REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 93 
and at night a dinner was given in the hall of the university, at which there was 
a generous expression of good feeling and a striking display of oratory. 
great assembly is the more significant because of its spontaneous character. 
For this demonstration of confidence, good will, and fraternal solidarity I want 
to thank you, not only in the name of the delegation of the United States of 
America, but also on behalf of that larger body of scientists and investigators 
who are imbued with the same spirit that has actuated this congress, and who 
now look forward to the privilege of welcoming to our shores the men upon 
whose efforts the progress of this continent depends. We can not hope to surpass 
the hospitality of this great republic, but we can assure you that the welcome 
will be no less sincere, and the determination to place every possible facility at 
your disposal, no less effective than has been the case here in Chile. 
Viewed in its proper perspective, this congress has been one of the most 
extraordinary assemblages of modern times; more extraordinary in many re- 
spects than either The Hague or the Pan-American conferences. That a large 
group of men, representatives of every section of a great continent, should be 
able to get together and, casting aside all petty prejudices, freely and frankly 
exchange the results of their careful investigations and ripe experience, is not 
only a tribute to the culture of this continent, but is also an indication of the 
extent to which our ideas have advanced beyond those which we inherited from 
our European mother countries. 
The fact that we have met to place the results of the best scientific thought 
at the disposal of all the countries here represented, and through them at the 
service of the civilized world, contains a lesson of deep and lasting import 
which no other assembly of modern times has been able so clearly to impress 
upon the civilized world. 
The historian of the intellectual development of the American continent, in 
reviewing the work of these assemblies, will probably give to the Santiago 
congress the honor of having clearly demonstrated that the republics of the 
American continent, because of their geographical position; because of the 
peculiar conditions under which they were settled; and because of the special 
racial problems which they present, are confronted by a series of problems 
distinctively American. The mere fact of the existence of these problems in- 
volves an obligation not only to ourselves, but to the civilized world to concen- 
trate our efforts upon their solution. Through their solution we can make that 
contribution to the progress of mankind which the world has the right to 
expect of us. 
We can best hope to do this by carrying to our respective countries the 
spirit that has hovered over this congress—that of service in its broadest and 
highest sense. This spirit of Service must be made the keynote of our national 
and of our international relations. The republics of the American continent 
must demonstrate to the civilized world that the willingness and determination 
to be of service to our fellow-men is the corner stone of a philosophy which the 
nations of this continent are determined to make the guiding principle of their 
conduct. 
I can see a time, not far distant, when with each conquest of science the 
question will immediately arise in the mind of every American, “ How can 
these results be made of service to the democracies of this continent? ”’—a time 
when in every field of endeavor the American republics may call upon one 
another for counsel in the solution of their problems, and be certain to receive 
the best expert advice. Then, and not till then, shall we have developed a real 
continental spirit; then, and not till then, shall we have fulfilled the obligations 
