(9cl : 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Congress: 



It is an especial gratification to me to address you to-day, 

 not only as the officer of the United States who invited you 

 to attend this great Scientific Congress of the American 

 Republics, but also as the presiding member of the Governing 

 Board of the Pan-American Union. In this dual capacity I 

 have the honor and the pleasure to welcome you, gentlemen, 

 to the capital of this country, in the full confidence that your 

 deliberations will be of mutual benefit in your various spheres 

 of thought and research, and not only in your individual 

 spheres but in the all-embracing sphere of Pan-American 

 unity and fraternitj'^ which is so near to the hearts of us all. 



It is the Pan-American spirit and the policy of Pan- 

 Americanism to which I would for a few moments direct 

 your attention at this early meeting of the Congress, since 

 it is my earnest hope that "Pan-America" will be the keynote 

 which will influence your relations with one another and 

 inspire your thoughts and words. 



Nearly a century has passed since President Monroe pro- 

 claimed to the world his famous doctrine as the national 

 policy of the United States. It was founded on the principle 

 that the safety of this Republic would be imperiled by the 

 extension of sovereign rights by a European power over 

 territorj'^ in this hemisphere. Conceived in a suspicion of 

 monarchial institutions and in a full sympathy with the 

 republican idea, it was uttered at a time when our neighbors 

 to the south had won their independence and were gradually 

 adapting themselves to the exercise of their newly acquired 

 rights. To those struggling nations the doctrine became a 

 shield against the great European powers, which in the spirit 

 of the age coveted political control over the rich regions which 



the new-born States had made their own. 



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