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 The PAN AMERICAN UNION 
 
 JOHN BARRETT : : : Director General 
 FRANCISCO J. YANES : Assistant Director 
 
 tlllllllllllUltlllllllllllflllUIIIIUIIIt 
 
 A GLANCE 
 
 AT 
 
 LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 
 
 BY 
 FRANCISCO J., YANES 
 
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 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 1916 
 
I U 
 
 A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN 
 CIVILIZATION 1 
 
 The civilization of peoples cannot always be gauged by set standards. 
 There are varying factors to be taken into consideration and discrep- 
 ancies to be accounted for in measuring the degree of cultural and 
 industrial progress of a nation. Conditions growing out of racial 
 characteristics, historical necessities, geographical position, custom and 
 habit, on the one hand, and on the other the basic principles upon which 
 different societies have been built, must not be lost sight of in dealing 
 with, or rather, in endeavoring to understand the factors that have led 
 to the progress of a given nation, or aggregate of nations of the same or 
 similar origin. 
 
 Latin American civilization from an Anglo Saxon point of view may 
 be found wanting in many respects, but the life and happiness of nations, 
 the ideals and hopes of their peoples, their legislation and institutions, 
 are not to be found ready made, but have to be worked out to meet 
 peculiar wants, and in accordance with the racial, mental, moral and 
 material resources and necessities of each. 
 
 We must deal with Latin America as a whole if we wish to cast a rapid 
 glance at its civilization. Some of the twenty free and independent 
 states which in their aggregate make up Latin America have developed 
 more than others, and a few marvelously so, but whether north or south 
 of the Panama Canal, east or west, on the Atlantic or the Pacific, on the 
 Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, the countries of Latin America sprang 
 from the same race the brave, hardy, adventurous, romantic and 
 warlike Spanish and Portuguese conquerors, who fought their way 
 through unknown territories, whether in quest of "El Dorado" or in 
 warfare against whole nations of Indians, as in the case of Mexico and 
 Peru, where the native Indians had a marvelous civilization of their own. 
 
 On the other hand, the men who founded these United States, the 
 Pilgrims who first set foot on this new land of promise, and those who 
 followed in the wake of the first settlers, came to this country already 
 prepared, through years of training, to govern themselves. They came 
 to the friendly shores of the New World in quest of freedom. They 
 wanted a home in a new land not yet contaminated with the spirit of the 
 Old World. They brought with them their creed, their habits of order 
 
 iBy Francisco J. Yanes, Asst. Director, and Secretary of the Governing Board, of 
 the Pan American Union. Reprinted from The Journal of Race Development, Vol. 
 4, Xo. 4, April, 1914. 
 
4 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 and discipline, their love of freedom, their respect for the established 
 principles of law. Hence from its inception Anglo American civilization 
 was built upon solid ground. Its subsequent development the marvel 
 of the last half of the nineteenth and this our twentieth century is due 
 to the solidity of their institutions, their steadfastness of purpose, their 
 practical sense of life, and a territorial expanse where all the soils, all the 
 wealth, all the climatic conditions of the cold, the temperate and the 
 tropical zone can be found. 
 
 The discussion of Latin American civilization is of vast importance, 
 since it deals with the history and development of twenty republics 
 lying beyond the Mexican border, and covering an aggregate area of 
 about 9,000,000 square miles, with a total population of over 70,000,000, 
 of which 48,000,000 speak the Spanish language, 20,000,000 Portuguese 
 in Brazil, and 2,000,000 French in Haiti. This general division brings 
 us at once to deal, under the same classification, with peoples and 
 civilization springing from different sources Spanish, Portuguese and 
 French. Even among the Spanish-speaking countries there are condi- 
 tions, depending on the province of origin of the first Spanish colonizers 
 and settlers, who came mainly from Biscay, Andalusia, Castile, Aragon, 
 and Extremadura, which further tend to establish other slight differences, 
 just as the various states of this country show differences due to the 
 sources of their population. 
 
