Evening star., 1942-10-14
South American Rift

hleiiIo III Cne current diplomatic
controversy between the United
States and two South American ma
tlons, Argentina and Chile, the
controversy itself did not arise bv
accident or inadvertance 1t was
brought to head by the realistic
comments of Sumner Welles, in his
capacity as Acting Secretary of State
last Thursday. Mr.. Welles took the
governments of Chile and Argentina
to task for maintaining diplomatic
relations with the Axis powers, there
by enabling Axis diplomats and
| agents to transmit information to
! their U-boats in the campaign
against shipping in the waters about
the New World.
Mr.. Welles is a veteran diplomat,
skilled in all the niceties of his pro-
fesslon and extremely cautious in
their exercise. Furthermore he is
committed to the hilt in furthering
Pan-American cooperation. Moth
ing can be more certain, therefore,
than that Mr. Welles foreSaw exactly
the repercuSSions of his remarks in
BuenoS Aires and Santiago de Chile,
and that he had a definite purpose in
| making them. 1t is equally certain
that Mr.. Welles had convincing proof
of his charges. Some of it has already
! hn ~ ,nc{c rf A1yir
agents in Chile itself and in Havana,
Cuba, while Washington lets it be
officially known that there is more
evidence in the State Departments
files.
Under these circumstances. the
. heated protests made by the Argen-
| tine and Chilean governments to Mr..
| WelleS' charges come with a rather
bad grace. 1t is noteworthy that
Chile's protest is the more emphatic
and is punctuated by the cancellation
of President Rios projected visit to
the United States. The reason is
that, while the Castillo government
of Argentina has never disguised it's
GOODNESS toward Washington, Presi-
dent Rios has profeSsed friendship
| toward us and theoretical adhesion to
the principle of Pan-American CO.
operation. At the same time, the
Rios administration has done MOTH
ing to implement those fine senti-
ments. Mr.. Welles effectively pune
lures this policy and leaves the
Chilean government in a most un-
dlgnified position, not only toward
| its Latin American neighbors but
also toward its own people.
What Mr.. Welles has undoubtedly
and deliberately precipitated is a
| showdown between the two recaIci-
trantS and the rest of Pan-America.
| Chile and Argentine are told, by plain
implication, that their policy of COM
| placency toward the Axis cannot go
uDchallenged, and that if it con-
! tinues unpleasant consequences will
result. Both countries are econom-
| ically dependent on us to a large
degree, especially in this abnormal
war period, and Washington has al
ready given a pointed hint by
tightening up on credits to Argen-
tina. Mr.. Welles' warning has stimu-
lated the strong domestic opposition
| which exists in both countries to
their governments foreign policies
Furthermore, the other nations of
Latin America, who have taken their
| place beside us at the cost of risks
and sacrifices, are given to under
/ stand that their loyal adhesion to
the Pan-American ideal will be re-
warded, and that they stand on a
far better footing than those who
remain outside under the cloak of an
equivocal neutrality.
MIR. Welles' words and the diplo-
matte developments which have fol-
lowed are thus NJ, rely the first links
in a chain of events that should
produce far-reaching consequences.