Evening star., 1932-12-04
BY GASTON NERvAL.

"IVE South American republics
- will commemorate, in a few
| days, the l02d anniversary Of
/ the passing OF Simon Bolivar.
the man who gave them inde-
pendence and a sovereign status.
AS time goes on, the name of Bolivar.
THE George Washington of South
America" grows in magnitude. AS
that famous PotoSi priest predicted. it
grows through the years, as does the
shadow when the sun declines"
No exception to the rule, Bolivar
passed away, like all great men, in
tragic solitude, bitterly attacked by his
enemies and almost forgotten by his
friends. 1t was only when the politi-
cal passions Of his day had passed
away, and serenity and peace restored,
that Bolivar appeared in all his great
ness, as II emerging triumphantly from
the shadows in which human passion
had attempted to keep him shrouded.
Union Was Sole Wish.
Today, 102 years after the inspired
Liberator, downcast from watching the
selfish rivalries Of his contemporaries,
uttered his last words-''If my death
is going to bring about the union of
my countrymen, I will happily descend
to my grave"-a whole continent
praises his name, and pays solemn
tribute to his memory.
The merits and the virtues of Simon
Bolivar creator of nations, have been
glorified by the most gifted writers and
poets Of three generations. None ever
surpassed the eloquence of Jose Enrique
hri1 NJ
when he said of Bolivar: Great in
thought, great in action, great in glory,
great in misfortune, great enough to
ennoble the base residue which remains
in the soul Of even the great, and great
in suffering, in abandonment and
death, the tragic expiation of greats
ness"
Bolivar has been hailed as a military
genius, as political organizer of ex-
traordinary vision, as a statesman. as
the apostle and the man of action
working for a great ideal. But the
liberator of five South American re-
publics is seldom known or mentioned
here as the real pioneer of that great
political tendency. the pan-American
movement. in which all the nations of
the Western Hemisphere are interested
today.
Greatest as Visionary.
Yet, it is with this aspect Of his null
tiform personality. as I have stressed
before in these same columns, that
readers In this country should particu-
larly be acquainted. Bolivar, the
visionary statesman, Is even greater
than Bolivar the leader of soldiers and
emancipator of nations. Bolivar, the
father of pan n-Americanism, becomes a
continental figure and deserves as
much the admiration Of Saxon -Ameri-
cans as he does the gratitude and i'm
mortal homage Of the Spanish -Ameri-
cans he liberated.
Henry Clay, Secretary of State
Blaine. even President Monroe, are
often mentioned here as the pioneers
of the pan-American spirit. But long
before these distinguished statesmen OF
the North had achieved public promi-
nence and used it to promote interna-
tional cooperation in the New World.
Simon Bolivar had divulged his dreams
of united American continent.
Let us repeat here some historical
evidence which points to this fact. The
first international assembly ever to
give thought to the ideal of a united
Western Hemisphere, was the Congress
of Panama, convoked by Bolivar in
1926. At that time the South Ameri-
can countries had just completed their
liberation from Spain, made possible by
Bolivar's victories, and were attempt
ing to take their first steps as inde-
pendent states in the community Of
nations.
Planned United America.
Even before that congress. the milli-
tary genius and thinker who promoted
it had given the New World the mo-
mentous idea of a united America in
his personal letters, proclamations, po-
litical instructions and speeches.
He spoke of establishing an
American Compact" hoping that
America Creferring to all the Ameri-
can republics) so united, may, If
Heaven so grant, be called the Queen
Of Nations. the Mother Of Republics"
In a note to his Secretary of Foreign
Affairs. he wrote: Nothing is of such
interest at this time as the formation
of truly American league; but this
Confederation should nQ% be formed
simply on the principles Of an ordi-
nary alliance for offense and defense:
it should be a much closer union than
that recently formed in Europe (the
Holy Alliance) against the liberties of
the people. 1t is necessary that our
league be a Society of Sister Nations,
at present separated in the exercise of
their sovereignty, by reason of the
course Of human events, but which
must be strongly and powerfully united
in order to defend themselves against
the aggressions of foreign powers"
Urged Unity Treaties.
To prepare the way for his final
project of a continental league of the
American states, Bolivar invited the
Latin-American republics, as early as
1922, to draw up treaties Of union,
association and perpetual confedera-
ton"
Such treaties we're concluded by Co
Mmbia with Chile, 1922; with Peru,
the same year: with Buenos Aires and
Mexico, 1928. and with Central America,
1925. In these treaties, it was stipu-
lated that the parties bound themselves
to use their good Offices with the gov
ernments of the other States of what
was formerly Spanish America to enter
into a pact of union, association and
confederation.
1t was provided, moreover, that as
soon as this great and important OBJ
ject had been attained there would be
a general assembly of all the American
States, composed of their plenipoten-