 For our purpose, a general survey of the twenty countries called 
 Latin America is not amiss. Geographically, Latin America begins 
 beyond the Rio Grande, with Mexico, at the southern boundary of which 
 extends what is called Central America, consisting of Guatemala, 
 Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the historic five 
 Central American states; Panama, the gateway to the Pacific on the 
 west and to the Caribbean and the Atlantic on the east ; South America 
 proper, embracing Venezuela on the Caribbean, Colombia on that sea 
 and partly on the Pacific; Ecuador, Peru and Chile, bordering on the 
 Pacific; Bolivia and Paraguay, inland states in the heart of South 
 America; Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil on the Atlantic; and, lastly, 
 Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, islands in the Caribbean 
 Sea. So we see that Latin American extends from the north temperate 
 zone to Cape Horn, near the Antarctic Ocean, which means that all 
 climatic conditions are found in that enormous area over which the pole 
 star, the Southern Cross, and the constellations brightening the South 
 Pole keep nightly watch, from the cool regions of northern Mexico to the 
 tropical heat of the torrid zone and again to the cold lands of Patagonia. 
 This is indeed a world of wealth where all the products of the entire 
 globe can be successfully cultivated, where all races of mankind can live 
 
A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 5 
 
 and thrive, because the Mexican and Central American Cordilleras, and 
 further south the mighty Andean range, offer an unbroken chain of lofty 
 peaks, wide valleys, and extensive tablelands, affording all climates and 
 zones, all kinds of soils and minerals, the only limitations to the develop- 
 ment of these lands being human endurance. The water supply is 
 plentiful in most parts of Mexico and the Central American republics, 
 and there is nothing in the world which can be compared to the hydro- 
 graphic areas of northern and central South America, consisting of the 
 Orinoco basin with its 400 affluents, offering a total navigable length of 
 about 4000 miles ; the mighty Amazon having three times the volume of 
 the Mississippi and navigable for over 2000 miles, and the network 
 of great rivers emptying into it; the Parana and the River Plata, with 
 twice the volume of the Mississippi, and a thousand other streams too 
 numerous to mention in detail, but which can be found on any fairly 
 good map, showing a feasible water route from the mouth of the Orinoco 
 in Venezuela to the Amazon and the very heart of South America, and 
 thence to the Parana and finally to the River Plata. 
 
 We all know how Columbus discovered this New World which today 
 bears the name of America (although the application of that name is 
 quite restricted in this country to the United States) we have all heard 
 of the hardships Columbus and his followers had to endure, their suffer- 
 ings, their hopes, and their faith in some supernatural fate, a trait 
 begotten by the influence of Moorish ancestors in Spain through the 
 mingling of both races during the occupation wars which lasted over 
 eight centuries. The discovery of America has a tinge of romance, such 
 as inspires the soul of the adventurer and the buccaneer. It was a 
 romance that began at the Rabida, grew in the presence and with the 
 help of good Queen Isabella, developed into a mad desire for adventure 
 at Palos, and ended with the planting of the Spanish standard on the 
 shores of Guanahani, now called Watling's Island. From here Colum- 
 bus went to what is today called Cuba, thence to Hispaniola now 
 divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where his remains now 
 rest in the Cathedral at Santo Domingo and in this latter island 
 founded the first white settlement in the New World. We cannot follow 
 Columbus' voyages or his adventures step by step, but we must feel that 
 the discovery of America is an epic poem worthy of the mettle of the 
 great discoverer and his men. 
 
 And so the civilization of what is called Latin America began with the 
 first Spanish settlement, the first Indian blood shed by the greed of the 
 white conqueror, and the first attempt to Christianize the inhabitants of 
 the new-found land. The inevitable features of conquest war, 
 treachery, destruction, fire, sword, deeds of valor but little known, and 
 
6 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 endurance almost superhuman marked along the trail of the discoverers 
 the birth and first steps of the New World. And in the midst of this 
 turmoil, bravely battling against unknown odds, the Spanish missionary 
 fathers worked unceasingly, founding hamlets and towns, thus planting 
 in the wilderness the seeds of many a large city today, building their 
 temples of worship, going from place to place struggling with disease and 
 hunger, teaching the Indians the Spanish language and with it their 
 religious faith, and laying the foundation of what is known today as 
 Latin America. 
 
