nd hence was made the boundary line between
Argentina and Chile. The entire Atlantic coast was to belong to
Argentina, the Pacific coast to Chile; the island of Tierra del Fuego
was to be divided between them. At the same time the Strait of Magellan
was declared a neutral waterway, open to the ships of all nations. Ere
long, however, it was ascertained that the crest of the Andes did not
actually coincide with the continental divide. Thereupon Argentina
insisted that the boundary line should be made to run along the crest,
while Chile demanded that it be traced along the watershed. Since the
mountainous area concerned was of little value, the question at bottom
was simply one of power and prestige between rival states.

As the dispute waxed warmer, a noisy press and populace clamored for
war. The Governments of the two nations spent large sums in increasing
their armaments; and Argentina, in imitation of its western neighbor,
made military service compulsory. But, as the conviction gradually
spread that a struggle would leave the victor as prostrate as the
vanquished, wiser counsels prevailed. In 1899, accordingly, the matter
was referred to the King of Great Britain for decision. Though the award
was a compromise, Chile was the actual gainer in territory.

By their treaties of 1902 both republics declared their intention to
uphold the principle of arbitration and to refrain from interfering in
each other's affairs along their respective coasts. They also agreed
upon a limitation of armaments--the sole example on record of a
realization of the purpose of the First Hague Conference. To commemorate
still further their international accord, in 1904 they erected on the
summit of the Uspallata Pass, over which San Martin had crossed with
his army of liberation in 1817, a bronze statue of Christ the Redeemer.
There, amid the snow-capped peaks of the giant Andes, one may read
inscribed upon the pedestal: "Sooner shall these mountains crumble to
dust than Argentinos and Chileans break the peace which at the feet of
Christ the Redeemer they have sworn to maintain!" Nor has the peace been
broken.

Though hostilities with Argentina had thus been averted, Chile had
experienced within its own frontiers the most serious revolution it had
known in sixty years. The struggle was not one of partisan chieftains
or political groups but a genuine contest to determine which of
two theories of government should prevail--the presidential or