342 



INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN STATES. 



cussion, a project on arbitration had been pre- 

 sented which was in direct contradiction with it, 

 and was distasteful to her, for which reason the 

 Chilean delegation had to abstain absolutely from 

 taking part in the deliberations at that time. 

 Consequently, before accepting the invitation, 

 Chile insisted upon a clearly defined program, 

 which could not lend itself to the stirring up of 

 offensive questions, nor take up pending or past 

 questions in which any of the states were in- 

 terested. A tentative program being formed by 

 the Executive Committee of the International 

 Union and submitted to the countries, Chile re- 

 plied that she would assist with pleasure, pro- 

 vided that, in conformity with this program, the 

 proposed conference would not take upon itself 

 the adoption of resolutions of a retroactive char- 

 acter relating to actual or past questions concern- 

 ing any of the republics invited. This reply was 

 considered at an executive meeting, and resolu- 

 tions were adopted informing Chile that the 

 tentative program in reference to arbitration 

 " meant prospective, and in no wise retrospective, 

 for the differences that may arise among the 

 American republics at a date posterior to the 

 date of the exchange of the treaty of arbitration 

 that the conference may adopt." This reply was 

 satisfactory to Chile, and she at once accepted, 

 congratulating the committee on the elimination 

 from the tentative program of all vexatious ques- 

 tions. 



Mexico was lavish in her preparations for the 

 entertainment of her guests. One end of the old 

 palace of the viceroys, which flanks one side of 

 the Zocolo, or great plaza, was fitted up for the 

 assembly rooms of the conference in a most elabo- 

 rate and artistic style, with a buffet, where 

 lunches, wines, and liquors, and even cigars, were 

 served without charge, and tips to waiters were 

 prohibited. The arrival of the delegates at the 

 capital was followed by an almost continual round 

 of invitations to theaters, banquets, operas, and 

 excursions. The conference was called to order 

 by Sefior Mariscal, Mexico's Minister of Foreign 

 Relations, who delivered an address in which he 

 referred to the results of the first congress and 

 predicted success for the second. He spoke of 

 Mexico's confidence in the friendly character of 

 the gathering, and welcomed the delegates in the 

 name of his Government and the people of Mexico. 

 His speech was replied to by SeQor Alzamora, 

 chairman of the Peruvian delegation, reechoing 

 his sentiments, refuting energetically any discord, 

 and thanking the Government and people of Mexi- 

 co for their hospitable welcome. The conference 

 then elected a temporary chairman, and proceeded 

 to its permanent organization by the election of 

 SeQor Mariscal and Hon. John Hay as honorary 

 presidents; Sefior Genaro Raigosa, of Mexico, 

 president; SeQor Jose Higinio Duarte Pereira, of 

 Brazil, first vice-president; and SeQor Baltasar 

 Estupinian, of Salvador, second vice-president. 



In anticipation of the opening of the confer- 

 ence, the Mexican delegation had prepared a proj- 

 ect of rules and regulations governing the ses- 

 sions, which provided for the appointment of 19 

 committees to take up the work and report upon 

 the various projects before the conference. As 

 no provisions had been made for the admission of 

 press representatives to the sessions, this matter 

 was taken up after the appointment of the vari- 

 ous committees, and it appeared to be productive 

 of the first friction among the delegations. Mexi- 

 co explained that the omission of provision for 

 press representatives was owing to scarcity of 

 room, while Delegate Alzamora, of Peru, in a 

 speech favoring the admission of the press, in 



addition to giving out fairly full reports by the 

 secretary of the conference after each session, 

 said in part : " The public does not want merely 

 a precise and cold relation of the propositions 

 of the conference, but they wish to feel its pulsa- 

 tions moment by moment, which will give them 

 some idea of its moral features. The subjects 

 before the assembly are of public interest; they 

 affect popular governments, and they should be 

 made known through the press, which is the 

 authorized organ of public opinion. Consequently 

 the Peruvian delegation desires to have the press 

 representatives admitted to the sessions, although 

 the number may be limited." 



Chile appeared to oppose the admission of the 

 press, but later declared that she merely stood 

 by Mexico in basing her objections on the scarcity 

 of room, and she even went so far as to insinuate 

 that Peru, in favoring the admission of the press, 

 did so with the object in view of appearing as the 

 champion of the press representatives. SeQor 

 Baez, of Paraguay, championed the cause of the 

 press even more than Alzamora, saying that the 

 press is an institution that forms a part of the 

 political organism, in the same manner as the 

 jury and other free institutions which have been 

 adopted by the American republics, and he hoped 

 that the admission of the press representatives 

 would be a stimulus to the delegates, who more 

 than once would receive useful advice from that 

 very press. SeQor Matte, of Chile, then moved 

 that the press representatives be admitted in such 

 number and in accordance with such regulations 

 as the president should determine, which was pre- 

 cisely what SeQor Alzamora had expressed; 

 whereupon SeQor Alzamora rose and in a dramatic 

 manner declared that " principles were every- 

 thing, and persons nothing," that once they had 

 arrived at a certain conclusion, it made no dif- 

 ference whether it came from one delegation or 

 another. His original motion was lost, while the 

 motion of the Chilean delegate was carried, the 

 United States, Mexico, and Hayti being the only 

 votes cast in the negative. The delegations of 

 the Argentine Republic, Venezuela, Ecuador, and 

 Paraguay explained that they gave their votes in 

 the affirmative because they considered the Peru- 

 vian and Chilean propositions equal. 



After the election of officers, appointment of the 

 committees, and adoption of rules and regula- 

 tions, with a few minor recommendations, the 

 conference adjourned for two weeks to allow the 

 delegates and certain press representatives who 

 had been admitted to the sessions to accept the 

 invitations extended to them by the states of 

 Puebla and Vera Cruz, to visit them for the pur- 

 pose of forming an idea of their advance in 

 industrial pursuits, arts, and sciences during 

 Mexico's recent years of peace. A special train 

 was provided for the excursionists, and they were 

 wined and dined by the people of Puebla for several 

 days, and inspected cotton-mills, breweries, tobac- 

 co factories, and a penitentiary which would be 

 a credit to any country. From Puebla they were 

 taken across the high table-lands to the' point 

 where the railroad winds down the mountainside 

 back and forth, furnishing one of the most mag- 

 nificent views of scenery perhaps in the world. 

 into the state of Vera 'Cruz. At Orizaba, they 

 were banqueted and inspected more cotton-mills, 

 one at Rio Blanco representing an investment of 

 $18,000,000, and employing 3,200 persons in spin- 

 ning, weaving, dyeing, and printing cotton, and 

 turning it out in imitation of the finest French 

 fabrics, even to the labels of the imported article. 

 They were shown a jute-mill where the raw 

 material from India is manufactured into sack- 



