Evening star., 1951-04-22

The furor touched of by tn,
Presidents extemporaneous anc
well-meant account of a conver'
sation that took place betweei
himself and President Gabrie
Gonzalez Videla of Chile, abou
the possibility of harnessing thu
waters of Lake Titicaca to irri.
gate Peruvian and Chilean waste.
lands along the Pacific, in return
for which land locked Bolivis
might receive a corridor, or natu'
raj outlet to the sea. is still rever.
berating up and down the Andes
Not only have politicians. the
press and large numbers OIL
prominent private citizens in the
capitals of the three countries
been busy hurting criticisms ano
charges at one another, but IN
several instances President Tru-
man himself has been roundly
condemned for his interference
in a purely South American polit-
ical question"
Tacna and africa, two compare
lively small valleys, now belonging
to Peru and Chile. respectively
may seem unimportant to the
average citizen in this country
but they are the Alsace and Lor-
raine of the southern continent
More blood has been spilled and
more hatred engendered over
these arid strips of land and
other areas adjoining them than
almost any other piece Of terri
tory.
Problem Is Ancient
Like so many of the, frontier
problems which the Spaniards be.
queathed to the Americas, thi'
one stemmed, partly at least, from
conflicting accounts and interpre'
tations of territorial jurisdiction
contained in musty old records
left by the captains, generals
viceroys and other agents of tht
Spanish crown who ruled the vas
South American territories before
their independence. Neither Sidt
would admit if, Of course, bu
the international ambitions o.
various rulers and politicians il
each of the countries kept i
alive through the years.
At any rate, for more than hall
a century the three nations en-.
gagged in intermittent wars alone
this stretch of the Pacific Coast
Their armies See-Sawed back anc
forth, making the region a sort
of no-man's land. AS time went
on Bolivia, weakened and impov-
erished, lost out and was cut of
from the sea, while Chile anc
Peru continued the contest.
In 1879 the bloodiest Of all the
conflicts broke out between Chile
and Peru, which ended in 1883
The treaty of peace which fol-
lowed provided that Tacna ano
africa should be held by Chile
for 10 years. At the end of that
time a plebiscite was to be helo
in which the people Of the two
territories would decide which
country should finally have juris.
diction over them.
Pershing Abandoned Job
Eventually it was agreed that :
commission of three, made up o
a Peruvian, a Chilean and a citizel
of the United States-the latter II
be the President-would work ou
the problem. Gen. John j. Per
shing was chosen as this country
representative. In nearly tw'
years of negotiations the Peruvian
and Chilean representatives wer
never able to agree on any funda
mental phase of the question. Il
fact, the general was caught be
tween the upper and neither polit
ical and diplomatic millstones an,
gave up the job as an impossibl
one.
Later on. under the good Office
of the late Secretary of Stat
Frank B. Kellogg, the matter wa
finally brought to head. In al
agreement accepted by both coun
tries in 1929, a settlement wa
effected in which Tacna wa
awarded to Peru and AFRICA t
Chile. Meantime. Bolivia ha
been assured of free transit for he
commerce through Chilean terri
tory and equitable treatment fo
the handling of her imports an
exports at the Chilean ports G
africa and Antofagasta.
At different times since the,
discussions have arisen over wha
some called the injustice of keep
ing Bolivia bottled up in the in
terror and the possibility of whe
many have called Fighting a grea
wrong" but such discussions hav
never found much sympathy wit
the governments of Peru or Chill
However, in the past few month
the question was raised once agai
and even certain Chileans talke
guardedly about the possibility {
: a readjustment. But all such sue
gestionS were rebuffed by the leao
ing Chilean politicians as well 6
those of Peru.
Elections in the Ofing
Then when President Truma
departed from his carefully pre-
pared address of welcome to til
foreign ministers to recall til
conversation he had had wit
Chile's President on the subje,
when the latter was on a stat
visit to this country a little over
year ago, the fat was once in tL
fire. The fact that general elet
tions are approaching in both Bc
livia and Chile, and local pol
ticians are looking for any inc
dent that will serve as an issue
the forthcoming campaigns, hi
added fury to the flames. Perhal
the bitterest criticisms have bee
leveled at the Chilean chief exc,
utive by opponents in his oW
country for what one Santias
a