Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1906-11-12
Chile and PERU.
The GERMANY AND FRANCE OF
AMERICA,
Two American Republics That Are
Comrades in Misfortune, Bound by
the Triple Tie Of Civilization, Lam
guage and Religion, Are Not Friend
ly Rivals, But Enemies.

OF all the republics OF Latin A merica,
none, perhaps, are more widely known
or have more frequently-one might say
more sistently-startled us than have
Chile and Peru. The latter, famous
alike for her prehistoric civilization and
for the splendors of her vice-rega court
at Lima, has eX perenced such success
sion OF disastrous visitations that the
impressiona le historian might almost
seem warranted in ascribing her misfor-
tunes to the curse OF the martyred Incas.
There was the long conflict with Spain,
who made her last stand upon the con-
tinent at the fortress of Callao; there
was her crushing defeat at the hands OF
OF Chile, and the sacklng of Lima; there
was her spectacular bankruptcy and
subsequent compromise with the British
creditors by the surrender OF her entire
railway system, the most remarkable,
and at that time credited with being the
most Improbable, on earth. And first,
last and always, there have been earth
quakes, several OF which have over
whelmed the capital and numerous in
land towns, and destroyed, or inundated,
the ports of CallaO and africa, and the
neighboring settlements upon the coast.
Chile. likewise, has had most sensa.
tional history, beginning with the con-
hict between the early Spanish colonists
and the indomitable Araucanians, con-
flict which continued, with varying for
tunes, for three centuries and halt.
Here, also, were witnessed many bloody
battles in the struggle with the mother
country, and in 1866, az if to offset her
triumph, came the second clash with
Spain, and the disastrous bombardment
OF Valparaiso. Earthquakes, as well,
have added to her misfortunes, notably
the destruction of f'Talcahuano, tue port
of Conception, in l744, and OF Conception
itself. nearly century later; while the
recent calamity. grossly exaggerated, in
all probability, though it has been, will
unquestionably react upon immigration
and foreign investments, and thus result
in an indirect loss, greater, perhaps, than
the actual destruction OF property and
disorganization OF trade.
OF civil strife and political embroil-
ments, Peru has had her full quota; and
Chile, although her governments have
been exceptionally stable, experienced
in the fiercely contested Balmaceda
Revolution OF 1891, loss, both of blood
and Of national prestige, entirely dis
proportionate to the number of com.
batants, or TO the length of the conflict.
These events, moreover, gave rise to
Chile's ill-feeling toward the United
States, which eliminated in the famous
Baltimore incident, and have prevented
cordial relations between the two coun-
tries until this day.
Comrades in misfortune, as they have
frequently been in the past, bound by
the triple tie of a common civilization,
language and religion; neighbors, more
over, whose interests were reciprocal
rather than competitive, and between
whom nothing more serious than a
friendly rivalry might have been expect
ed, these sister republics have developed
feud unique among the nations of the
New World, and comparable, in many
respects, to the deep-rooted enmity be-
tween France and Germany.