Imperial Valley press., 1928-12-22
TROOPS
ON WAY
TO WAR
Paraguay Reported To
Be Sending Thousands
OF Men To Front. /
CLASHES FE A r E D
Pending Peace Attempts
Likely To Fail If Any
Fighting Occurs.
by United Press Leased Wire

BUENOS AIRES, Dee. 22.--
Troops are leaving Asuncion daily
for the Bolivian from
tier the Ascuncion correspondent of
la Prcn>a wired his paper today.
The conting@nts are being sent up
the Paraguay river bv boat, and
despite official orders prohibiting
women from accompanying the
army. several small vessels filled
with women camp followers have
left here for the frontier district,
The correspondent yaid.
Excepting for the continuous
passage Of troops through the city
and the unusual activity in govern
mont departments, the city has APP
pcarcd tranquil since the good Of
ficcs Of the Pan.Amcrican arbitra-
tion and conciiYtion conference
We're accepted in the dispute with
Rolivia, it WAS added.
The correspondent said that in
spite of the reports from Washing
tom that She conference was MAX
ing satisfactory progress in its eff
fort to adjust the dispute, the Para
guayans fear that the presence Of
Bolivian troops in the Gran Chaco
district will provoke fresh clashes.
ASCNCION, Paraguay, Dee. 22.-
Thirty-fivc hundred Bolivian troops,
consisting of 5000 infantrymen and
900 cavalrymcn are marching on the
city Of Bahia Negra, the newspaper
La Patria said today.
The newspaper added that should
the Bolivian contingent attack the
city, the encounter would be one of
maj jor Importance and would nullifv
the efforts OF the Pan-American ar
bltration and conciliation conference
to settle the Bolivian -Paraguavan
crisis.
The new crisis over the disputed
Chaco region began December
"hrn Paraguayan and Bolivian
troops clashcd. \ series of clashes
have followed since.
Bahia Ncgra is situated about 100
miles north of what is given on most
maps as tho Paraguayan- Bolivian
boundary, thus falling within Bo-
, livian territory. However the en-
tire surrounding district is marked
disputed. Both countries claim
the region.
y national defense committee com
posed of the leaders OF all political
parties conferred today with Presi-
dent lose Gug2iari t. determine
means of dealing with the latest sit
uation.
The newspaper FL Liberal said to-
day that three new sheds have been
opened in the Argentine province of
Form0Sa to accommodate the increaS-
inc stocks Of airplaneS and gaso-
( line.
The dispute originally began with
what Bolivia charges was an un-
Justified attack on the Bolivian Fort
Nanguardia, December ;. Twenty
tour Bolivian troops We're killed in
the clash Diplomatic relations be-
tween the two nations were immed-
lately severed and each began prep
arations for war.
Public sentiment ran high and
each country blamed the other for
the clash.
Bolivia rctaliatcd for the Van
guardia incident on December IA,
when Bolivian troops captured the
Paraguayan Fort Boqucrman. There
were casualties on both sides.
The council of the League Of Ma
tionS sent several notes urging q
pacific solution of the problem Sew
cral nations offered to mediate the
dispute. Both nations, however, fin.
ally accepted the good offices Of
| the American arbitration and
cancellation conference, meeting al
Washington.
1t had appeared that the situation
was well ON the way toward solu-
tion until the present reports were
I ,....i,,,l