Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-01-02
France Moves to
Become Center Of
Worldwide Culture

PARIS. (By Mail.)-With the in
stallation at the University of Paris
for the first time in the latter's his
tory Of chair of Spanish literature,
France has just taken another most
important step towards the reallza-
ton Of the dream that the war has
given her, of becoming the center OF
a worldwide Latin culture.
It is merely another angle of her
present hopes to build up first q
Latin alliance in Europe q which
she shall be the political center and
secondly a fountain-head of Latin
culture and civilization whereof she
will be the recognized world center.
With the strong cementing to-
gcther of the Anglo-Saxon races
that has resulted from the war, es-
pecially the closer relations between
England and the United States,
France has developed a realization
that has become almost a passion,
of the necessity Of grouping together
the Latin countries and the Latin
civilization of the entire world.
Alongside of the English group,
the Germanic group and The Slay
groups that are now forming, and
wherein France feels that she can
not play dominating part because
her basis of Latin culture and Lati1,
civilization is fundamentally differ
e--s from those of the other ethn;c
groups, France is determined there
shall be a Latin group that with all
it's traditions al d centuries of Gull
ture behind it will be able to play
the important role in the worlds de-
velopment tha1 Latin civilization has
always played i'll the past.
AS a consequence while French
statesmen and politicians are carry
ing out their plans and propaganda
for the establishment as far as pos
sible of European Latin alliance,
either formal or informal, compris-
ing France, Spain, Portugal, Italv
and Roumania, French university
circles are taking up the problem
Of making Paris the recognized
fountain head for Latin culture, ira
dition and civilization for the en-
tire world.
With the installation at the I'm:
versity of Paris of a chair of Span
ish literature France hopes not only
to attract hundreds of students from
Spain alone but thousands els well
from the Spanish countries of/South
America. Of the twenty nations of
Central and South America with y
total population of 10O,00000O, such
as Argentine, Brazil, Cuba, Peru.
Colombia, Venezuela Mexico and
ECUADOR, and of which the culture
and civilization is essentially Latin.
France hopes to become the intellec-
tual fountain head
The first step to this end is to
draw to the French universities AMI
schools all the brilliant young men
of these South American Latin coun-
tries, young men who when the.
have later become to play :mporta /
roles in their respective countries
will look with gratitude to France
for their earI1 training and educa-
ton.
Without n any way restricting
the broad curriculum and coarses
which the University of Paris has
always offered in the past and which
has made 1t one of the most at
tractive and highest sources of edit
cation in the world, it may be con-
hdently expected that from now IN
a number of chairs will be addict
that Of Spanish Literature that
will hav for tl,eir especial aim the
creation of "a fountain head of Latin
culture and civilization.