REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL,, 1 5 



pleased to authorize the Secretary of State to invite the Governments of 

 the American Republics to be represented thereat by delegates, and has 

 made suitable provision for the expenses of the congress and for the 

 entertainment of the delegates. 



By virtue of this authority, it has given me much pleasure to instruct 



the American minister at to extend to the Government of 



an oflicial invitation to be represented by delegates in the Second Pan 

 American Scientific Congress, to meet at Washington in October, 191 5, 

 and to express the pleasure with which the Government of the United 

 States would learn of the acceptance of the invitation and of the intention 



of the Government of to appoint delegates to represent it in the 



deliberations of the congress which it is confidently hoped will mark an 

 important step in the development of closer intellectual ties between the 

 United States and the Republics of Latin America. 



In furtherance of this purpose I have appointed the following-named 

 gentlemen as an executive committee charged with the duty of formu- 

 lating the program of the congress and the perfecting of arrangements 

 preparatory to the assembling of the congress : * 



I shall be extremely obliged if you will give the invitation your support. 

 Accept, sir, etc., 



W. J. Bryan. 



Prior to the appointment of the permanent executive committee, 

 the provisional committee had prepared and circulated in mimeograph 

 copy a tentative draft of the purposes of the congress and the prelimi- 

 nary program bases. This report of the provisional committee of 

 organization follows : 



DRAFT OF REPORT OF THE PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE 

 APPOINTED BY THE FIRST PAN AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC 

 CONGRESS, HELD DECEMBER, 1908. 



The Pan American Scientific Congress held in Santiago, Chile, in De- 

 cember, 1908, was preceded by a series of three Latin American scientific 

 congresses, the first being held in Buenos Aires in 1898, the second in 

 Montevideo in 1901, and the third in Rio Janeiro in 1905. 



It has become the established custom at these congresses to designate 

 not only the place of meeting of the next succeeding congress, but also 

 the personnel of the permanent organization committee. The delegation 

 of the United States to the Santiago congress succeeded in modifying this 

 tradition to the extent of having the congress limit itself to the appoint- 



' Names of members of executive committee given on p. 13. 

 48192—17 2 



