The Washington herald., 1912-10-20

United States. and may siaeksa ia ~
now toward Csnsda-
MsAern P1sess.
The traveller in South Amsrloa Who
confines himself. a. many do, to tie
larger cities finds them % IKE thoss Of
Europe and North America In thsf POS
session Of the appliances Of modern cfvi-
lization. In their electric street cars ana
handsome parks. in their ably written
press. in the volume Of business they
transact-I might add in the aspect Of
the Legislatures and In the administrar
tive machinery Of their sovernmsnt-tAat
he ID apt to fancy . like resemblance In
the countries a. Q whole But the small
towns and rural districts are very far
behind. though least 50 In Chile and
Argentina
IT one regards these various nations
a. . whole. one 10 struck by the want
Of such an atmosphere Of ideas.' II the
phrase 10 permissible. ~ that men
breathe In Western Europe and In North
America Educated men are few. books
are few. there II little stir OF thought.
little play Of cultivated intelligence upon
the problems OF modern society. Most
Of these countries seem to lie far sway
from the stream Of intellectual lfe.
hearing only its distant murmur. The
presence Of . great inert mass Of igno-
rance in the native populaSion partly
ber the difnculty Of providing schools
and the thinness Of . population scat
tered through mountainous or desert or
forest-coyersd regions.
These 0sadvantages may In year8 to
come be lessened. but in the meantime
those who are born with superior talents
are born into an ungenial environment.
iIl-ntted to develop and polish such tai
ents to their own and to the public bene-
some Of these states. gifted men VINO
would be remarkable In any country. Ons
whom I knew in Mexico years ago Was
as brilliant and as accomplished In many
lines Of knowledge n any person have
ever known. But II takes Q large num-
Der OF such men to influence q nation
and guide the course of its opinion.
There are plenty Of men Of ability.
but their talent, like the system Of In
struction Of the country. II directed a.
most exclusively to practical ends. and
does less than II ought. either for politi-
cal progress or for the expansion Of the
national mind. Their interest in science
is almost entirely an interest In its ap-i
plications, and their hero II the great In
ventor. Science and learning. pursued
for their own sake. have not yet won
the place they ought to hold. Those in
whom q taste for philosophical specula-
ton or abstract thought Of any kind ap-
pears. seldom devote themselves to pa
tient investigation. They are apt to beI
captured by phrases and formulaA perl
haps Of little meaning. which seem tol
give short cuts to knowledge and truth.
One IL told that the European books most
popular among the few who approach
abstract subjects are those Of Herbert
Spencer. whose influence was alwaysI
greater In the South European countries
and in Russia than in England or the
United States. Those few are unwilling
to believe that he ID not deemed In his
own country to be q great philosophse.
Old Spirit SIN StroAg.
The fiery visor Of that extraordinary
group of men-the Conquistadores-has
often blazed out in their descendanta Itl
is the appearances In almost every seate
of men OF tireless energy and strenuous
will that gives their chief interests to
the wars and revolutions of tho last hun
dred years. Few OF these men. besides
the heroes Of Independence. such a. San
Martin. Belgrano. Miranda. Bolivar. and
Sucre. are known to Europe. and Of those
who are known. some like Francia and
Artigas and Rosas and Lopez. have won
fame by ruthlessness more than by
genius. OF late years the leading figures
have been more frequently Statesmen and
less frequently soldiers. Both types are
honorably represented to-day In many Of
the republics. There Is plenty Of strength
in the race, and Juarez. OF Mexico, II
only one of many examples to show that
Indian blood does not necessarily reduce
its quality. Into what channels its force
will be hereafter directed. and whether
1t will develop a gift for thought and
for artistic creation commensurate with
the activity which II has shown in other
fields. is a question upon which its his
tory since 1876 sheds little light. Tho
wind bloweth where 1t listeth.