 The second stage of Latin American civilization began when the 
 crown of Spain finally took an active interest in its new possessions and 
 men of a better class than the soldiery which landed with the discoverers 
 and conquerors began to come to the New World, bringing their wives 
 and daughters, and surrounding themselves with whatever comforts 
 could be had in their new home. They were in many cases scions of 
 noble families, who came either as viceroys, governors, or in some other 
 administrative capacity, or as "oidores," judges and men of letters in 
 general. There also came learned monks, and among these, philosophers, 
 poets, musicians, painters, etc. Hence some of the oldest descriptions 
 and chronicles of Latin America are in verse or in choice prose, either in 
 Spanish or in Latin, and we find in some of the oldest cities in Spanish 
 America wonderful examples of wood carving, either in churches or in 
 old houses, beautiful specimens of the gold and silversmiths' art in ware 
 of the precious metals, some fine paintings, and unexcelled samples of 
 the art of illuminating books, particularly missals. 
 
 The scholars, either members of the religious orders or laymen, began 
 to gather books imported from Europe, and so our libraries were started, 
 mainly in the convents. With this feature of civilization the necessity 
 of educating the children of the Spaniards and the Indians became more 
 pressing, and private schools and seminaries were established, as a first 
 step to the foundation of universities. I think it is due to the Spaniards 
 to state right here that both in Mexico and in Peru schools were founded 
 for the education of the Indians, to teach them not only reading and 
 writing, but the manual arts as well. 
 
 We Latin Americans record with natural pride the fact that the first 
 university founded in the New World was that of Santo Tomas de 
 Aquino at Santo Domingo, in 1538. This University is no longer in 
 existence, but we still have that of San Marcos at Lima, Peru, founded 
 in 1551 ; the University of Mexico, established in 1553 and refounded in 
 1910; the University of Cordoba, in Argentina, dating from 1613; that 
 of Sucre in Bolivia, founded in 1623, or thirteen years before Harvard, 
 which dates from 1636, and that of Cuzco, in Peru, established in 1692, 
 
A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 7 
 
 or eight years earlier than Yale, which was founded in 1701. The 
 University of Caracas, in Venezuela, dates from 1721, and that of 
 Habana, Cuba, from 1728, the other universities founded before the 
 nineteenth century being that of Santiago, Chile, in 1743, and the 
 University of Quito, Ecuador, in 1787. 
 
 The great agent of civilization and progress, the printing press, has 
 been known in L/atin America since 1536, when the first printing outfit 
 was introduced into Mexico and the first book printed in the New World, 
 a plea of Father Las Casas for a better life. Cartagena, Colombia, is 
 said to have been the second city of America to have a printing press, in 
 1560. or 1562, but Peru seems to hold the record for the first book printed 
 in South America, about 1584, and La Paz, Bolivia, had a printing 
 establishment about 1610. There were also a press and other printing 
 paraphernalia at the Jesuit missions of Paraguay about the first decade 
 of the seventeenth century. The first work in Bogota was printed about 
 1739; Ecuador printed its first book in 1760, and Venezuela in 1764, while 
 the earliest production of the Chilean press bears the date of 1776; and 
 there was a printing outfit in Cordoba, Argentina, in 1767. With the 
 foundation of universities and schools and more frequent communication 
 with Spain and other European countries of Latin origin, and the print- 
 ing of books and newspapers in the New World, the desire for learning 
 was developed and a new field was opened to intellectual culture. 
 
 Dissatisfaction of the colonies with the exactions and abuses of the 
 viceroys, captains-general and other officials representing the crown of 
 Spain, jealousies between the Creoles, or children of Spanish parents born 
 in America, and the "peninsulars," or native Spaniards, commercial 
 preference and social distinctions, and other petty annoyances born of 
 the arrogance of the Spaniards, on the one hand, and the proud nature 
 of the Creoles on the other, were the smouldering embers that, fanned by 
 the success of the American Revolution and the storm of the French 
 Revolution, set on lire the Spanish colonies at the end of the eighteenth 
 and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The majority of the 
 vSpanish American countries attained their independence between 1804 
 and 1825, and their struggles for freedom, while encouraged by the 
 example of the United States, were inspired in French ideals. The 
 heroes of the bloody but romantic French Revolution, their fiery speeches 
 and undaunted bravery, their proclamation of the republic and the 
 rights of man; the echoes of the Boston Tea Party, the exploits of the 
 spirit of '76, the commanding and serene figure of Washington, the 
 birth of the American Constitution, the utterances of the grave thinkers 
 and inspired orators of the revolutionary period all these dazzling 
 examples of patriotism appealed to the Spanish American colonists, and 
 
