GRAN CHACO DISPUTE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 117, 17 April 1934, Page 7

GRAN CHACO DISPUTE.

CLAIMS OF SUCCESS. BUENOS AIRES, April 15. Official military dispatches from both Paraguay and Bolivia report the success of their military operations in the Chaco campaign. Obviously both cannot he correct, but it is apparent that major operations with terrific casualties are under way, as Paraguay is making a determined drive to push the Bolivian forces from their last stronghold in the contested Chaco regiou. Bolivia _ claims 1700 Paraguayan casualties in the past few days, with a few on her own side, due to the sheltered position of her troops.

The dispute between Paraguay and Bolivia over the territory known as the Gran Chaco, which covers about 100,000 square miles, is of long standing. The country is little known, has a very unhealthy climate, and lias been regarded as a no-man’s land. Both sides at various times established military posts, and clashes between them have not been infrequent. There were serious conflicts in 1928 which led to intervention by Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, and the dispute was then patched up. Fighting broke out again in July of 1932, and has continued ever since, notwithstanding efforts by the League of Nations, the United States, and several of the South American States to induce the disputants to refer the matter to arbitration. A principal aim of Bolivia is to secure a port on the Paraguay River, and thus access to the sea.