Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-26
Envoy Has Carved His Way
DavIaE Promote

it became clear that II he were to be
entirely pleased he was to be sent to
Washington.
So here he is in Washington.
He has brought with him to Wash
tngton one of the handSomest and most
interesting women in the whole diplo-
matte corps. Sonora de Dav1la, besides
being a woman of personality and OF
great dignity and grace Of manner, Is
painter of some distinction.
Since his coming to Washington-and
in part q factor in his choice-Davila
has taken an important part in one OF
the great international events of our
time-the reconciliation OF Chile and
Peru.
He went at that job as If 1t were a
newspaper assignment. He observed
that the boundary commission had
spent over 100000 pesos worrying over
a piece of dirt which had not delivered
into any ones treasury over 100000
pesos of taxes, and he concluded. there
fore, that there was mostly an emotion
at stake.
To put it into more diplomatic
phraseology, he saw that the whole
Tacna-Arica matter was one princi-
pally of national honor" and senti-
ment.
Obviously, two friends will not quar-
rel over an almost empty name unless
they thoroughly misunderstood one an
other SO Davilas logic proceeded to
look toward getting friendly with Peru
and then talking things over.
Using his papers to their full force
in the direction of Peruvian good I'M
Outstanding, persuading a fellow news
paper man to go to the Havana confer
ence as delegate in the same spirit, con-
sulting with Secretary of State Kellogg,
Davila became great factor in the
reconciliation. For the first time in IT
years Chile and Peru exchanged AM
| bassadorS.
A little incident which occurred at
the time Of that reconciliation might
| stand as a parable Of the just place of
the United States In Latin American
! affairs.
Kellogg an Intermediary.
Secretary Kellogg had acted as inter-
nediary. The great moment had come.
The camera men were all there to send
across the world photographs of AM
bassador Davila Of Chile and Ambassa-
| dor Velarde of Peru shaking hands with
| each other. They tried to get Mr.. KEEL
| logg into the picture, like some benig-
! nant Uncle Sam. But Mr.. Kellogg had
| done his work. He slipped away. out
of the picture, and the two South
| American powers shook hands alone.
| 1t is well known in Washington that
Davila grealy favored and had some
| thing to do with promoting Mr.. Hoover's
South American tour.
| 1t is also we'll known that he has
entertained the hope that the Presi-
| dent some day will make some sort of
declaration of attitude which might be
known as the Hoover Doctrine"
For Davila realizes, as every intelli-
gent Latin American realizes. that
there is vast difference between the
actual policy of the United States and
the policy exaggeratedly attributed to it
in many minds. There Is room for
Qualification, and Davila labors to bring
that Qualification about.
And always, on our side, 1t Is neces-
sary to remember that Chile is white
country. not an Indian country, and
that Latin America Is not one country
but both South America and Central
America and Mexico and the Caribbean
and that even South America Is not
one uniform mass, but differing and es-
sentially different countries. 1t is high
time we grasped the separate individu-
alities of these countries.
Davila represents to us the alertness
and the progressiveness of the Chilean
I temper
And in his incarnation at once as
ambassador Of diplomacy and as am
bassador of the printed word he yields
decided power in carrying to his peo-
pie and through them to other South
Americans the fact of which the be-
wildered North American would have
them be assured: That We are neither
materialists. imperialists nor haters OF
our southern cousins.
Such, in his friendly way, will Da-
villa do