Evening star., 1920-06-27
TERRITORY RIGHTS
LEAGUE PROBLEM
Paraguay and Bolivia in Dis
pute Over Area as Large
as California.

VolVlng Chile, Peru and Bolivia, is not
the only South American problem
which may go before the league. OF
nations for settlement There has ex-
isted~for years a controversy between
Paraguay and Bolivia over a strip OF
territory in the heart of South Amer
lea as pig as the state of California
This, 1T is understood. is on the pro-
gram for consideration by the league.
IT IS probably not generally known
tfat when the American peace ex-
perts under Col. House collected their
data on world problems for use at
the Paris peace conference they in
cluded report on the issues between
Bolivia and Paraguay over the pos
session of this territory, which is
called on Bolivian maps the Bolivian
Chaco and on Paraguayan maps the
Paraguayan Chaco
The. case of the Chaco is known to
have been also brought before the
conference by the Bolivian peace dele
gate, Senator Monies. 1t was decided.
it is understood here. to postpone the
question for early settlement by the
league.
Wants Outlet to Sea.
These problems hold for Bolivia,
hemmed in on all sides by other
political and commercial ambition, her
own territorial outlet to the sea. Pos
session of the port of africa would
give her an outlet to the Pacific. and,
curious as it may seem. possession of
the Chaco, or at least a part of it,
would give her egress to the Allan
tic. For the Chaco borders the great
Plate, and on the Chaco side of the river,
1000 miles from Buenos Aires, is a
little port called Bahia Negra. Here
ocean steamships from the United
States and Europe could take on car
go transported across the northern
edge of the Chaco from the Bolivian
mines and farms.
But in the year 1886, few years
after Bolivia had lost in war the
Pacific rort of Antofagasta, and was
turning her eyes eastward. Bahia
Negra was seized by Paraguay and
has been in her possession ever since.
Paraguay, furthermore, made land al
lotments in the Chaco, whose unsur-
passed pasture and great quebracho
forests were beginning to attract the
white man. A mysterious. unexplored
land, stretching northward from the
Pilcomayo river on the Argentine
border and westward from the River
Paraguay into undisputed Bolivian
territory, it has not been directly
crossed by white man since the days
of the Spanish conquerors-sincet the
year 154S to be exact. Except near
the rivers. it is inhabited only by
savage Indian tribes to this day, but
both nations looked forward to its
possibilities, which recently have in
cluded that of finding petroleum.
Bolivia Protests Seizure.
Bolivia protested the seizure of
10 ov,l al L. l.
1otments in the Chaco. 1t is true that
Bolivia had an eastern outlet already
by the River Paraguay, but her COM
merce had to go through the Brazil
ian river port of Corumba, a little
north of Bahia Negra, moving down
from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz
by mule team, along. the northern
edge of the Chaco, as it still does.
To uphold their claims both gov
ernments unearthed musty archives
in Madrid dealing with the expedi-
tions of the Spanish conquerors and
the land grants of the Spanish crown
in South America. Various diplomatic
negotiations have been initiated be-
tween the two governments from time
to time looking to division of the
territory. but either one congress or
the other refused to ratify the agree
ments which the diplomats drew, up
American Report Filed.
The report of the American peace
experts on the question was placed
in official archives against the time
when the league of nations was ready
to take the matter up Much of the
material. it is learned, was supplied
by young American sent to South
America to investigate and whose pri-
vate opinion is that logical settle
ment of the dispute would be an equal
division of the territory, but which
would give Bolivia her coveted port
There are interesting possibilities
in the settlement for those who have
received land grants in the Chacc
from one government or the other
Some of these are vast in extent. One
citizen from Argentina has secured in
Paraguayan. grants sole title to an
area larger than Holland and Bel
gium combined.