Latin America and the United States Part 11

I thank you sincerely, both in my own behalf and in behalf of my country, for your kind welcome and for the words, full of friendship and of kindly judgment, you have uttered regarding my country and regarding her servants, the President and myself. The distinguished gentleman who represents Peru in the capital of the United States of America, and who shares with you, sir, the inheritance of a name great and honored, not only in Peru but wherever the friends of const.i.tutional freedom are found--in his note of invitation to me, upon which I am now a visitor to your city, used a form of expression that has dwelt in my memory, because it was so true. He spoke of the old, sincere, and cordial friendship of our two countries--that is indeed true of the friendship of the United States of America and the republic of Peru. It is an old friendship, a sincere friendship, and a cordial friendship. I have come here not to make new friends, but to greet old ones; not to announce a new departure in policy, but to follow old and honored lines; and I should have thought that in coming to South America in answer to the invitations of the different countries, all down the east and up the west coast, to have pa.s.sed by Peru would indeed be to have played "Hamlet" with Hamlet left out. It is still a more natural and still a stronger impulse to visit Peru at this time, as a part of a mission of friendship and good will, when the relations between the two countries are about to be drawn even closer.

The completion of the ca.n.a.l across the Isthmus of Panama will make us near neighbors as we have never been before, so that we may take our staterooms at the wharf at Callao or at New York, and visit each other without change of quarters during the journey. And no one can tell what the effect of the ca.n.a.l will be. We do know that nothing of the kind was ever done before in human history without producing a most powerful effect upon mankind. The course of civilization, the rise and fall of nations, the development of mankind, have followed the establishment of new trade routes. No one can now tell just what the specific effect of the cutting of the ca.n.a.l across the isthmus may be; but it will be great and momentous in the affairs of the world. Of this we may be certain, that for the nations situated immediately to the south and immediately to the north of the ca.n.a.l, there will be great changes in their relations with the rest of the world; and it is most gratifying to know that this great work which the United States of America is now undertaking--the cost of which she never expects to get back--a work which she is doing not merely for her own benefit, but because she is moved by the belief that great things are worth doing, is going to bring great benefits to the entire world, and to her old and her good friend, the republic of Peru.

I thank you, Mr. President, for your kind reception, and I beg you to permit me to ask the gentlemen here to join me in proposing in behalf of President Roosevelt the health and long life and prosperity of the President of Peru.

BANQUET OF THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SPEECH OF HIS EXCELLENCY JAVIER PRADO Y UGARTECHE

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

At the Union Club, September 11, 1906

With the liveliest feelings of consideration and sympathy I have the honor to offer this manifestation to His Excellency Mr. Elihu Root, Secretary of State of the United States of America.

Yielding to the generous impulses of your American heart, and of your brain of a thinker and of a statesman, you have felt a desire, Mr. Root, to visit these countries, to address to them words of friendship and of interest in their welfare, in the name of the honorable government which you represent, and to shed over this continent the rays of the n.o.ble ideal of American fraternity.

Your visit will undoubtedly produce fruitful results on behalf of liberty and of justice, of peace and of progress, of order and of improvement, which you have proclaimed as being the highest principles inspiring the policy of the United States in the special mission for which their peculiar virtues and energy have marked them out in the destiny of humanity.

When those austere founders of American independence laid the foundations of the great republic of the North, and gave it its const.i.tution, they were not inspired by narrow-minded ideas or by selfish and transitory interest, but by a profound conviction of the rights of man and a deep feeling of liberty and of justice, which, in its irresistible consequences, would bring about the social and political transformation which came to pa.s.s in the world at the end of the eighteenth century, and was destined to const.i.tute the gospel of liberty and of democracy in our modern regime.

This same people, although still in its youth, did not hesitate, shortly after, all alone, to guarantee the independence of all the American countries, placing before the great powers of the world the pillars of Hercules of the Monroe Doctrine, forming an impa.s.sable gateway to a free and unconquerable America.

Today this same people excites the admiration of the whole world by its grandeur. Its government brings to its level the harmony of humanity; reestablishes, on the one hand, peace between the empires of Europe and of Asia, and, on the other, between the republics of Central America; patronizes the congress of The Hague, and in it obtains the recognition of the personality of the American nations, thus giving proof of the interest it takes, with equal concern, in the future of the peoples civilized for a century, as well as in that of the countries just commencing their existence. The American Const.i.tution, the Monroe Doctrine, together with the policy of President Roosevelt, and of his Secretary of State, Mr. Root, voice in this manner, through the pages of history, the same language of liberty, of justice, humanity, and Americanism.

