Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-10-28

| OF state reached him, their delivery
| was deferred until he returned to the
| seclusfon of his train.
IN his address Mr.. Wilson spoke of
| his interest in all things Southern.
But, today | need not speak of the
| South" he added. She has perhaps ac-
ouired the gift of speaking for herself.
| | eane because | want to speak of our
present and prospective relations with
! cur Geighbors to the South. | deemed
| il a public duty, as we'll as a personal
| pleasure. to be here to express for
| myself and for the government I rep
| resent the welcome we all feel TO those.
| who represent the Latin American
states. The future. ladies and gentle
men, is going to be very different for
| this hemisphere from the past. The
/ states lying to the south of us, which
have always been our neighbors, will
| now he drawn closer to us by innumer-
! able lies and. | hope, chief of all. by
| the tie of common understanding to
I each other
Interest does not tie nations to-
gether. It sometimes separates them.
! but sympathy and understanding does
| unite them. And | believe that by the
~
opened, While we physically cut two
continents asunder. we spiritually unite
them. It is a spiritual uniting We seek.
/ wonder if you realize, / wonder if
| Your imaginations have been filled
with the significance of the tides of
commerce. These great tides which
have been running along parallels of
latitude will now swing southwark
f.fl lat; nd hot
opening gate at the Isthmus of Pana-
ma will open The world to a commerce
that she has not known before-a COM
| merce of intelligence. of thought and
sympathy between North and South
and the Latin-American states which
to their disadvantage, have been off
the main lines, will now be on the
main lines. l feel that these gentlemen
honoring us with their presence, today
will presently find that some part. at
any rate, OF the center of gravity of
the world has shifted. Do you realize
| that New York. for example. will Be
! nearer the western coast of South
America than she is now to the east
/ ern coast of South America?
! There is one popularity about the
history of the Latin American states,
which / am sure they are keenly
aware of. You hear of concessions to
foreign capitalists in Latin America.
You do not hear of concessions to for
eign capitalists in the United States.
They are not granted concessions.
They are invited To make investments.
The work Is ours, though they are
welcome to invest il it. We do not
ask them to- supply the capital and
do the work. 1t is an invitation, not
a privilege and states that are
obliged because their territory does
not lie within the main field of mod
ern enterprise and action, to grant
concessions. are in this condition. That
foreign interests are apt to dominate
their domestic affairs, kind of af-
fairs always dangerous and apt to be-
come intolerable.
What these states are going to seek,
therefore, is an emancipation from the
subordination which has been newt
able to foreign enterprise and an as
sertion of the splendid character,
| which, in spite Of these difficulties,
they have again and again been able
to demonstrate.
The dignity, the courage. the self
possession, the respect of the Latin
American states, their achievements in
the face of all these adverse crcum-
stances, deserve nothing but the ad-
miration and applause of the world.
They have had harder bargains driven
with them in the matter of loans than
any other people in the world. In
terest has been exaeted of them that
was not exacted of anybody, because
the risk was said to be greater and
| then securities We're taken that de-
stroyed the risk. An admirable ar
rangement. for those who were forcing
| the terms.
Il rejoice in nothing so much as in
| the prospect that they will now be
, emancipated from the conditions and
we ought to be the first to take part
in assisting in thai emancipation. |
| think some of these gentlemen have
already had occasion to bear witness
that the department of state in re-
cent months has tried to serve them
in that way. In the future they will
draw closer and closer to us because
of circumstances of which | wish to
speak with moderation and, l hope,
| without indiscretion.
| I'VE must prove ourselves their friends
| and champions, upon terms of equality
and honor, You cannot be friends upon
any other terms than upon the terms OF
equality You cannot be friends at all,
except upon the terms of honor and we
must show ourselves friends by COM
pretending their interest, whether ii
squares with our interest or not. 1t is
a very perilous thing to determine the
foreign policy of nation in the terms
of material interest. 1t not only is un-
fair to those with whom you are deal
ing. but it is degrading on the part of
your own actions.
Comprehension must be the soil in
which shall grow all the fruits OF
friendship; because there is a reason and
a compulsion lying behind all this which
is dearer than anything else to the
thoughtful men of America. | mean the
development of constitutional liberty In
the world. Human rights, national in
tegrity and opportunity as against mate
rial interests! That. ladies and gentle
men. is the issue which we now have te
face.
xuopt 20 foEa fhto oaea Stan fa snx