8 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 one by one the colonies began their fight for independence. The execu- 
 tions and ignominy heaped upon the first patriots who forfeited their 
 lives for the cause of independence, instead of discouraging the leaders, 
 made them more aggressive, and they resolved to gain the day at all 
 hazards. 
 
 We come now to the most brilliant pages of the history of Latin Amer- 
 ica, and upon these pages are written the names of Miranda of Venezuela, 
 the precursor of South American independence; Bolivar, who has been 
 called the Washington of South America, a brilliant soldier and born 
 leader, the liberator and father of Venezuela, his native country, and of 
 Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; Sucre, also a Venezuelan, more 
 like Washington than Bolivar, the very soul of honor, a gallant knight 
 and an accomplished diplomat; San Martin, the brave and heroic liber- 
 ator of the southern half of South America; Artigas, a man of sterling 
 qualities; O'Higgins, the great Chilean hero; Tiradentes, the forerunner 
 of Brazilian independence; Morelos and Hidalgo in Mexico, both 
 Catholic priests, and both martyrs to the cause of independence; and 
 hundreds of others from each country whose names would be meaningless 
 except to those well acquainted with the history of South America. 
 
 But, once free from colonial bondage, the new republics, whose political 
 constitutions in the main are based on that of the United States, had to 
 deal with fresh problems arising from changed conditions. The new 
 political entities commenced their independent life heavily handicappe^l, 
 on the one hand by their economic condition after a period of protracted 
 wars, and on the other hand by a scarcity of population, and though 
 paradoxical, nevertheless true the fertility of the soil and extremely 
 favorable climatic conditions. The unbounded productiveness of Latin 
 America, coupled with the modest wants of the masses, has been the 
 main cause of the slow development of most of these countries as manu- 
 facturing centers, their chief means of support being agricultural and 
 allied industries, and mining. The evolution out of all this chaos has 
 been more rapid in some countries than in others, due to special condi- 
 tions, among which the principal ones are in general terms geographic 
 and topographic position, and predominance of the white man. 
 
 The leading classes, owners of black slaves and landlords to the 
 Indian tenantry, lived for the most part in relative ease after the war of 
 independence. Those who did not seek in the army a field for their 
 activities or inclinations, devoted themselves to intellectual and scientific 
 pursuits, either in civil life or in the service of the church. Some went 
 abroad, to France or Spain preferably, to acquire a general education 
 or to perfect that received at home and to see the world, on their return 
 bringing new ideas which were eventually adopted and more or less 
 
A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 9 
 
 modified as necessity demanded. With the progress of the nineteenth 
 century Latin America also advanced. 
 
 Intellectually, the Latin Americans are anything but the inferiors of 
 the Anglo Americans. The literature of Latin America is as rich and 
 valuable as that of any country, yet it is hardly known not to say 
 entirely unknown in the United States except by a handful of men who 
 have devoted their time to the study of the Spanish language. It is only 
 now, during the last few years, that a desire to know Spanish has made 
 itself felt in the United States, and it is astonishing to note the number of 
 persons now able to read and understand the language. On the other 
 hand, the study of modern languages is compulsory in all of the universi- 
 ties and colleges of Latin America, and absolutely necessary to obtain 
 certain academic degrees. French was for a long time the language 
 chosen by the majority of the students, hence the influence of French 
 literature and French thought in Latin America. German was taken 
 up by many, more as a commercial tongue than otherwise, but even so, 
 German literature, particularly the works of Goethe, Schiller and Heine, 
 and most of the writers of today, are well known in Latin America. 
 English was preferred by others, rather as an accomplishment than as a 
 language of immediate practical use, until now it has taken, in many 
 cases, the place of German. These two languages have followed the 
 trend of trade, but English is becoming more useful every day in view of 
 the increased relations of Latin America with the United States, in all 
 spheres of human activity. 
 
