THE CHACO HORRORS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 147, 23 May 1934, Page 6

THE CHACO HORRORS.

At last it seems probable that an end will be put to the horrible warfare between Bolivia and Paraguay over the Ghaco territory, hostilities which, in their degree of cruelty and suffering from disease, are almost beyond description. The earnest appeal by Mr E. A. Eden, the British representative, to the League of Nations Council for an embargo on the export of arms to the belligerents has met with success, and all the members of the Council have agreed to accept such an embargo. There remains, however, the fact that in its report on the hostilities the League’s Committee accused the United States of supplying munitions—the equipment for war is described as being of the most up-to-date—to the belligerents, and the United States is not a member of the League Council. But this aspect can be viewed hopefully because of the request by President Itoosevelt to Congress to ratify the Geneva Arms and Ammunition Convention—a step which would place practically every arms exporting country in line against the two at war. Should the embargo come about the moral effect on the two countries must be great and, deprived of replacements in machines for slaughter, it would simply be a matter of time when hostilities would cease. There remains, apart from the arms embargo, the necessity for prevention of a recurrence of the war. It is recalled by the League Committee’s report that Bolivia and Paraguay were asked to refer their claims, to the Permanent Court of International Justice. Both rejected the draft treaty embodying that suggestion, but Bolivia showed signs of being ready to negotiate for a settlement through the League Committee. Since then, the Committee has gone ahead with its report, and even the necessarily brief summary of it that has been cabled serves to show that earlier reports of the horrible nature of the warfare were by no means exaggerated. It i§ of particular interest to note that the report declares that the only hope of ending the war is collaboration between the League, the United States, and the South American countries. The League Covenant recognises the validity of the Monroe Doctrine, and thus any step the League takes must fit in with the foreign policy of the United States as far as it concerns South American countries. Again,* there is the Pan-Ameri-can Union which has already successfully dealt with several South American disputes. It is possible, therefore, in the light of the Committee’s recommendation for collaboration, that the League may confine its efforts to obtaining an arms embargo and the consent of the belligerent countries to mediation, and leave the arranging of the terms of settlement to the other governments—the Pan-American Union and the United States. The situation is fraught with difficulty, but fhe call for humane action to end this horrible ■ struggle is extremely urgent.