The Washington herald., 1908-03-27
Bureau of American Republics.
By Frederic J. HaSkin.

To-day in Washington bids on the new
home of the international Bureau Of the
American Republics will be opened.
Should any one OF these prove acceptable.
work will begin at once. and in the i'm
posing mass of stone which viii house
the bureau next season a most interesting
chapter in international history will find
permanent memorial and the spirit OF
good fellowship between the leading
American republics be fttingly crystal
hzed. This edihce will be one OF the most
unusual and interesting in the history OF
all the world. the one nearest ike il in
object being the Temple Of Peace, now
under construction at The Hague
The building, when completed and ready
for occupancy, will have cost Sl.OO0.0O0.
OF this $4,000 was given by Mr.. Carnegie
and S250.oOO by the different American
countries represented in the bureau. II
will be situated on the famous Van Ness
tract OF land on the corner OF Seventeenth
and streets. Washington. One hundred
and thirty leading architects OF North
America entered designs in the contest
and the winners were Albert Kelsey and
Paul Gret, associate architects OF Phla-
delphia. Since twenty of the twenty-one
American republics are Of Latin origin,
the general style will suggest Latin
American treatment, and at the same
time it viii harmonic with the general
tone of architecture that is symbolical Of
the newer Washington, and has found its
latest VerificatiOn in the COrcoran Art
Gallery. the Municipal Building, and the
Union Station.
Latin-American influence in the archi-
lecture finds its most typical expression
in the patio, over fifty feet square, which
occupies the central part Of the front
section. This will be roofed over in win
ter with glass, but in summer will be
open. while all the year round the splash
ing of fountains and the breath Of trop-
teal flowers Will suggest the Alhambra Of
long ago and remote Moorish influences
in Spain Spanish stucco finish and
Spanish tiled roof will complete the
Latin-American effect. while the wood
work for the interior will be from woods
characteristic Of the various republics.
Wei lighted Offices for the director of
the bureau and his staff viii omen off
the patio, and at one end will be the
great. assembly chamber, which is dig
nified by the name Of The Hall of the
American Ambassadors the only room
OF its kind ever built especially for in
! ternational conventions and social events.
Comnittee rooms will be set aside for
important conferences. and the Columbus
Memorial Library viii be installed I'm
staeE rooms. accommodating $4,000 vol
umeS while a reading room, where will
be found the publications from every one
of tfe American republics, will occupy
considerable space and be held open as a
SPECIAL comforter TO homeSick guests
from. the far South, or for reference for
the public in general.
The International Bureau of the Ameri-
can Republics, sometimes called the
Pan,American Bureau, is an institution
that is seventeen and a half years old.
1t vas organized in answer to the wish
that American republics become better
acquainted with each other The first
gre.t subject Of the bureau is TO develop
commerce and trade between the United
Staes and the Latin-American countries,
while of hardly less Importance IS the
determination TO promote closer relations
alGg intellectual. educational. and social
| Inns A great international clearing
holse on questions Of trade and COM
mfce, scientific research. and travel, the
bueau in its work practically promotes
| th industries Of l1SS1,924 square miles
ofterritOry. and increases the commercial
an educational interests of las, OF, ,0S9 |
peple.
| staff of clerks. stenographers. and
tHnslators is kept busy In the present !
qnrters Of the bureau. They answer
tpusand and one queries that each mail |
bfngs. and get out 10000 bulletins each !
nonth containing statistical information !
| Il regard 10 the trade. commerce, and in |
| dlstrial development Of the twenty-one |
| 1merican republics. They compile hand |
poks on each country, publish pam
hlets and circulars relative to tariff. min
ig. immigration. and land laws. and keep
J manufacturers posted in regard to the |