 The problem of education has always commanded the earnest atten- 
 tion of all the Latin American governments, to the extent of having 
 made primary education, in most of these countries, not only free but 
 compulsory. So far as higher education is concerned that is, all grades 
 above primary there are institutions, either public or private, or both, 
 for secondary and superior education, normal schools, schools of mines, 
 agricultural and manual training, technological institutes, colleges, 
 universities, conservatories of music, academies of painting and sculpture, 
 national or public libraries, museums, etc. in short, all kinds of institu- 
 tions devoted to the moral and intellectual uplift of the people. 
 
 In all the Latin American countries there is a system of scholarships 
 which serves as a practical means of promoting interest in education. 
 This system provides for supporting abroad for a certain length of time 
 such of the students and graduates as have won honors, who are sent to 
 Europe and in some cases to the United States, to perfect their educa- 
 tion and bring home new methods and the latest and most approved 
 systems. We frequently hear at the Pan American Union of Latin 
 Americans who have come to the United States or are'coming here to 
 
IO THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 take a post-graduate course in some science or profession, and others who 
 are in this country studying and investigating school methods and 
 appliances. At present there are over 1350 such students in the United 
 States. 
 
 I think this is the proper occasion to urge upon American scholars and 
 professors the necessity of encouraging the preparation in the English 
 language of popular monographs for school use, written by responsible 
 and unprejudiced men, on the history and geography of the Latin 
 American countries. So far as I know, there is not a single well-known 
 schoolbook in English giving in a concise, impartial manner the history 
 of any one of the countries of Latin America. The history of the 
 United States, on the other hand, is studied in Latin American colleges 
 and unversities along with the modern history of France and England, 
 Spain, Italy and Germany. Another point that deserves passing men- 
 tion is the scarcity of good American books in Latin America, in the 
 Spanish language, due to their enormous cost. France, Italy, Germany, 
 and Spain especially, publish in Spanish hundreds of useful books on 
 history, Science, geography, literature, etc., at prices so low that no one 
 can give excessive cost as an excuse for not having what is termed in 
 Spanish "an economical library," that is, small volumes of several pages, 
 well edited, bound in paper, which are worth from 20 cents up to 50 or 
 75 cents. An American work cannot be obtained at such prices. I can 
 remember in my childhood days having learned to read from a series of 
 books, edited in Spanish by a New York publishing firm, called "Libros 
 de Lectura de Mandeville" (Mandeville's Readers). The school 
 geography was also edited in Spanish by the same publishing house, if I 
 am not mistaken, and was called " Primer Libro de Geografia de Smith" 
 (Smith's (Asa) First book of Geography}. If the sale of American printed 
 books fails of success in Latin America, it is due mainly to the almost 
 prohibitive prices. 
 
 With better means of communication and a desire to expand their 
 trade with Latin America, United States merchants and travelers are 
 visiting intelligently the Latin American countries, and men of science 
 and learning have, during the last few years, turned their eyes toward that 
 continent, bringing to light the wonders of past ages buried by the 
 sands of Time, and doing justice to a civilization until then little known, 
 and only by a few. No better proof of the fact that Latin American 
 civilization is worthy of note could be had than the desire to exchange 
 professors and students between certain universities of the United 
 States and those of the leading South American countries. 
 
 Latin Americans have done much towards the progress of the world 
 both intellectually and materially. Civilization may be divided into 
 
