Evening star., 1939-10-29
South America Fears
War Will Invade
IFS Waters
Disregard Of Neutrality
By Both Sides in Lost
Conflict Recalled
By CARLOS ]. VIDELA.

NEW YORK, Oct. % IN. A. N. Az.
With the news that the German
pocket battleship Deutschland is
loose in the Atlantic, and with con-
tinuous comings and goings of three
British cruisers and at least two
submarines in the southern Atlantic
and Pacific, South American ma
tlons, especially Argentina. Brazil
and Chile, are showing apprehen-
sion lest repetition occur of the
same violations of their neutrality
by both belligerents that took place
in the last war.
Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay
have announced the start of a naval
patrol of their coasts, but this pa
troll will at best be ineffective. The
Atlantic littoral of Brazil and Ar
gentina extends several thousand
miles and the Brazilian and Argen-
tine navies do not have the ships,
the planes or the men that such
patrol would require. Most of their
vessels are antiques, although Ar
gentina has three new cruisers and
about a dozen new destroyers and
Brazil has several destroyers in
servlceable condition. Uruguay has
no navy other than couple of
small, ancient tubs whose sea-
worthiness is not beyond doubt.
Old Dispute Revived.
Conditions have already reached
the stage in Argentina where the
old dispute with Britain over pos
session of the Falkland, or Malvinas,
Islands, located about 200 miles off
the Straits of Magellan in the
southern Atlantic, is again at the
boiling point. Britain is accused of
recruiting soldiers in Argentine ter
rltory to be sent to the Faklands
ITO guard German prlsoners''-pre-
sumably the crews of interned mer-
chantmen. This adds insult to in
jury in the eyes of the Areentines,
one OF whose chief complaints
against the Monroe doctrine is that
1t didn't prevent the British from
seizlng the islands by force in 1888.
The Falklands were used by the
British Navy as fueling station
during the last war, and it was
there that the German cruiser
squadron commanded by Vice Ad-
miral Count Won Spec had its fatal
encounter with the much stronger
forces of the British Admiral Dove
ton Sturdee.
Coincident with the arrival in
Bahia, Brazil. of the British sub
marine Spearfish on September
South American newspapers on the
east coast began to express serious
concern about new violations of their
neutrality. The presence of this and
other British submersibles in Latin
American waters might explain, say
some South American papers, the
reports that German submarines
are operating in the Caribbean.
Violations Cited.
La Prensa of Buenos Aires ac-
knowledged as the foremost Span
lsh-language newspaper. says in a
recent issue that the London gov
eminent has called the attention of
South American nations to the pos
slolnty that German naval vessels
and planes might use their waters
as a base of operations. but adds
that both British and Germans
violated all rules of naval neutrality
hundred times in South American
waters during the last war, every
time 1t suited their convenience"
and implies the fear that this per-
Torrance will be repeated.
At the beginning of the World
War, the nine ships of Admiral Won
Specs squadron stayed a whole week
at the Chilean island of Pascua,
then two days in Juan Fernandez,
and then. after defeating the British
cruiser squadron of Admiral Grad
cock, five days in the Bay of Penas.
all in Chilean waters. The base for
this German squadron in the Allan
tic was to be the Argentine inlet of
Bahia Huevo, but the Falkland dis
aster prevented it, The German
auxiliary cruiser Seydlitz was in
termed by the Argentines in Puerto
Belgrano. The German cruiser
Dresden anchored for days in the
Brazilian Bay of Rocas and the Ar
eentlne Bay of Cayetano; after the
Falkland battle she was 10 days un-
dergoing repairs in Orange Bay, II
days in Hewert Bay (both in the
Argentine far SOUTH. and five days
in the Chilean island Of Juan Fer
nandez, where she was sunk by the
British.
Set Up Coaling Stations.
The English established coaling
stations on the Brazilian coast, near
Abrolhos, and in the Chilean Gulf
of Corcovado, where their ships
came and went as they pleased in
disregard of neutrality rights
At present, there exists another
potential danger zone. In the far
south, near the Antarctic Ocean.
large fleets of whaling vessels
operate. The British have base
on the South Georgia Island and
in the neighborhood stand huge
floating factories" with their broods
of "chasers, small ships armed with
harpoon guns No fewer than 36
floating factories and 270 chasers
OF various nations we're reported to
be operating there last year. Ger
many had 4 mother ships and 80
cnasers there, While Britain had 10
big ships and 81 chasers. There is
ample scope for specula ton over
the presence of these vessels in
nearby Antarctic waters. whence
they could easily be shifted north
ward to act as suppllers of fuel and
provisions to submarines and sur
face war1Cips.
Fears of Hideout.
Many months before the start of
the present war fears had been ex-
pressed in Argentina and Chile that
the Beagle Channel Islands, SOW
ereignty over which has been sub
mltted to American arbitration.
might be used as hideout by bel
Igerent men of war.
Latin-American nations indorsed
the creation of a 300-mile safety