How deep is the lesson to be learned from these facts!

The ancient ideas founded right upon force, the regime of the social bodies was that of privilege, and individual efforts were tied by bonds imposed in the name of the authorities. The modern ideas, such as the United States proclaim, found all right upon justice, and the social regime upon liberty and equality. The human being is not an instrument for the display of arbitrary power, but is the whole object of social life, the mission of which is the development of its energies, its moral conscience, the improvement and welfare of individuals and of nations.

According to the ancient ideas, the greatness of the nations was measured by their military power and by the limits of their conquests of force. According to modern ideas, as represented by the United States, the greatness of nations is measured by the conquests obtained by individual and collective efforts, thereby creating the fruitful and happy reign of truth, of justice, of labor, and of peace.

War was formerly a glory; nowadays it is a calamity. Later on it will be condemned as the sad ancestral remains of barbarism and savagery.

The evolution of ideas is that which now rules the world; and if people do not always comprehend this fact it is because the selfish and personal prejudices, pa.s.sions, and interests disturb and impair their judgment.

In modern progress, the regime of privilege and of force can no longer create rights nor lend security for the future or the aggrandizement of nations; and nowadays those individuals do not render a service to their native land who, while they sacrifice permanent interests, think they can calculate the meridian of their country by the artificial reflections of a moment, transitory and perishable.

The regime of force or of armed peace consumes the vital forces and the resources of nations; and then from the abyss of inequality, of affliction, and danger produced, bursts forth once more the social and political problem demanding, with threats, the reform of the evil, and laying down the maxim that only the ideal of justice, of liberty, and of human solidarity can possibly stand forth, firm and unshaken, amidst the ruins in which the wild ideas of greatness held by the military powers of the world will remain buried forever.

It is not by means of a regime of force, but by that of liberty, peace, and labor, that the United States of America has been enabled to form a marvelous abode of vitality and human progress; and its government, with a perfect insight into the greatness of that country and of its destiny, today addresses the present and the future of our world, and with special interest explains to America the only paths that will lead the nations to the attainment of tranquillity and well-being.

Once that existence is obtained, you have said, Mr. Root, that it is necessary to live and advance worthily and honorably,--and that this object cannot be attained by a regime of domestic oppression and of privilege, nor by the external one of isolation or of war, but by that of liberty, order, justice, economical progress, moral improvement, intellectual advance, respect for the rights of others, and a feeling of human solidarity. You have clearly stated:

No nation can live unto itself alone and continue to live.

Each nation's growth is a part of the development of the race.... A people whose minds are not open to the lessons of the world's progress, whose spirits are not stirred by the aspirations and achievements of humanity, struggling the world over for liberty and justice, must be left behind by civilization in its steady and beneficent advance.

In the life of nations there must always prevail an ideal and a harmony of right, of liberty, of peace, and fraternity, although this can only be obtained by persevering efforts, by sacrifices, and by a long and distressing march. It is necessary to "labor more for the future than for the present" and unite together all the nations engaged in the same great task, inspired by a like ideal and professing similar principles.

Peru has read your words, Mr. Root, with profound attention. She is proud to say that in the modest sphere she occupies in the concert of nations, she accepts your ideas as her own, and declares that they also const.i.tute her profession of faith as regards her international policy.

With your superior judgment you have exactly comprehended the difficulties, critical moments, and convulsions which the countries of this continent have undergone in order to establish a republican government, together with a regime of liberty and democracy. They are still in the first period of their development and have yet many problems to solve.

To develop the immense resources and wealth with which nature has so wonderfully endowed these countries; to render their territory accessible to labor and civilization by opening up means of communication, granting all facilities and giving security for the life, health, and welfare of their inhabitants; to obtain the population which their immense territories require: to educate and instruct the people, making them understand their liberty, their duties, and their rights; to develop their faculties and energies, their labor forces, their industrial and commercial capacity and power; to elevate their moral dignity; to consolidate and strengthen the national unity; to insure definitely the government of the people, in justice, in order, and in peace; to attract capital and foreign immigration; to develop and give impulse to commercial relations with other countries; to maintain a frank and true international harmony and solidarity; to respect all mutual and reciprocal rights and settle all disagreements by friendly, just, and honorable means--to perform, in short, the work of human civilization; these are undoubtedly the points which ought to occupy, first of all, the thoughts of the administration of these countries, in order to secure their tranquillity, their welfare, and their aggrandizement, just as the United States have secured theirs by the genius of their people and the power of their ideals.