A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION I I 
 
 two great branches from which others spring: development of the 
 intellectual forces of mankind, and development of the material resources 
 for the benefit of all. Under the first head as I have endeavored to 
 show in the brief review of Latin American history just made we have 
 educational institutions to train and perfect the mind, which have 
 existed in Latin America for centuries, and the result of this training has 
 been great jurists, historians, orators, physicians, painters, sculptors, 
 poets, musicians, playwrights, and others too numerous to mention, 
 as we are dealing with twenty countries, but whose works might fill a 
 good-sized library. We have painters and sculptors of renown, whose 
 works have been admired, rewarded and commended in the leading art 
 centers of the world, and in all the countries there are art schools from 
 which the students go preferably to Italy or France, most frequently 
 pensioned by the government, to perfect themselves and do honor to 
 their motherland. We have musicians wedded to their art and a credit 
 to the country and themselves; and composers, singers and players 
 educated in our own conservatories or schools. We have theatres and 
 opera houses not surpassed by any others in America or Europe, and the 
 governments of many, if not all of the Latin American countries, 
 contribute to the musical education of the people by subsidizing opera 
 troupes every season or so, paying heavy sums to obtain the best singers. 
 Many a celebrity who has come to New York has commenced his career 
 in Latin America. 
 
 There is another phase of Latin American civilization showing in an 
 unquestionable manner a natural tendency towards the establishment of 
 higher ideals those ideals that are today being proclaimed by men of 
 good will of all nations. I refer to arbitration, the recourse to which is 
 the highest form of culture among peoples. Arbitration is not new 
 with us. It is one of the basic principles of the foundation of our social 
 structure, since it rests on the civil law of Rome, which provides for 
 arbitration as one of the ordinary and usual means of settling differences 
 between man and man. The principle of arbitration was first proclaimed 
 on our continent by General Bolivar, the Liberator of South America 
 as far-sighted and keen a statesman as he was a military genius. Bolivar 
 was the originator of the idea of holding the first Congress of Nations of 
 America in Panama in 1826, for the purpose, among others, of adopting 
 arbitration as a principle of American that is to say, Pan American 
 policy. 
 
 In recent years we have had recourse to arbitration and direct negotia- 
 tions partaking often of the nature of arbitration, more frequently than 
 in all the rest of the world. Our Latin American wars have been civil 
 wars for a political principle, and these mainly in countries where the 
 
12 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 military element predominates. We have never engaged in wars of 
 conquest. In our international difficulties., arbitration has always been 
 the keynote of our negotiations. It is a remarkable fact that in the 
 history of our Latin American republics, since they became independent 
 from the mother country over one hundred years ago, we have had 
 among ourselves only two wars which, if international in a sense, could 
 be classed as national, since they were fought among members of our 
 own family of republics. But these wars were not fought for territorial 
 expansion nor in the spirit of conquest, although territory may have 
 been gained as an indemnity. I refer to the Paraguayan war against 
 Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, and the war of Chile and Bolivia against 
 Peru. On the other hand, who, looking at the map of Europe today, 
 would recognize it as the same Europe of half a century ago? With one 
 or two exceptions the Iberian and the Scandinavian peninsulas and the 
 British Isles there is not a single country that has not been remade at 
 the cost of numberless lives and enormous bloodshed. 
 
 All our boundary disputes and they have been many have been or 
 are being settled by arbitration. Now, could any better proof be offered 
 of the advancement of peoples who, while springing directly from a race 
 of warriors, do not fear to work towards the ends of peace? 
 
 Another proof of this spirit of progress is the maintenance in the city 
 of Washington, by 1 all the countries of our American hemisphere, of a 
 unique organization called the Pan American Union, the living embodi- 
 ment of the idea which created the International Union of American 
 Republics as a result of the first Pan American Conference held in 
 Washington over twenty years ago at the invitation of that great 
 American statesman, James G. Blaine. The Pan American Union 
 represents the spirit of progress, the desire for a better understanding, 
 the necessity for stronger ties of friendship, felt among the republics of 
 the three Americas, by making them known to one another, by bringing 
 to the attention of the American people the opportunities offered by the 
 Latin American countries, their civilization, their onward march 
 towards prosperity, united in a single purpose of material and moral 
 advancement. 
 
 There is another aspect of Latin American civilization which deserves 
 more than passing attention. It is their political life as members of the 
 Pan American fraternity of independent nations. Their first step 
 towards higher ideals was their declaration of independence and their 
 assuming the duties and exercising the rights of sovereign states. The 
 transition from colonial dependencies to self-governing nations was 
 fraught with difficulties unknown to the citizens of the original thirteen 
 states of the North American Union, resulting from different conditions, 
 due in the main to the spirit that inspired their complete emancipation. 
 
