A WAR CLOUD IN AMERICA

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 59, 4 December 1918, Page 4

A WAR CLOUD IN AMERICA

At a time when so many nations great and small are intent upon establishing secure conditions oi peace the controversy which has arisen between Chile iincl Peru strikes a sharply discordant note. Conflicting reports have been transmitted in regard to the course of negotiations, but as information stands the danger remains in clear sight that the two republics may go to war. On fill grounds this development would lie an unmitigated calamity. So far as Chile and Peru are concerned an appeal to arms offers no real or lasting settlement oi their differences. It would merely occasion a useless sacrifice of lives and wealth and intensify the illfeeling that already exists. It is even more important, however, that war between these comparatively unimportant States would undermine and weaken in a, serious degree the hopes that are now raised of establishing world peace on a secure foundation. Chile and Peru are at odds over the possession of two provinces seized by Chile after the war of 1879. A plebiscite of the inhabitants of these provinces was to have been taken in 1894 to determine to which country they should belong, but negotiations with a view to settling the conditions of the plebiscite broke down, and it has not been taken to this day. The dispute is essentially one it should be possible to settle by arbitration, arranged if necessary through the mediation of a friendly Power or Powers. Should a settlement on these lines prove to be impracticable the prospect of creating a League of Nations to maintain ;ind safeguard peace will obviously not be brightened.

The case of Chile and Peru holds attention chiefly as promising to afford a real though tentative test of the possibility of maintaining peace by international action. The League of Nations is still an aspiration, but in the two Americas noteworthy progress has been made in laying the foundations of that voluntary international co-operation which would take as vital a. place in the organisation of a League of Nations as the establishment of international land and sea, forces to enforce its decrees. In a recent article, Mr. John Barrett, DirectorGeneral of the Pan-American Union and former United States Minister to Argentina, Colombia, and 'Panama, declares that the European war has_ clone more than any other international influence of the last century to develop both practical and ideal Pan-American solidarity, and to make the Monroe Doctrine an unquestioned principle in the'rd lationship of nations.

After the war (he observes) the Monroe Doctrine will become a great PanAmericau Doctriue, belonging to and espoused by every American Government from Canada and the United Slates on the north to Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile on the south. Then, being PanAmerican, and supported by every American Government, it will be forever accepted and respected by the rest of the world, and, in essence, become a world doctriue for the integrity, independence, aud self-government of every nation, no matter 'how big or how small. Victory for the United States and its allies will remove for all tjmo j;he only international menace to the Monroe Doctrine. The new Pan-America and the new PanAmericanism that will follow the war will be so powerful in their inherent strength and backing that never again can a new menace from the Old 'World assert itself. Those conclusions fiml support in the positions taken already by a large majority of the Governments'in 'the New AVorld, and are backed up by the evidently prevailing sentiment among the peoples of those Governments which have taken no official stand on either' side of the mighty conflict,,

In support of these highly optimistic conclusions, Me. Bareett points out that fifteen of the twenty-two American Governments broke relations with the Central Powers, and ten of the fifteen officially declared war on them. The Pan-American Union, to which he alludes, "is maintained in Washington by all the_ American republics through their joint contributions for the purpose of developing intercourse, good understanding, better acquaintance, commoree, trade, and peace among them all. It is controlled by a governing body mado up of the diplomatic representatives in Washington of the LatinAmerican countries and of the Secretary of State of the United States, who is chairman ex ofjicio. It is administered by a director-general who is chosen by the governing board and is therefore an officer of the American republics. He in turn is assisted -by a large staff of experts in international relations. . ." With this pitch of organisation developed, it is evident that in the present quarrel between Chile and Peru issues of the widest scope aro raised. The outbreak of war would mean something-much more serious than a useless and wasteful conflict between two pugnacious little States. It would demonstrate the failure of the most ambitious and methodical attempt thus far made in any part of the world to develop harmonious international relationships. Realising the hopes of those who have laboured to make it a substantial reality, Pan-American organisation will be a valuable element of strength in the contemplated League of Nations. On the other hand failure to secure the adoption of peaceful methods within the compass of the two Americas would at once dim the prospects of PanAmericanism and cast some doubt upon the prospects of the larger project. No doubt all possible efforts will be made by the United States and other American republics to promote a peaceful settlement of the dispute between Chile and Peru, and it is evident that much more depends upon the result of these efforts than the welfare of the belli-gerently-inclined republics.