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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1913)
3 'APRIL .4, 19 IS The Commoner. Mr. Bryan on South America Mr. Bryan's first public appearance as secre tary of state was at a dinner given by Hon. JTohn Barrett, the director-general of the Pan American union to Mr. and Mrs. Bryan March 13. All of the representatives of South and Central America were present. It was a delight fur occasion and introduced the new secretary to the representatives of the republics south of us, giving him a chance to assure them of the administration's friendly interest in their welfare and development. The address of welcome was delivered by Ambassador Da Gama, of Brazil, the dean of the South American diplomatic corps. Remarks of the Brazilian ambassador, Mr. Domicio Da Gama, in extending greetings to the new chairman of the governing board of the Pan-American union, the secretary of state of the United States, on the occasion of the dinner given in the latter's honor at the Pan-American union, Thursday evening, March 13, 1913: "Mr. Secretary, Ladles and Gentlemen: I duly appreciate the honor that befalls me of presenting the greetings of the diplomatic repre sentatives of the other American republics to the new secretary of state of the Unite!' States! "I appreciate the honor and find the task a very agreeable one. To look with a joyous heart toward the rising sun is certainly a sym bolic attitude and as human and natural as hopo itself. Still better than to praise a man for his deeds, it is gratifying to bid welcome to the promising new worker in this ungrateful field of diplomacy where so often only thorns come when we expect flowers and fruits as a reward to our labor. We bid welcome to the man with a noble heart who for so many years has been preaching the advent of social justice, of respect to the rights of the individuals, of reciprocity in good will among men. After having made him self sure about the national needs in his coun try, after having fought the good battle for his political Ideals at home, he went abroad to in quire about other people's needs. Ho has traveled extensively through South America with his keen eyes wide open and has seen and heard and retained much to his profit, to our benefit. And now that the fortune of national politics has brought him to the direction of the international politics of his country, wo tako advantage of his profitable wanderings along our southern lands to claim him as an old and sympathetic acquaintance, if not a close friend to all of us. Under such favorable auspices any man could easily be convinced that in diplomacy we always mean well, even when wo appear to look for trouble, our differences in most of the cases being rather of expression than of essence. He could easily be convinced also that, under the law of the less effort, international politics which in th'is continent deals principally with those niceties of national feelings so dear to the patriotic Latin, has a greater tendency to ward agreement than any business in the world, since to deal with permanent nationalities is not the same as to deal with passing Individuals. But the present secretary of state of the United States knew all this before entering this new field of politics, where by the way ho already looks so comfortably settled and so thoroughly at home. He certainly knows that to the man with a clear head and a kind heart the difficul ties of his task are reduced by half. And we promise to use the best of our industry to help him in solving the remaining half, when occasion arises. So that, between personal good will and diplomatic desiro to agree, our rela tions with the department of state and its new chief will be aB cordially friendly as becomes partners in the great work of civilization in this our continent of America." MR. BRYAN'S REPLY Mr. Bryan, who, as secretary of state, is ex bfllcio chairman of the governing board of the Pan-American union, replied as follows: "Mr. President, Senores, and Senoras: What ever lack of confidence I may havo in regard to other duties that may fall to the occupant of th office with which His Excellency, President Wil son has honored me, I feel sore that he could have found no one either in our party or in our country who could meet more cordially the representatives of Central and South America. When the office was tondored me, one of the reasons that I gave for being willing to accept it waB that it would enable mo to Join with our president in cementing oven more closely na tions that live so near us and are so Identical with ours in their purposes and aspirations. "The visit which my good wife and I paid to some, though not all, of theso southern coun tries three years ago, increased, if possible, tho interest which wo felt in them and I am grate ful to Director General Barrett for giving me, aB my first opportunity of mooting diplomatic representatives around a banquet board, tho privilege of meeting you who nro so close to us and who share in the responsibilities of de veloping this western hemisphere dedicated to freedom. I am grateful, too, to the director general for having selected as tho spokesman of this gathering tonight one who not only by his position stands at tho head of the Pan American diplomatic circle, but who so follcl tously expresses your greetings and good will. "He need not tell me that ho has a high opinion of our country. I havo had occasion to become acquainted with that fact; I havo been sitting beside tho better-half of his family. Possibly I ought not to say tho better-balf lest my remarks might be given a patriotic interpre tation rather than the interpretation that wo give; in this country we aro glad to admit that a man is doing all that he can hopo to do if ho can even bo tho lessor-half. "In the visit to Central and South America, I learned to appreciate a number of things which I havo taken pleasure in communicating to tho world. I found, for Instance, at Lima, an In stitution of learning that has the distinction of being the oldest In the Western Hemisphere. I was surprised myself, and I have surprised othors by communicating the fact, that the uni versity at what was then tho capital of Spain's South American possessions, was established more than fifty years before tho Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and that it has had a con tinuous existence. Not only Its ago, but Its ten dency impressed me. I learned that during tho early years of Its existence it cost $10,000 to graduate. It was an expensive thing, for learn ing then was monopolized by a few. Something like 140 years ago this cost of $10,000 was