A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 13 
 
 The original thirteen states separated from England principally for 
 practical reasons, while the Spanish American countries had to contend 
 with an economic as well as a political problem. 
 
 After a period of evolution or, if you prefer it, revolutions during 
 which the several antagonistic interests were undergoing a process of 
 amalgamation, or better still, clarification, there now exists, in the 
 majority of Latin American countries, stable governments whose sole 
 aim is to maintain above reproach the moral as well as the economic 
 credit of their respective nations, so as to attract foreign capital and 
 J energy, which will stimulate the development of home industries, and 
 insure peace, prosperity and happiness to its citizens. Some Latin 
 American countries have been less fortunate, but every disturbance, 
 every civil strife, has been a misdirected effort towards the attainment of 
 a goal dreamed of by all and by all desired. Public education, foreign 
 commerce, improved means of communication, greater development of 
 the natural wealth of those countries are factors which have contributed 
 and are constantly contributing to the establishment of a peaceful era 
 which will eventually become normal and stable. 
 
 As. to the material phase of Latin American civilization, all I have to 
 say is that communication with the other countries of the world is 
 represented by .over fifty steamship lines plying between European ports 
 and those of Latin America, and about twenty-five lines running from 
 the United States to the Atlantic, Caribbean and west coast ports of 
 Latin America. The combined railway mileage from Mexico down to 
 Chile and Argentina, including the island countries of Cuba, Haiti and 
 the Dominican Republic, is estimated at 65,330 miles, Argentina leading 
 with over 20,300 miles; next comes Mexico with over 16,000 miles; 
 Brazil follows with about 14,000 miles; Chile, over 5,000; Cuba, nearly 
 2,200, and the other republics in lesser proportion. There is not one 
 single country, however, that is not included in this total mileage. It 
 may seem strange that in an area of about 9,000,000 square miles there 
 should be only 65,000 miles of railway, but if you stop a moment to 
 consider the enormous barrier extending along the west coast of South 
 America, formed by the mighty range of mountains which is but a con- 
 tinuation through Mexico, Central, and western South America of the 
 Rocky Mountains, and the scarcity of population which creates demands 
 and makes traffic profitable, you will understand why the railways of 
 Latin America have not advanced faster. But even under these circum- 
 stances, not a day passes but some work is done towards the extension of 
 that railway mileage. 
 
 Another phase of civilization and progress is the foreign commerce of a 
 country. Latin America in this respect has a good record, and the 
 figures representing its foreign trade in 1912 are, in round numbers, as 
 
14 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 
 
 follows: total Latin American commerce, $2,811,000,000, the exports 
 being represented by $1,571,000,000 and the imports by $1,240,000,000. 
 The total trade with the United States amounted to about $825,832,000, 
 of which $519,025,000 was exports, and $306,807,000 imports. The 
 progress made by Latin America in its commercial relations with the 
 world at large and the United States, especially, shows that there is a great 
 consumption of all such articles as are considered necessary to civiliza- 
 tion. Latin America is not a manufacturing continent; it mainly pro- 
 duces for export agricultural products such as sugar, coffee, rubber, 
 tobacco, cacao or cocoa, cotton, etc., hides and other raw materials, 
 mining products such as silver, gold, tin, copper, iron, bismuth, saltpeter, 
 etc., and a few gems. Its main imports are machinery of all kinds, 
 hardware, cotton and other fabrics, foodstuffs, carriages and automobiles, 
 railway material, electrical appliances, and other similar products of 
 industry necessary to the cultivation of the land, the improvement of 
 roads and cities, and the comfort of the inhabitants. There is not a 
 city of any importance in Latin America where either artificial illuminat- 
 ing gas or electric light is unknown. Telegraph and telephone wires 
 stretch all over Latin America, uniting cities and towns, over the wilds 
 and across the mountains, bridging powerful rivers, connecting neighbor- 
 ing countries and linking our shores with the rest of the civilized world. 
 Not an event of any importance takes place in Europe, Asia, or Africa, 
 or the United States which the submarine cable does not bring to the 
 Latin American press, to be made public either in the form of bulletins 
 or in "extras," according to the importance of the event, while nearly 
 every Latin American country has its wireless telegraph system. 
 Electric cars are fast replacing the older and slower methods of transpor- 
 tation within the cities and extending their usefulness to carrying 
 passengers to suburban villas, small towns or country places of amuse- 
 ment, and Buenos Aires, the largest Latin American capital, has a 
 subway in operation. 
 
