Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-04-09

tic was set up in Mexico in 1885 ana
the second in Lima in 1895 1t was
not until 1889 that the 1,rst prin--
ing press, in what is now the U ,'ted
States was used in Cambridge, Mass
The dissemination of news in print
ed form was resorted to in South
America as early as 1894. A leaflet
published in Lima gave to the public
the news of the capture of an Eng
lish pirate. About 1920 news leaf
let's frequently appeared in Mexico
and Lima, but publications resembling
later-day newspapers in any degree
were not attempted until 1872.
In any consideration of the COM
parative progress and achievement
of Latin America and the United
States we must remember that the
United States had the advantage Of
national existence for more than
40 years before the Latin American
countries had become Independent
The Battle of yorktown, which mark
ed the end of our revolution, was in
1881, while the decisive battle for
Latin American independence was
fought at Ayachucho, Peru, in 1921
Since about 1875, these independent
republics have been expanding com
mercially at rapid rate. The fol-
lowing are very striking figures, al
though prepared some years ago. In
1919, with a population under S0,OO0,-
600, the total foreign commerce of
Latin American countries amounted to
over $5,0OO,0 100000. With these, fig
ures compare those of the United
States. in 1900, when our population
was about 76,0O0,OOO and our foreign
commerce less than $2,5O0,0OO,OOO.
Historians refer to the nineteenth
century as distinguished by the de-
velopment of the United States. Ell
ihu Root, after his official visit, said,
in 1906, "I believe that no student
can help seeing that the twentieth
century will be the century of phe-
nomenal development in South Amer
ica." Theodore Roosevelt made SIM
liar statement at the time of his
trip to Brazil in 1914. All that has
happened since has tended to prove
the correctness of these prophecies.
Too few people in this country have
an adequate realization of the i'm
not know that these 20 republics cover
an area of 100000 square miles, ap
proximately three times the area of
the United States; that Brazil alone
is larger than the United States, and
that Argentina is nearly two-thlrds
as large. And, I fear, the conception
of our average citizen is woefully de-
ficient as to the extent to which these
republics have developed in industry,
science and the arts, and to which
they enjoy all the improvements OF
modern civilization, oftentimes I'M
proving these improvements.
| In some measure this has been due
to the lack of information in our
press. Some one has remarked there
was a time when readers of our news
papers here might have imagined rev.
olutions and volcanic disturbances
were the chief product of Latin Amer
ica On the other hand, the readers
! of Latin American papers got little
idea of our national life from the
accounts of train wrecks, lynchlngs'
and divorces, which, it was said, con-
stituted the principal news printed
| there about our country.
That day has passed. Since, 1915,
due to our increased cable facilities
and the reduction of cable tolls, as
we'll as the keen desire for more in
formation, the amount of news eX-
changed between the Americans has
been increased greatly, and its char
acter is more constructive. VEN
ture the prediction that as result Of
n hp Tinted
States in the future will present more
complete and more accurate pictures
of the cultural and industrial pro-
| gress of Latin America, and that the
press of those republics will give to
| their readers a better understanding