If the nations of America, instead of living apart from each other and separated by distrust, threats, and quarrels--which unsettle them, rendering their energy and development fruitless, just as they have kept up a state of anarchy, for a long time, in their internal existence--would unite themselves together by the natural ties which the community of their origin, of their civilization, of their necessities, and their destinies clearly indicate, we should then witness the realization of the ideal you have conceived of a great, prosperous, and happy America; the union of sister republics, free, orderly, laborious, lovers of justice, knowledge, sciences, and arts, cooperating, each one and all of them worthily and effectively, for the realization of the great work of human civilization and culture.

The standard and observance of justice should bring about the definite disappearance of the disagreements which may have caused separation among the South American countries, just as family quarrels are effaced on the exhibition of a just and generous sentiment of sincere brotherhood and harmony which vibrates throughout this continent as an intense aspiration of the American soul, and as a n.o.ble ideal of concord and of justice.

It is never too late to recognize what is right and to proceed with rect.i.tude. My memory suggests an important event some few years back in the history of the relations between Peru and the United States, described most correctly by the representative of your government as one of those most worthy of note in the annals of diplomacy. I refer to the serious question which arose in 1852 between our respective countries relative to the Lobos guano islands, when the United States held that they did not belong to the territory and sovereignty of Peru, and that as they had been occupied by American citizens your country would uphold these parties in the work of exploitation; but as soon as the Government of the United States, after a lengthened and lively controversy, became convinced of the right which Peru had on her side, it at once spontaneously put an end to the question by a memorable note of its Secretary of State, recognizing the absolute sovereignty of Peru over those islands and declaring that "he makes this avowal with the greater readiness, in consequence of the unintentional injustice done to Peru, under a transient want of information as to the facts of the case."[3]

When powerful nations, laying aside the instruments of oppression and violence which they have in their hands, rise to such a height of moral elevation, universal respect and sympathy will form the unfading halo of their grandeur.

And thus it happened with the United States of America; and Peru has now the honor once more to express its thanks for the generous friendship and constant interest with which the United States have always paid attention to everything affecting the welfare and progress of our country.

Peru, which is the depositary of the secrets of wondrous and unknown civilizations; which possesses great historical traditions; which was long ago the metropolis of this continent, and then a Spanish colony; which has an enormous extent of territory, with the most varied and wonderful climates and wealth; after grievous domestic and foreign vicissitudes, has firmly taken in hand the great work of its reorganization; has acquired the knowledge of its public and private duties; has given vigor to its character and to its spirit of enterprise; has founded industries and labor centers; has fostered agriculture, mining, and commerce; is using every effort to foster public instruction, increasing the number of schools throughout the country and giving civic education to its children; constructing railroads and public works of national and future interest; opening the minds and intelligence of its people to the currents of culture and modern progress, and endeavoring to establish a solid and well-directed public administration; her fiscal revenues, her trade, and the general capitalization of fortunes have reached in a few years an extraordinary development which demonstrates the potentiality of the country. Enjoying public peace, she is using every effort to maintain a policy of frank understanding and friendship with all nations, and sustains the principle of arbitration for the solution of all her international controversies, thus giving evident proof of the rect.i.tude of her sentiments, and that the only settlements which she defends and to which she aspires are the honorable settlements dictated by right.

These ideas are likewise yours, Mr. Root. And I invite you, gentlemen, to unite with us in expressing the hope that the principles proclaimed by our enlightened guest, to whom we today offer the homage of our respect and sympathy, may everlastingly rule in America.

REPLY OF MR. ROOT

I should be insensible, indeed, were I not to feel deeply grateful for your courtesy, your hospitality, and your kindness; nor can I fail to be gratified by the words of praise which you, Mr. Minister, have spoken of my beloved country, and by the hearty and unreserved approval with which you have met my inadequate expression of the sentiments the people of my country feel toward their sister republics of South America. The words which you have quoted, sir, do represent the feelings of the people of the United States. We are very far from living up to the standards which we set for ourselves, and we know our own omissions, our failings, and our errors; we know them, we deplore them, and we are constantly and laboriously seeking to remedy them; but we do have underneath as the firm foundation of const.i.tutional freedom, the sentiments which were expressed in the quotations which you have made.