 In conclusion, I may say that a charge frequently made against us 
 Latin Americans, and in a sense true, is that we are a race of dreamers. 
 Perhaps it is so. We -inherited from our forefathers the love of the 
 beautiful and the grand; the facility for expression and the vivid im- 
 agination of our race; from them we inherited the sonorous, majestic 
 Spanish, the flexible, musical Portuguese, and the French, language of 
 art, and a responsive chord to all that thrills, be it color, harmony, or 
 mental imagery; we inherited their varying moods, their noble traits and 
 their shortcomings, both of. which we have preserved, and in certain 
 cases improved, under the influence of our environment, our majestic 
 mountains, our primeval forests, the ever blooming tropical flowers, the 
 birds of sweetest wild songs and wonderful plumage ; under magnificent 
 
A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 15 
 
 skies and the inspiration taken from other poets and writers, be they 
 foreign or native, who have gone through life like the minstrels of old 
 with a song on their lips and an unsatisfied yearning in their hearts. 
 
 Much more might be said to show the constant endeavor of Latin 
 America to cooperate with its best efforts to the civilization of the world. 
 It has contributed readily according to its Latin standards, and from 
 the day of its independence and the establishment of republican institu- 
 tions, Latin America has recognized the rights of man, abolished slavery, 
 fostered education, developed its commerce and increased traveling 
 facilities and means of communication with the outer world. It has 
 contributed to the best of its ability to the sum total of human better- 
 ment, and the day cannot be far off when full justice will be done to the 
 efforts of the countries south of the United States, where live a people 
 intelligent, progressive, proud of their history and their own efforts, and 
 ready to extend a friendly hand and a sincere welcome to those who are 
 willing to understand them, and aid them on their road to progress. 
 
 The interest shown by the leading universities and educational 
 institutions of the United States in fostering better acquaintance with 
 intellectual Latin America, in giving special courses in the history of 
 those nations, in endeavoring to establish with them an exchange of 
 professors and students, deserves the sincere appreciation of every Latin 
 American, and as a Latin American myself, I desire to express here my 
 deep gratitude. To Clark University, in particular, and its executive 
 officers, I wish to extend my most cordial congratulations for the 
 friendly I may say fraternal thought of dedicating this conference to 
 the discussion of Latin- American topics. It is indeed a noble thought. 
 I also wish to thank the executive officers of Clark University for their 
 courtesy in allowing me to present before you the views of a Latin 
 American as to what we are and what we have done towards the general 
 progress of the world. 
 
THE PAN AMERICAN UNION is the inter- 
 national organization and office maintained 
 in Washington, D. C., by the twenty-one 
 American republics, as follows: Argentina, Bolivia, 
 Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Domini- 
 can Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, 
 Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salva- 
 dor, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. It is 
 devoted to the development and advancement of 
 commerce, friendly intercourse, and good under- 
 standing among these countries. It is supported by 
 quotas contributed by each country, based upon the 
 population. Its affairs are administered by a Direc- 
 tor General and Assistant Director, elected by and 
 responsible to a Governing Board, which is com- 
 posed of the Secretary of State of the United States 
 and the diplomatic representatives in Washington 
 of the other American governments. These two 
 executive officers are assisted by a staff of inter- 
 national experts, statisticians, commercial special- 
 ists, editors, translators, compilers, librarians, clerks 
 and stenographers. The Union publishes a Monthly 
 Bulletin in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, 
 which is a careful record of Pan American progress. 
 It also publishes numerous special reports and pam- 
 phlets on various subjects of practical information. 
 Its library, the Columbus Memorial Library, con- 
 tains 36,000 volumes, 18,000 photographs, 132,000 
 index cards, and a large collection of maps. The 
 Union is housed in a beautiful building erected 
 through the munificence of Andrew Carnegie. 
 
 Press of Gibson Brothers 
 Washington 
 
 FEB 7- 1917