The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-10-12
KEEPING UP
With
THE NE WIS
BY LUDWELL DENNY


XXTASHINGTON, Oct. 12.-More
wv Latin American boundary dis
putes may be dumped into the
lap of the United States Govern
ment, just as it is trying to wash
it's hand politely of the old Tacna-
africa dispute between Chile and
Peru.
Paraguay and Bolivia may appeal
for United Stataes mediation in
their frontier argument, according
to Buenos Aires reports
Ecuador and Peru already have
agreed to submit their territorial
dispute to the arbitration of the
President of the United States.
Meanwhile, Washington is using
it's good offices to induce Guatemala
and Honduras to reach q peaceful
border settlement. Also this gov
eminent continues its efforts to
compromise its old dispute with
Mexico over Chamizal at Ell Paso
and other Rio Grande border dis
putes.
The unusually large number Of
arbitration boundary cases headed
in the direction of Washington re-
vealed today a division of opinion ,
here regarding desirability OF this
government allowing itself to %
drawn into more Latin American
quarrels.
Three affirmative arguments are
dominant in these discussions:
l. AS the United States already
is the strongest power in a military
and economic sense in the western
hemisphere, it should maintain
moral leadership in the relations
among American nations. This can
be best achieved by furthering the
ideal of arbitration. But this Gov
eminent cannot give lip service to
that ideal unless it is ready to &C
cept the often thankless and some
times dangerous task of mediator
or arbitrator.
2. Unless the United States is
ready to act as arbitrator in Latin
American disputes, those countries
will turn to the League of Nations,
to European courts, or to European
mediators. This would be "unde-
sirabIe," because allegedly it would
lead to kind of political Interior
ence or at least connection between
Latin America and Europe, which
in time might undermine the as
sumed position of Washington I'M
der the much-stretched Monroe
doctrine.
3. There always is a danger of
South American war unless these
frontier arguments are disposed of
as quickly as possible. South Ameri-
can war would be deplorable to the
United States, not only on moral
and political grounds, but for eco
nomic reasons. increasingly this
country must look to Latin America
as its major market for surplus and
exportable industrial products. Latin
America is now reported at the be-
beginning Of large scale develop
ment and prosperity, in which
United States business is expected
to share literally. But this develop
ment depends upon continuance Of
peace.
Il
ID EGARDLESS Of these argu-
IN ments, there is rather a large
group, especially in Congress, which
thinks that the net effect of our
arbitration efforts in the past has
been to increase Latin American ILL
will and criticism Of us and of our
motives.
These critics, some of whom are
in very high places, point to the
state departments failure in the
Tacna-Arica case and the conse-
quent troubles as a warning against
similar mistakes in the future.
They stress the alleged futility Of
| the Coolidge Tacna-Arica arbitral
award under Secretary of State
Hughes, and the inability of either
General Pershing or General
Lassiter to hold fair plebiscite
election in the disputed provinces
under Chilean rule.
Though Kellogg is hopeful that
the recently renewed diplomatic re-
lations between Chile end Peru will
lead to direct settlement of the
Tacna-Arica dispute, the critics
reply that is added proof why the
United States should not have "in-
terfered' in the first place.
In the meantime, the Tacna-Arica
boundary commission, sitting in New
York, has been suspended for four
months, to give the Lima and Sam
tiago governments opportunity to
settle directly the larger dispute.
The American neutral mediator,
Minister Davis, has failed to bring
Guatemala and Honduras into
agreement over their boundary dis
pute in which American fruit COM
panies are implicated. Now the
State Department is trying for the
second time to persuade Honduras
to submit the case to the Central
American tribunal, to which Guate-
mala has agreed.
compromising for these failures,
Colombia and Nicaragua recently
resolved their conflicting claims for
certain islands, including Corn Is
land in which Washington has
naval rights under its Nicaraguan
treaty.
And resumption of friendly rela-
lions by Panama and Costa Rica
under Washington's influence is eX-
pected to hasten settlement Of their
border quarrel.