Evening star., 1933-04-09
BY GASTON NERvAL.

TIME celebration of "Pan-American
day" next Friday. seems most
appropriate occasion to dwell
i upon certain fundamental prin-
ciples on which the PAN Amer
lean ideal Is founded
Of course, to those who still think
of pan-Americanism In terms OF the
Monroe Doctrine and Of the big stick"
role advocated by Theodore Roosevelt,
the pondering Of such principles will be
a waste of time. But to those more en-
lightened students Of international af-
fairs who are beginning to look at these
things from angles other than those Of
sheer physical force or of immediate
profit, in dollars and cents those fund
amental principles reveal themselves
more clearly every day.
Let us begin, however. by stating at
the start that pan-Americanism as
practiced today is quite far away from
the goal set by those who gave it to
the world. Pan-Americanism today is
merely a state of mind, a school of
thought based on geographic propin-
uuity, economic interests and the SINH
larity of governmental institutions
among the nations Of the Western
Hemisphere. But it confines itself.
merely, to the casual furtherance of
social, economic and. very rarely, cul-
tural links between the two Americas.
It can scarcely, then, be called any more
than movement, tendency.
Ideal of the Pioneers.
The ideal of the pioneers of pam
Americanism, on the other hand, went
much further than that. They dreamed
of a political system in which all the
states of the New World would be
closely bound to each other. A sys-
tenn in which they would all be polit-
ically united, without losing their in
dividuality or their internal sovereignty.
and In which all would enjoy equal
rights, share the same responsibilities
and comply with similar obligations.
This, at least, was the -Americanism
of Simon Bolivar, and since Bolivar no
one has spoken so forcefully or 50
plainly This is the only kind OF pam
Americanism compatible with the ideals
of equality and respect for others,
voiced by Elihu Root, which have been
so often forgotten in the past. This
should still be considered the goal of
all true, practical, worthwhile pam
Americanism.
True enough, the present pan-Amer-
ican tendency may be the path which
will eventually lead us to such goal.
Let us hope it will. But it is only fai1'
to admit that in nearly half century
it coud have brought us much nearer to
it than we are at present. As a mat
ter of fact, whenever this current pam
American tendency has taken on poht-
ical appearance, whenever it has ven-
tured on political ground, it seems to
have taken us farther away from that
goal.
Refers to Blaine Movement.
When I say "the present pan-Ameri-
can tendency" / am, of course, referring
to the movement started by Blaine
the pam -Americanism of the pan-Amer-
ican conferences, of non-conmlttal,
diplomatic flirting, of flowery speeches
and forgotten recommendations"
which is still the -Americanism OF
1888. And by "the incursions Of this
tendency on political ground" I mean
the abuses committed under the Mon
roe Doctrine, the North American
fiat" of Cleveland. the big stick" OF
Theodore Roosevelt, the big brother
attitude of Taft, Wilson and Coolidge.
It can hardly be denied that these
things have hurt the political prestige
of pan-Americanism. But it was So
only because they were improperly COW
Really the only thing they can prove
is that the fault was in letting one
country alone interpret by itself the
political scope of an-Americanism and
the rights and duties which this would
Justify. Under a general and perma-
nent organization, under pan-Amer-
ican system of equal obligations ar,u
equal rights, no such misunderstand-
ings, and no such misuse of power as
the former gave rise to, would have
been possible.
Indeed, the very errors committed in
the name of an-Americanism should
be the strongest arguments to empha-
size the need for a more substantial,
more concrete, a truly political pan
American scheme. At this time, when
South American peace is being dis
turbed by two undeclared international
Coincidence Of Good Friday.
Pan-American day happens to fall
this year on Good Friday, the day set
aside by Christendom to mourn the
crucifixion of the Lord. It Is a sad
coincidence, to say the least.
Now, what-besides this absence of
fixed and common aims and this lack
of political organization-has been,
mainly, in the way of better under
standing between the two Americas?
The answer is contained in one single
word, suspicion.
When Simon Bolivar, the George
Washington of the Southern Hemisphere.
laid down his plans of continental
union, in 1926, no one in Latin Amer
TT Q M" II