Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-10
'LATlN-AMERlcAN oUALMS

TNHE persistent demands of the Govern.
1 ment Of Chile to promote a comprehen
sve consideration of competitive armaments
in South America are shedding informative
light upon problem to which the outside
world has accorded comparatively little
attention.
In Europe. and even to some extent in
the United States, Latin American issues.
especially those dominant in the Southern
Hemisphere, are popularity regarded as
apart from the ordinary current Of inter-
national affairs. Nevertheless, rivalries and
conflicting interest in South America are
lively, and curious parallels may be traced
between the situation in the antipodes and
that which is commonly associated with the
main stream of history.
The Treaty Of Ancon. still under discus.
sion in the negotiations In which the United
States is seeking to adjust the claims Of
Chile and Peru to the valuable nitrate
Provinces of TGcna and africa, ended in the
early eighties the last bitterly fought and
violently destructive war on the southern
half Of the southern continent. A decade
before that conflict Latin American progress
had been interrupted by the bloody struggle
in which Brazil and her allies all but cx-
terminated the Parnguayans, deluded and
vainly led by the arch -dcspot Lopez.
lne recovery OF IuTdSuHy ITOH HeT
wounds has been painfully slow. The sub
stantial development of Chile. Brazil and
Uruguay. however, has led. rs might natu-
rally have been expected. to marked in
crease of national consciousness.
The intensity of this sentiment was criti-
cally illustrated In the Patagonian boundary
dispute. which nearly caused an outbreak
of hostilities between Chile and Argentina
at the opening of the present century.
Happily, an arbitration award by Edward
VII, agreed to by both parties, disposed Of
that dangerous controversy.
Popular opinion in the Argentine has been
increasingly anti militaristic. A strong
national pride has. however. borne fruit in
the well-organized army Of Chile, a fact
which lends conspicuous interest to the
recent efforts of that country on behalf Of
South American peace. r.a
DR.. Vicuna. Chilean delegate In the Dis
armament Commission Of the League Of
Nations. which has lately been in session in
Paris, has announced that his nation will
insist upon discussion of the whole question
of disarmament, both naval and military,
Mt the next Pan American conference to be
held in Santiago next March. 1t is natu-
rally the South American situation in which
he Is chiefly concerned. That presents the
clements Of n new "balance- of power prob
lem and the possibilities of new national
alignments.
According to figures published by La
Prensa. of Buenos Aires. it Is Brazilian
military preparation which is now occa-
sioning anxiety among her neighbors. Con-
sidering its area and population. the stand
ing army of the largest I.aff, American re-
public, which amounts to 10000 men, can
hardly be called excessive. Yet 1t is nearly
equal numerically to the combined armies
of all the other South American republics.
Alleged strategic railways have been built
from Brazil to Uruguay, which progressive
little country is reported to have an under.
standing with her great neighbor. Whether
this contention Is true or not. 1t Is certain
that the Argentine Interpretation is char
acterized by an undercurrent of discomfort
The situation. real or fancicd. justifes
examination, and it is encouraging to note
that Chile. a nation supposedly Of mill.
tarstic tendencies. Is taking the initiative.
1t would be shocking indeed If nationalism
were perverted by chaunvinists and jngoes
in Latin America as it so often has been in
Europe.
Fortunately, the roots of dissension are
not yet irrctrevably deep II they can be
pulled up and cast away at the Pan Ameri-
can Congress the body will perform a real
service to civilization.