Evening star., 1926-04-08
TEXT OF COOIDGES PRESS
DISCURSO DEL PRESIDENTE A La PRENSA PANAMERICANA

PRESIDENIE a
| States in 1900, when our population
was about 10000, 900 and our foreign
commerce less than $4,000. 100000.
Sees Great Development.
Historians refer to the nineteenth
| century as distinguished by the de.
velopment Of the United States. Elihu
Root, after his official visit. said. in
1906, II believe that no student can
help seeing that the twentieth cen
tury will be the century of phenom.
email development In South America. u
Theodore Roosevelt made a similar
| statement at the time of his trip to
Brazil in 1914. All that has happened
since has tended to prove the cor
rectness Of these prophecies.
Too few people in this country have
an adequate realization of the i'm.
mensity Of Latin America. Many do
not know that these 20 republics
cover an area of 100000 square
miles, approximately three times the
area of the United States; that Brazil
alone is larger than the United States
and that Argentina Is nearly two
thlt oS dS <1hus L lOhI tIC COil-
ception of our average citizen Is Woe
fully deficient as to the extent to
which these republics have developed
in industry. science and the arts. and
to which they enjoy all the improve.
ments Of modern civilization. often.
times improving 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
newspapers here might have imagined
revolutions and volcanic disturbances
were the chief product of Latin Amer
lea. On the other hand. the readers
Of Latin American papers got little
idea Of our national life from the
accounts of train wrecks. lynchings
and divorces, which, 1t was said. con-
stituted the principal news printed
there about our country.
More News Exchanged.
That day has passed. Since 1916.
due to our increased cable facilities
and the reduction of cable tolls, as
well as the keen desire for more In
formation. the amount of news
exchanged between the Americas
has been increased greatly. and
venture the prediction that as a result
of this congress the papers in the
United States in the future will pre-
sent more complete and more accurate
pictures of the cultural and industrial
progress Of Latin America, and that
the press of those republics will give
to their readers a better understand
ing Of the ideals and purposes of the
United States.
The awakening of the spirit Of in
dependence in Latin America Just as
the world was turning into the nine.
teenth century inspired q literature
that ranks high in quality. This lit.
erary inspiration continued to be fed
by the series of romantic events fol.
lowing independence / can mention
only a few of the many men OF liter
ary distinction whose works in time
may become as well known to us as
those of French, Italian. German and
English authors, as we extend the
study of Latin American tongues in
our schools. Among these are Do.
mingo Faustino Sarmiento Of Argen-
tina, Andres Bello of Venezuela. Ru.
ben Dario of Nicaragua, Jorge Isaacs
of Colombia. Ricardo Palma Of Peru,
Benjamin Vicuna Mackenna Of Chile,
Jose Enrique Rodo of Uruguay, Juan
de Dios Peza Of Mexico, Alavo Bilac
of Brazil, Jose Maria Heredia Of Cuba
and Jose Joaquin Olmedo of Ecuador.
You will recall many other brilliant
names.
One of our writer's, after calling at.
tention to the fact that Sarmiento was
a contemporary of Washington Irving,
James Fenimore Cooper, Bryant. Poe,
Longfellow, Emerson. Hawthorne.
7 Uyn~Inly Nlv oil
famous writer's Of the United States.
adds:
None exhibits Sarmiento's combi-
nation Of activity and reflection. ro.
manticism and practicality, briliiance
and warmth. With the exception of
Emerson, it Is doubtful II any Of these
paladins of our golden age of litera-
ture was his superior, and 1t was GER.
tain that none did more to uplift his
country and to raise the general level
of culture
Was Envoy to U. S.
Sarmiento should be well known in
this country. After serving here as
plenipotentiary Of Argentina
he became it's President He was q
great student of the institutions and
history Of the United States and wrote
DlOSrdpHy Oh ADTandIn Lincoln.
After conference with Horace Mann
he established a system Of education
in Argentina modelled after some of
those in this country.
In the field Of drama Latin America
has produced Juan Ruiz de Alarcon.
Scholarship, poetry, fiction, criticism
and political writing all have had
their exponents in the various Latin
American republics. Argentina. Bra
I'll. Chile. Mexico and Venezuela have
national academies of art and con-
servatorfes Of music. There are many
who consider the Palace Of Fine Arts
Of Santiago. Chile, as the finest Of its
kind on the Western Hemisphere.
The Mexican government through
all the years never has failed to en-
art. This encouragement has
been put in concrete form by the
establishment in recent years Of the
Coyoacan Art School. Music is more
popular in Latin America
probably than in the United States.
Most cities or towns of any size have
open-air concerts, and the great op.
cratic stars have been received with
proper acclaim and rewarded with.
large remuneratfons. State and mu.
foster the drama and erect
fine buildings in which to produce 1t.
Tbc CnljS of MonfnuiHnn <hA Ryo%to~oN