The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-03-20
Peru: Or Mark 5:25

FEELING runs high in Peru over Presi-
L. dent. Coolidge's award as arbiter in the
thirty-two-year- quarrel with Chile over
Tacna and africa.
Angry demonstrations have taken place in
the streets of every city in the country. Our
embassy in Lima has been attacked and at
this writing Peruvian soldiers guard it against
further assault. N.
Somehow we find our sympathy going out
to poor Peru, ever the under dog. Too weak
to defend herself, she has been kicked and
cuffed about since that fateful day 400 years
ago when Pizarro and his little band of Span
iards sacked the empire of the Incas and set
the style
Behind the present row are the fabulously
rich nitrate beds. All the world knows the
value of nitrates 1t also knows that for the
past forty years Chile has had monopoly on
the world s greatest supply of this mineral. So
vital in war and so necessary in peace. But it
probably does not know how Chile acquired it.
Peru won her independence from Spain at
the battle of Ayacticho General Pershing has
just returned from celebration of that bat
ties centennial where he represented the
United States. But in 1866 Spain tried to come
back and Chile with Ecuador and Bolivia,
joined with Peru to send her packing
That date marks the real beginning of the
fuss over Tacna and africa. Together, Peru
and Bolivia owned the wonderful nitrate de-
posts in the Atacama region, but both were
poor as Job s turkey and Chile commenced the
exploitation. Soon--as is ever the case-the
far more powerful Chile began to look upon
the nitrate fields as hers. In 1879 she de-
clared war against Peru and Bolivia and by
1883 had them licked to FRAGILE.
In dictated peace, Chile took everything
She added hundreds of miles to her coast line
at the expense of Bolivia and Peru The fate
of Tacpa and AFRICA the northernmost tip Of
the conquered territory belonging to Peru, she
magnanimously left to be decided by vote of
the population ten years from the signing of
the treaty. ~
This plebiscite should have taken place in
1894 oBut Chile seems to have feared for the
result. She would not agree to any of the
suggested plans for taking the vote and so,
year by years and decade by decade, she has
kept putting the event off. Meanwhile she
has been in complete control of the disputed
country.
In 1922 in desperation, Peru agreed to let
President Harding decide the issue President
Coolidge inherited the job and his award has
just been made. Briefly it calls for popular
vote in Tacna and africa to decide whether
they will remain with Chile or return to Peru
The Peruvians claim that such vote now
will not do justice to Peru They say the ter
ritory has been administered as part of Chile
forty-odd years--since 1883-and vote now
would be almost like asking Texans and Cali
fornians to decide whether they wish to remain
in the United States or return to Mexico.
So Peru is deeply hurt. She feels the
American award favors guilty" Chile and
says so openly. The world Is watching to see
what she will do next
But what can she dof Had she been strong
enough to lick Chile, the issue would have been
settled years ago. AS she was not, and Is not
the. prospect of Tacna and africa being re-
turned to her certainly is not bright The real
answer is more likely to be found in Mark
5 :25:
a For he that hath to him shall be given
and he that hath not from him shall be taken
even that which he hath'