer,
extraordinary mineral deposits. Besides
silver, which was found at an early date
+ there are back among the mountains
very large beds of crystalized nitrate 0
c soda and Of guano, both of them being i'm
Q mensely valuable articles Of commerce
These beds are besides extremely interes
c ting in geological point of view, for, alon!
Y with the veins Of nitrate Of soda, the guaal
is found interstratifed like any other min
d eral vein would be, just as we find Goa
/, and slate or shale alternating in our Goa
v regions, On the guano islands 1t will b,
$ remembered that guano is found as a su
S perfeial deposit, supposed to be the aceu
a mutation through many years Of the ex
i erement of sea-coast birds. Similar min
d oral deposits had been found northward o
Z the disputed territory in Peru, and south
S ward in Chill proper, and very large an,
|. lucrative trade has been developed in then
: within few years. Tha nitrate Of sod
/ is interchangeable with guano as a fertili
!. zer, but has many other valuable uses a
: a chemical agent, one Of which is 10 tn
s production Of nitrate or saltpetre for th,
!, manufacture Of gunpowdcr. The Duponts
| near Wilmington, Del, use it for this pur
n poze,
/ Now, taking up the main thread Of III,
'f story again, it is to be said that the work
Q ing Of these new beds Of fertilizers b,
Chilians outside Of Peruvian territory 10
r teriered very much with the financial af
fairs and plans Of Peru The latter wa
c largely in debt for money borrowed, most
!, y in England TO build railroads Sh
! owes $3.50, 0,000, 900, which is heavy loa,
# for a little Republic with a population o
p between two aud three millions, mostl,
: Indians aud others Of mixed race, To &c
: money she had to pledge something as Sc
'f curity, and as her trade in these fertilizer
!. was her most available if not her best asset
n she pledged the revenue from that having
e made the guano export Goyernmen
monopoly, and later on tried the SAINT
q thing with the nitrate of soda. tn,
!, complete control Of the trade, as to botl
r quantity produced aud the price Of III,
!. article are, therefore, Of great importanc,
G to Peru. But here came In the rich Bo
o livian beds worked by Chilans in the ok
: barren aud formerly disputed territory, an,
d other beds inside Of Chill proper, an,
peras control 50 vital 10 her and to III,
It holders Of her bonds was passing away
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