re duced by statute to a deposit of $2,000, but still it was quite an aristocratic institution. It was reduced in 1870 to $800, but since that timo tho progress toward democracy in education has been so rapid that now it costs $100 to secure one degree and $50 another. This illustrates what is going on not only throughout South America, but all over the world. "Education is being brought within tho reach of all the people and It gratified mo to learn that, whatever might bo tho percentage of illiteracy in tho countries that I visited, it was every where decreasing, and I felt that our nation could not , be complimented more highly than it was being complimented in thoso countries which I visited. I found, for instance, in Peru, a group of Americans who were there by invita tion and who were paid out of tho treasury of the country. They were assisting in the im provement of the school system. I found in tho beautiful capital of that mountain republic, Bolivia, a college established by Americans at the request of tho Bolivian government, and I havo been Informed tonight by his excellency, the minister from that country, that the ap propriation for tho support of that college has been Increased sinco I visited his country. "I was flattered, as an American, to find that Uruguay had patterned her school system after our school system and when I visited a school in the City of Montevideo, but for the language, which I could not understand, I might have mis taken it for a school in our country, so com pletely is it modeled after ours. In the great republic represented so well by his excellency, the ambassador from Brazil, I found a great normal school that was built and is conducted according to tho plans taken by an American woman from the state of New York. Few days in my life have made a deeper impression upon me than that day that I spent In San Paulo when they took me through this building and then conducted me tpthe assembly room where tho students of the higher classes wero gathered. Every seat wag occupied; the aisles were full and young men stood back through the doors into the outer hall. Over each window were two flags the Brazilian flag and ours. A pro fessor, speaking for tho school, delivered an addross of wolcomo. Ho told how their con stitution had been patterned after ours -and how even their flag, llko ours, had a star for ovory stato. Then when ho was through, a young man, twenty or twenty-one years of ago, opoko for tho students. Ho also spoke In English, and his vollco trembled with emotion ns ho said that our nation had bcon an inspiration to Brazil and it was their ambition to mako Brazil like the United States; then a young lady recitod a poem in English, and then, to my amazement, tho cntlro BChool rose and sang "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thoo I sing.' I confess that I was touched as I hnvo seldom been touched In a foreign land and I expressed what I bollovo to bo tho sentiment of tho people of this country. I told thorn that I saw fulfilled on that day the dreams of our fore fathers that those who laid tho foundation of our nation wero anxious that It should conquor tho world, not with its arms but with Its Ideas, and that our peoplo would bo happier to know that they sang our songs and wero gratoful for our example happier far than they would bo to havo them as sullen subjects undor a' flag that they did not lovo. "Wo returned from a delightful trip, after having received courtesies from all the nations visited, courtesies that I knew wero not Intended for us as individuals, but for us as citizens of a great country. "So, tonight, as a representative of our government as tho ono who by virtue of- his ofilco comcH into closest contact with thoso who aro here, tho accredited representatives of othor lands as the occupant of this position, I say, I am grateful for this opportunity to meet you and to mingle with you. I am glad to assure you of tho pacific purposo and tho genuine friendship which tho president of our great na tion entertains toward all the people and all tho governments of Central and South America, and to assure you that I am In complete sym pathy with him In this friendship and Interest. Wo desire that you shall know us and that our people should know you. Wo desiro that our exports to your country shall Increase and that our imports from your country shall Increase, but I believe that tho most valuable thing that can be sent across the border lino of nations is an ideal. I am glad, therefore, that however we may feel about tho tariff on othor commodi ties thero is freo trade in ideals; we have gathered ideals from all tho world; wo aro in debted to the world for ideals selected from every section. I havo no doubt but that we shall bo ablo to borrow from the experiences of our nplghbors on tho south and wo shall bo glad to loan to them anything that has been developed and perfected here. We aro not only glad to give you tho advantage of our experience, not only glad to allow you to learn by our trials, our experiments and our mistakes, but wo are glad to have our peoplo go among you, to assist you In developing tho resources of tho great countries that lio to the south of us. I am suro that I speak for his excellency, tho presi dent, as I speak for myself and for all associated with him in authority, when I say that we shall Insist that tho business men who go from our country to yours, to help to develop your re sources, shall carry with them tho same high standard of honor and integrity that we demand of business men in our country. Wo shall be even moro exacting of them, for when people como among us, if they find a man who is bad, their opinion of our country may be made good by ascertaining that he is an exception; but when a man goes from us to a foreign coun try ho must be even bettor in behavior because thero aro not so many to help him represent our nation. I am suro that this administra tion will be quick to admonish all who go among you that they go to represent the highest ideals of our country and that they must not fall below that standard. "But I am not here to mako a speech; I am hero to mingle with you about this board; to become better acquainted with you, and I have arisen simply to acknowledge, for tho president of tho United States as well as for the depart ment of state, your friendly greetings and to assure you that your good will is most heartily Teciprocated." 0 Subscribers to The Commoner who commenced with the first issue of the $ paper should renew their subscriptions now to avoid the possibility of missing 0 as issue of the paper. Q g 00 4&i4fc & i&-KauJ--'riAr'. frjdjjae.ft 4&1