Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-07-23
PAN-AMERICANOPENS
Great Gathering of Western
 Hemisphere Family.
LATE SECRETARY BLAINE ITSFATHER
object Is to Bring Into Closer Polit. ical and Commercial RelattonshiD Countries of North, Central
 and South America,

RIO JANEIRO, July 23.-The pan American conference opened here to day, and with the exception of Var Leer Polk all the American delegates have arrived. Secretary of State Elihr Root is at Pernambuco on board the United States cruiser Charleston and will reach this port on Thursday.
 The conference is being held in the building originally erected by the Bra zilian government at the St. Louis ex position. It was called to order by the Brazilian secretary of foreign af fairs, the temporary president.
 The American delegation is headed by William l. Buchanan of Buffalo, N Y.. former American minister to Ar gentina and later to Panama. His col. leagues are Tulio Larrinaga, commis. sioner from Porto Rico to the United States congress; Professor L. S. Rowe of the University of Pennsylvania; Van Leer Polk of Tennessee, Professor Paul s. Reinsch of the University of Wisconsin. and Andrew J. Montague former governor of Virginia. Charles R. Dean is the secretary.
 The pan-American congress, which opened with simple ceremonies here to- day, is expected to have important re suits in establishing the relations of the smaller South and Central American republics upon basis of comity which will tend to lessen the danger of war between those countries.
 Delegates from most of the govern ments on the American continent, in cluding Mexico and the United States, are present. Venezuela is the one prominent exception.
 The conference, which has now been called to order, is one of great triology of American family gather ings, destined to have most impor- tant bearing on the future of the west ern hemisphere.
 Several momentous questions will be discussed by the conference, but the one which is the weightiest of all ls what is known as the Drago doctrine, so named after its exponent, Dr. Luis NJ. Drago, learned publicist of Ar gentina. Reduced to its simplest terms, this doctrine is a declaration that no nation has right forclbly to undertake to collect debts due to Its citizens by another nation.
 Conceived in the mind of the late Secretary Blaine, the Idea Of bringing into close relations the different gov ernments of North, Central and South America had not only a sensational and political, but also businesslike side which at once attracted the at- tention of Europe. which had been monopollzing the trade of the tropical Americas. The first pan-American con- ference was held in October, 1889, in Washington. The second convened in the City of Mexico fin 1901-2.
 The reorganization of the bureau of American republics is the first article of the programme. It Is proposed to erect q magnificent building In Wash ington for its accommodation, to open a commercial museum In connection herewith and, a suggestion based largely upon Latin-American suspicion, to limit the life of the bureau to ten year period. Some of the nations have failed to supply with regularity their pro rata assessments for the mainte- nance of the bureau. and this neglect will be corrected.
 A strong effort will also be made to persuade the American republics to agree to settle by arbitration all future disputes arising between them and to endeavor to have the approaching Hague conference apply this principle generally to the nations of the world.