No government in the United States could maintain itself for a moment if it violated those principles; no act of unjust aggression by the United States against any smaller and weaker power would be forgiven by the people to whom the government is responsible.

Mr. Minister, my journey in South America is drawing to a close. After many weeks of a.s.sociation with the distinguished men who control the affairs of the South American republics, after much observation of the widely different countries I have visited, it is with the greatest satisfaction that I find, in reviewing the new records of my mind, that the impressions with which I came to South America have been confirmed--the impression that there is a new day dawning, a new day of industry, of enterprise, of prosperity, of wider liberty, of more perfect justice among the people of the southern continent.

I find that the difference between the South America of today and the South America as the records show it to have been a generation ago, is as wide as the difference marked by centuries in the history of Europe.

Why is it? You are the same people--not so much better than your fathers. The same fields offered to the hand of the husbandman their bounteous harvests then as now; the same incalculable wealth slept in your mountains then as now; the same streams carried down from your mountain sides the immeasurable power ready to the hand of man for the production of wealth then as now; the same ocean washed your sh.o.r.es ready to bear the commerce of the world then as now. Whence comes the change? The change is not in material things, but in spiritual things.

The change has come because in the slow but majestic progress of national development, the peoples of South America have been pa.s.sing through a period of progress necessary to their development, necessary to the building of their characters, up from a stage of strife and discord, of individual selfishness, of unrestrained ambition, of irresponsible power, and out upon the broad platform of love for country, of national spirit, of devotion to the ideal of justice, of ordered liberty, of respect for the rights of others; because the individual characters of the peoples of the South American republics have been developed to that self-control, to that respect for justice toward their fellowmen, to that regard for the rights and feelings of others which inhere in true justice. The development of individual character has made the collective character competent for self-government and the maintenance of that justice, that ordered liberty, which gives security to property, security to the fruits of enterprise, security to personal liberty, to the pursuit of happiness, to the home, to all that makes life worth living; and under the fostering care of that character, individual and national, the hidden wealth of the mountains is being poured out to enrich mankind; under the fostering care of that character, individual and national, new life is coming to the fields, to the mines, to the factories, to commerce, to all the material interests of South America.

Mr. Minister, this is but a part of a great world movement on a wider field. It is no idle dream that the world grows better day by day. We cannot mark its progress by days or by years or by generations; but marking the changes by the centuries mankind advances steadily from brute force, from the rule of selfishness and greed toward respect for human rights, toward desire for human happiness, toward the rule of law and the rule of love among men. My own country has become great materially because it has felt the influence of that majestic progress of civilization. South America is becoming great materially because it, too, is feeling the influence that is making humanity more human.

We can do but little in our day. We live our short lives and pa.s.s away and are forgotten. All the wealth, prosperity, and luxury with which we can surround ourselves is of but little benefit and little satisfaction; but if we--if you and I--in our offices and each one of us in his influence upon the public affairs of his day, can contribute ever so little, but something, toward the tendency of our countries, the tendency of our race, away from greed and force and selfishness and wrong, toward the rule of order and love--if we can do something to contribute to that tendency which countless millions are working out, we shall not have lived in vain.

You were kind enough to refer to an incident in the diplomatic history of the United States and Peru, when my own country recognized its error in regard to the Lobos Islands and returned them freely and cheerfully to their rightful owner. I would rather have the record of such acts of justice for my country's fair name than the story of any battle fought and won by her military heroes.

We cannot fail to ask ourselves sometimes the question, What will be the end of our civilization? Will some future generation say of us, in the words of the Persian poet, "The lion and the lizard keep the courts where Jamshd gloried and drank deep"? Will the palaces we build be the problem of the antiquarians in some future century? Will all that we do come to naught? If not--if our civilization is not to meet the fate of all that have gone before--it will be because we have builded upon a firm foundation, a foundation of the great body of the plain, the common people, and upon a character formed on the principles of justice, of liberty, and of brotherly love. Our one hope for the perpetuity of our civilization is that quality in which it differs from all civilizations that have gone before--its substantial basis. I find that here in Peru you are building upon that firm rock.

I find that here individual character is being developed so that the people of Peru are collectively developing the necessary and essential national character.

I find that the riches of your wonderful land are in the hands of a people who are worthy to enjoy them.

I shall take away with me from Peru not only the kindest feelings of friendship and of grat.i.tude but the highest and most confident hope of a great and glorious future for the people to whom I wish so well.

Mr. Minister, will you permit me the honor of asking all to join me in drinking to the health of His Excellency the President of Peru?