Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-26
FEARS CONCERNING THE CONGRESS OF
THE AMERICAS.

FEARS CONCERNING THE CONGRESS OF
THE AMERICAS.
We print in another column an article
from Madrid paper by Count de CeelIo,
a distinguished publicist of Spain, and
writer on international subjects, who has
been, and possibly still is, the representa-
tive of Spain at the Court of Italy. The
article is correct translation made espec-
tally for the RECoRD-UNIoN by S. II.
Gerrish of this city. We are impelled to
the publication of the paper by the fact
that the position taken by the writer an
tagonistic to the Pan-Ameriean Congress,
tends to confirm the wisdom that conceived
the idea of the convocation, and the policy
of the United States in promoting it. We
have heretofore said that the stimulation
of trade between the United States and
the South American States was, while by
no means the first, still is one of the pur-
poses of the Congress. The chief end of
the convention is to promote peace and
that confraternal feeling that will cement
the American States indissolubly in peace
full relations towards each other, that none
of their native energy may be expended
in maintaining those warlike attitudes
that narrow craftsmanship assumes to be
the need of nation in order to command
respect for its flag. The bill converting
the Congress sets forth, it is true, that the
promotion of commerce is one of the pur-
poses of the meeting, but it is placed last
among considerations.
Upon this point Count lie Coello hinges
his paper, which elsewhere appears and
to which we invite attention. He
points out that the purpose of the
United States is the absorption
of the commerce of the South American
States; that without counting Brazil, the
exterior commerce of those States amounts
to more than $3.50 100000, of which Spain
has only $12,O00,o0o. Originally Spain
felt her commerce checked by the wars
that led to the emancipation of the
South American States when just recov-
ering from that "moral blockade it was
again set back by the struggle between the
Pacific States of South America. That is
now over, and Spain is again endeavoring
to re-establish commercial relations with
those States upon scale of grandeur.
But outside of commercial reasons, he
holds that Spain should make bitter con-
test for the trade of the South American
continent and Mexico, because their peo-
pie are of the Spanish race; they are
common in religion; their genius led
to the discovery of the new world; their
great Captains accomplished its conquest.
He holds that Europe cannot afford to
abdicate as to the South American CONT
nent. in favor of the United States. But
if the movement signaized by the con-
vening of the Pan-American Congress is
not counteraeted at once, he believes that
at least the influence of Spain in South
America will have vanished by the open
ing of the twentieth century. The situa
ton in this hemisphere, he points out, is
strangely different from that on the Eu-
ropean side. There, Germany, France,
Italy, Russia, contend for preponderance
in the political field here there are near
to the United States, which duplicates its
population every quarter of century, ouly
States of relatively small population, and
they are kept apart by strife
President Harrison has adopted the
Monroe idea, and talks of america
for Americans; while the American
Congress has appropriated large sum of
money for the purpose of paying the ex-
penses of the Convention of the States of
the three Americas. The scheme is, ac-
cording to the Count, to establish single
customs zone; to secure greater and more
rapid systems of transportation between
the Northern and Southern Continents;
to establish monetary and "administra-
tive" unity; to set up tribunals of arbitra-
ton. and to agree upon such relations as
will prevent war, and thus render the ex-
tension of protectorate over South
America by the United States an early
probability, to say nothing OF the absorp-
ton of Mexico by the great Republic.
So runs on the paper, only few features
of which we have briefly presented. 1t
does not deny the right of the United
States to do all these things and to absorb |
the whole OF both continents if it can, but
the Count appeals TO the press of South |
America and of Mexico, to lift its voice in
protest against the scheme. For, he de-
clares, if these spanish-speaking nations
sacrifice their commercial autonomy, they
must stand prepared to surrender their
political independence also. There Is
plaintive appeal to the United States
not to push its conquest in the