Ogden Daily Standard | 1920-01-30 | Page 4 | League of Nations to Decide for Peru

LEAGlFlTlS-1 TO DECIDE FOR PERU Ownership of Provinces Held by Chile to be First Case Before Council WASHINGTON, Jan. 30. Tho west orn hemisphere probably will furnish the first case to come before the council coun-cil of the league of nations. Advices were received hero toady that tho national assembly of Peru had adopted a resolution providing for the submission to the league council the claim of Peru to the provinces of Tacna and Arica which have'been held by Chllo for more than 20 years as the result of the war with Peru. By the terms of the peace treaty between the two countries a plebiscite was to be held within ten years after Chilean oc cupatlon of tho provinces to determine whether they should remain Chilean or revert to Peru. This plebiscite has never been held and the Peruvians inow are represented as determined to bring their claims before the only tribunal trib-unal which has yet been created com potent to deal with such a grave qucs tion of conflicting national claims. Bolivia also is a claimant lo Tacna, which she claims to' be inhabitated principally by Bolivians and lo afford the only seaport open to her, while both Chile and Peru have other Pacific Pa-cific ports. I It is expected that the Pcruvian-Chil-can-Bolivian case will servo lo start the machinery of the league in motion. The procedure is likely to be the filing by the Peruvian minister at Paris or London of an application with Sir Eric Drummond, the secretary of the council coun-cil of the league to have the matter j brought before that body. The council in turn probably not being informed as to the issue in the case, will call on tho secretariat of the league to secure the necessary briefs from the interest-ed interest-ed parties to the case and when that has been dohe will proceed lo consider con-sider the conflicting claims on their merits. As the Issues are solely American Amer-ican states, and no other European in terests are believed to be involved, it is not anticipated (hat the Monroe doctrine can figure in any way that would warrant the participation of the United States in view of the Tact that this government has not yet joined the league. oo