Evening star., 1928-12-30

IL are more alike than any tWt
other Latin American republics
Situated, the one on the western. the
other on the eastern, portions of South
America, they share the fate of being
inland countries with no direct
access to the sea. with no coast
line They have also in common the
fact that, having been warred upon by
neighborS, they have lost a great pOr'
ton of their respective territories, the
valor Of their population proving of nc
avail. And because of these things II
should be only natural for them to draw
together. That, however, has not been
the case, as between them there is an
old dispute, already half q. century old
bearing on the possession of vast ter
ritory Ell Chaco Boreal, that lies be-
tween the two countries.
The territory that Bolivia and Para
quay dispute embraces. according to
the Bolivian internationalist Miguel
Mercado, somewhat over 10000 square
leagues. It is situated in the most fer-
tile region of the southern continent, a
region not unlike the Valley of the
Euphrates, and much larger.
Chaco Boreal is three times larger
than Portugal, five times the size of
Belgium and Switzerland together
four times as large as Denmark and
Holland taken as unit, twice the size
of Uruguay, almost as large as the five
republics of Central America, and of
an even size with italy and Great Brit
ain. It covers one-fourth of the area
of Bolivia and is one-half as large as
all Paraguay.
Has Shape of Triangle.
II has the shape of an isosceles tri-
angie, its apex at ASuncion, Paraguay S
capital, and its sides running along the
rivers Paraguay and Pilcomayo, which
are its natural boundaries. The Para
quay River divides it from Paraguay,
the Pilcomayo from the Argentine Re-
public. AS it slopes toward the Para
quay River Basin it is watered by many
an aff1uent of this large stream. Chief
among these is the southern arm of the
Pilcomayo, navigabie for some $50 kilo-
meters, as from the Paraguayan Fort
Gen. BurgueZ (founded in 1920 down.
stream to where it merges its waters
with those of the Paraguay River; Con-
fuSo, that springs north of the Estero
de Patino, navigable a considerable
distance by small craft; Aguaray Guazu
navigable by small craft for some $50
kilometers: Monte Lindo, that springs
by the Bolivian Fort Saavedra; Negro,
that has its source by the evangelical
some 160 kilometers to Conception,
where it joins the Paraguay; Verde, a
stream of peculiar bitter water that
NaS its source by Fort Arce, and the
1SSer streams of San Carlos and Con-
sales and the Galvan, that flows into
ehe Paraguay south of Port SaStre To
this water system there must be added
the large pools and long inletS formed
ON its western bank by the Paraguay
River when it floods.
Rich in Soil and Forest.
In. this territory a population of
S0,000,000 could be at ease. It is an
immense reservoir of resources Mea-
Werly populated now, it is none the less
powerful asset. The benignity of its
climate, its natural irrigation facilities.
the richness of its soil and Subsoil. the
wealth Of its virgin forest, thick woods,
make Of 1t a land of veritable promise
pr the mankind that lives a stif1ed
me In an overcrowded world.
Bolivia'S grounds for claiming title to
the territory involved are as follows:
The Audiencia of CharcaS. which on
becoming an independent country was
transformed into the Republic of Bolivia,
was founded by the Spanish conquerors
In the sixteenth century as covering a
territory of round proportions with its
center at Chuquisaca and extending cir
cularly for a hundred leagues 600
niles about this center.
BY Royal Charter (Cedula Real) of
August 90, 1863, His Majesty Philip II
granted to the Audiencia de Charcas
the lands that had been explored by
Andreas Manzo and Nunez de Chaves
together with whatever other lands
may be settled in those parts" It is
this region, lying like a wedge between
the Pilcomayo and Paraguay Rivers,
that Paraguay disputes Bolivia.
Ruling by Monarch.
On December 10 of the same year
1853, the Spanish monarch definitely
ruled that the entire Chaco region be-
longed to the Real Audiencia de
Charcas, fixing the boundaries of this
dominion of the Spanish crown on the
south by the entire course of the
Picomayo River and on the north by
the lands of the Portuguese crown. now
Brazil. So that, what now constitutes
Paraguay proper as well as the disputed
territory, were under the jurisdiction
and were judged to belong to the
Audiencia de Charcas.
Further evidence is given by the fact
that by virtue of the royal charter of
October /, 1866. the King denied au-
tliority to Commandant Francisco Ortiz
de Vergara to explore either Chaco or
Guaray (as what is now Paraguay was
then called based the royal action on
the fact that these provinces were
already under the domain of the
Audiencia de CharcaS could not be
proper lands for exploration on which
b base claims looking forward to grants.
Charcas constituted an immense
domain. 1t soon became evident that
to keep order within all its confines
was difficult matter. The revolt of
the Indians presented grave prob
lem. The Guaycuru and Payagua
Indians, now the republic of Paraguay
were especially restless and troublesome
In order to better defend that out
lying province of the Audiencia de
Charcas, Guayra was made into
Gobernacion. or seat of government
enjoying a certain measure of autonomy
IN order to better meet emergencies
The jurisdiction of this new govern
ment did not extend at any time over
the Chaco region, and a provision tc
this effect was definitely stipulated ir
the royal charter Of December 16, 1917
Jurisdiction Assigned.
In 1861 the Gobernacion de Guayra
. which comprised four cities, was re.
leased from the jurisdiction of Charcas
and assigned under the Audiencia dc
Buenos Aires. The province of Chaco
then a deserted region, remained under
the jurisdiction of the Chuquisacs
government as an integral part of tn,
Audiencia de Charcas. Among many
proofs of this fact it is pertinent to citC
The royal charter of December IT
1743, wherein affirmed by royal author
tty that "All nations or portions there.
of that are between the Philcomayt
and Paraguay Rivers extending beyonc
the community of Santa Cuz de Il
Sierra, do belong to Charcas." Thi
region described by the King is pre-
cisely the land which Paraguay nov
claims.
Besides the innumerable document
emanating from the Spanish crown