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institutions as this great university. This illuminating conference constitutes a combination of enlightenment and justice; and it has afforded me deep gratification to participate in the furtherance of its noble aims and objects which cannot fail to be productive of beneficial results to the cause of Pan-Americanism. The influential representation of the Pan-American Union, at this gathering, affords proof of the importance and worthiness of the occasion; and I feel sure that in offering a tribute of admiration to the magnificent services of its Director-General, John Barrettthe friend and ambassador of Latin America-and of its Assistant Director, Senor Yánès, in the propagation of the true doctrine, I am but re-echoing the sentiments of all my distinguished fellow-guests from different parts of the continent. Through the Archipelago of the Antilles, through the States of Central America, from the Rio Grande to the Straits of Magellan, and from Punta Arenas to the most eastern extension of South America, there will be a profound appreciation of the efforts of Clark University to strengthen and bind in friendly union all the nations of America.

THE JOURNAL of race DEVELOPMENT, VOL. 5, No. 1, 1914

THE MIND OF THE LATIN-AMERICAN

NATIONS

By David Montt, General Correspondent of "El Diario Ilustrado," Santiago, Chile

Before starting the reading of this paper I wish to make it known that I come here to express my personal views on matters referring to the South American nations and not as a representative of any institution and having no authority to speak in behalf of my government.

This paper, which has been prepared at short notice, will deal especially with the influence of the United States and the European powers upon the development of this group of republics which I call the Latin-American nation. I have entitled this paper "The Mind of the Latin-American Nation" because my purpose is to deal especially with the foreign influence on the making up of the Latin-American soul and not with the development of our industries or the exploitation of our natural resources by foreign enterprise and capital.

Whenever I make my statements of a general character, I wish it to be understood that I am doing so by inductive logic because I think that many of the problems that affect my own nation are common problems affecting the life of all the Latin-American countries. I am considering the nations as having a mind, a mind of a complex constitution if you wish, but to which more or less the same laws that govern the human mind can be applied. We often hear of persons acting under the influence of suggestions, or auto-suggestions, and I think that nations often act under such influences, disobeying many times the dictates of justice. A prominent writer on psychology has said: "The subjective mind is constantly controllable and controlled by suggestions coming either from without or from within." This statement applies equally as well to nations. It is the influence upon

the mind of the Latin-American nation coming from without that I wish to review.

In the first place let me recite a few historical facts and make known, in justice to the United States, what this country did at the birth of our republics and the influence of those facts upon our succeeding life. When Napoleon fell, who was, as somebody said "The crowned people," and when Russia, Austria and Prussia organized the Holy Alliance, Spain asked for its support in order to subject the insurgent colonies of South America. The United States, with the backing of Minister Channing of England, exposed to the world the plans of that backward and oppressing alliance and recognized the independence of the new republics, soon after the proclamation of our own independence in 1818. Once reëstablished the despotic government of Ferdinand VII, Spain renewed her attempts to regain control of the Latin-American republics. The United States proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine, which was then our protecting shield and moral support against the ambitions of the European monarchies. Since that time the Union has been sending us elements of defense, elements of intellectuality and of material development. As years go by, we find, however, that the beneficial influence that the United States had at the beginning of our independent life, is overshadowed by the moral influence of the continental powers. However, we had enough impulse given to us, by the example of this great Union, to enable us to keep alive our democratic institutions, which today are endangered by the influence of the European monarchies, which has created and maintain an undesirable aristocracy in the heart of our apparent democratic institutions,

It would be hard to make laws dealing with the moral influence of a nation upon another and the development of trade between them. Today, we could not say, for instance, whether moral influence brings trade, or whether trade brings moral influence. The fact is, however, that during this period of moral influence of the United States upon Chile the trade relations between the two countries were most encouraging and satisfactory. It was during that period

that American enterprise had the most flourishing start in South America. During that period Wheelwright, an American, established the first steamship line in the Pacific connecting Chile directly with this country. The same man started the exploitation of our coal mines and nailed the first nails of the first South American railroad, between Copiapó and Caldera. Meiggs, an American civil engineer, soon after connected by railroad our capital city and our main port, Valparaiso. Even during our fight for freedom, we saw American spirit and American enterprise coming to our assistance. As early as 1811 Arnold Heber brought to Chile the first printing press, which we keep, today, as a sacred relic in our national museum in Santiago. I can rightly say, therefore, that Americans were the founders of the national press in Chile. A few years later we find another American who, associated with a Chilean, founded one of the oldest and most important papers published in Latin America, El Mercurio.

I have mentioned the fact of the press being founded by American citizens and the fact that this press was therefore highly saturated with American ideas and ideals, because I think that this "Fourth Power of the State" was then largely responsible for the friendly attitude of Chile towards the United States in the early period of its life. The press is certainly a power and whether directed for good or evil its influence upon the minds of the people cannot be denied. It is a common belief that yellow journalism in this country precipitated the Spanish American war. It is also a common statement that it was a selfish and prejudicial idea which animated the yellow press. Recent disclosures made in connection with the proceedings against the Krupp interests in Germany have revealed to the world that this same selfish motive animated the larger part of the press of both Germany and France, in order to keep alive the illfeeling and differences between the two nations. In this case, this most shameful campaign conducted through the columns of the press had no other purpose than to promote and increase the purchase of armaments by the two countries mentioned. This very same scheme was tried and carried nearly to successful completion between two South Amer

ican republics. It is not long ago that two sister nations, which always had the same ideals, the same abundance of resources, the same pursuits, were brought to the verge of a war. Again, it was the influence of European armament manufacturers which impressed the minds of these two nations to make them think that their trivial differences could not be settled without resorting to arms. It took the patriotism and courage of highly spirited citizens of both countries to bring out the truth and wake us up from this dreadful nightmare. That we were only acting under foreign influence is proven by the fact that we settled the affair in a most peaceful manner and the friendliness of the two nations was strengthened by closer ties. As a final chapter to the incident, we erected on the peak of the Andes a monument to the Great Master, as an expression of thanks to providence for having liberated us from the very undesirable influence of these European gun manufacturers. The differences between the two nations were then settled forever and I am proud to say today that no other two nations in the world are coöperating, and will coöperate in the future, more efficiently towards the welfare of mankind than Argentine and Chile.

The satisfactory solution of the problem of Argentine and Chile has left to my knowledge five international questions to be settled in South America.

Let me briefly review these differences, because I think that their statement and their acknowledgment will be a factor in their solution. Furthermore, I have too high an estimation of the good sense of the Latin-American republics to think that any of these problems will ever produce an armed conflict. But instead the promotion of commercial intercourse between these nations will entirely do away with these differences and bring permanent and satisfactory conditions. Ex-President Taft very well expressed it: "Trade is peace." I also think that the absolute elimination of the Monroe doctrine will very much tend towards the promotion of a strong union among the South American republics.

As I have stated before, this doctrine has been of great

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