"There are certain general principles, like democracy and arbitration, which are scarcely disputed in America. The idea of arbitration as a judicial means of deciding international differences owes its origin to Bolivar, the Liberator of the New World. We South Americans also have our Walt Whitman. Social sciences throughout the whole continent have made greater progress than metaphysics and theology. Rivals of Giddings and Lester Ward teach in South American universities, and over against the work of Wheaton we can set the work of Calvo. Pragmatism, the philosophy of North America, is also the philosophy of Spanish South America, and, in the books of Alberdi, a sociologist of Argentina, we find thoughts to which William James and his disciples subscribed half a century later. We are forced, then, to believe in the definite relationship between the physical order and the moral order. The New World has a geography and a policy which give it genuine originality as compared with Europe." LATIN AMERICA'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF RACIAL RELATIONS The greatest of world problems are those related to the living together of different races. In respect to acceptance of the doctrine that God made of one blood all the nations of the earth, we may find that the Latin Americans are superior to the North Americans. They did not destroy the Aborigines when they came to this new land as did the North Americans. They intermarried with the Indians and today there is no prejudice against them. Indeed, the average man is much prouder of his Indian blood than of his Spanish ancestry. In spite of the introduction of African slaves and a resultant large negro population in countries like Brazil, there is practically no color line or race problem in any of these countries. There is no such aversion to the Chinese, the Japanese and the East Indians as is shown by the North Americans, Australians and Dutch. The distinction between the races is in Spanish America a distinction of rank or class rather than of color. Against intermarriage there is, therefore, no more feeling than that which exists against any union palpably below a man's or woman's own rank in life. If it is rare for a pure white to espouse a pure Indian, that is because they are of different ranks, just as it is rare for a well-born Englishman to marry a peasant girl. LATIN AMERICAN LOVE OF THE ARTISTIC While our southern neighbors have not produced any very great artists, yet they have men who stand high in the world of music, painting and sculpture. But here again, if we take the average man, we find that he is a much better judge of the artistic in music and in other arts than is the average North American. The "popular" airs that the band in the plaza plays are not the fleeting ragtime, but are well-known selections from the operas. The military bands which, in Mexico, for example, are found giving popular concerts in two or three different plazas every night, are made up of the lowest classes. Music is natural to them and some of these men who have never worn a pair of shoes would be capable of accompanying Tetrazzini or Galli-Curci in the "mad scene" from Lucia. The love of the beautiful is remarkably illustrated in the Latin American cities, which are among the most beautiful in the world. The most important official is not ordinarily the mayor, but the man who is responsible for the beautifying of the city. A few years ago this official in Buenos Aires came to believe that it was necessary for the national capitol and the President's residence to be united by a broad avenue. It made no difference that the cutting of this avenue would mean the destruction of buildings in the most crowded business section of the city and the expenditure of millions. The municipality gladly voted the necessary funds, condemned property and built the beautiful Avenida de Mayo, which is now recognized as one of the most beautiful in the world. The heights of the buildings are carefully regulated. The modern demands for the skyscraper have been recently worked out by having the higher part of the building set back in the center part of the street. It is interesting to note that New York has followed the example of Buenos Aires in some of her newest tall buildings. It is hoped that we will follow her example in other things. It is impossible to imagine Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro allowing unsightly gas tanks or New York Central railroad tracks to be built right along a beautiful waterfront such as the Riverside Drive. There is probably no waterfront more full of natural beauty than the one in Rio de Janeiro. One feels that it is fortunate that nature has done this for a Latin city rather than one of our own, for we might not have co-operated with her as has Rio de Janeiro, resulting in the most beautiful ocean drive in the world. This love of the artistic is found just as strongly among the most humble classes. The Mexican peon may have no more clothes and furniture than he can put in a couple of blankets, but the difficulty of his moving from one house to another is augmented by the fact that he absolutely refuses to leave the plants and flowers that are always a part of his existence. I know of nothing more pathetic or beautiful than to see a peon trudging along the road with all of his belongings on his back, with his wife and children accompanying him, loaded quite as heavily with their precious little pot plants. KINDNESS Perhaps the greatest of all characteristics of the Latin American is his kindness, and open-heartedness. It is the thing above all others that makes the foreigner so love to live in those southern lands. Charity is not simply a duty, it is a matter of course. If a poor relative dies and leaves helpless children, they will be taken into the family, it makes no difference how little room there may be or how empty the larder may be. If one is without a job, or in hard luck, his more fortunate relatives will always lend a helping hand. There are never too many in any household to keep another out, if he is needy. One of the outstanding experiences of a lifetime was that of driving in a single buggy for four hundred miles through desert country in Mexico, accompanied by my wife and a year-old baby. We knew nothing of the way. We were dependent on the country people for lodging, for food for ourselves and forage for our horse, for milk for the baby. If we had been a royal family, instead of humble absolute strangers and foreigners besides, we could have received no greater kindnesses. Sometimes we had to drive for hours before coming to a country hut. If we stopped to inquire the way, the reply would be that we must come in first for a cup of chocolate. Then they would tell us, and if the road was difficult, often someone would go with us long distances to make sure that we took the right turn. SUMMARY With all these fine qualities in the people and with all the riches of the soil, one risks little in prophesying that Latin America is to occupy a most important place in future world life. Here then are all the conditions maturing for great movements and consequences. Crowded populations made aware of productive, unoccupied lands tend to migrate. The progressive stabilization of government calls forth capital formerly reluctant. Railroads throw open regions hitherto inaccessible and idle. The advance of scientific sanitation renders the old cities and new territories safely habitable. But more important than all of these material riches is the wealth found within the people themselves. As Clemenceau, after his visit to Latin America, said: "A country, whatever may be its form of government, is strong only through its men, that is through the sum total of its disinterested energies. Now a people capable of producing men of intelligence and character of those I frequently met during my trip can confidently face the problems of the future." Notwithstanding the inherited passion for politics, more of the youth of Latin America than formerly are preparing themselves in engineering, scientific agriculture and commerce, and other productive vocations. In nearly every one of these nations a group of leaders and a constituency are either in power, or are emerging, looking forward, committed to universal education, political stability, social justice and international good will. These brought to bear in fullness upon the limitless natural resources of the countries and their patrimony will realize the belief of most observers that Latin America's Golden Age is ahead and imminent. An illustration of what we may expect Latin America to contribute to the world, once the average level is lifted, is shown in the following production of the Cuban, José M. de Heredia. Exiled by the Spaniards in 1823, he came to Boston at the age of 23, and eked out a few years of miserable existence in this country by teaching Spanish. He almost starved at times. But he managed to see Niagara Falls. As a result, we have his immortal description of that great natural wonder. Tremendous torrent! for an instant hush At the near bursting of the thunderbolt, I have been touched with joy; and when the sea Its dangers and the wrath of elements. But never yet the madness of the sea Hath moved me as thy grandeur moves me now. Thou flowest on in quiet, till thy waves Grow broken 'midst the rocks; thy current then Of Destiny. Ah, terribly they rage, The hoarse and rapid whirlpools there. My brain They reach, they leap the barrier-the abyss A thousand rainbows arch them, and the woods |