EIGHTH 



INTERNATIONAL 

 CONGRESS 



GEOGRAPHIC 



THE Eighth International Geo- 

 graphic Congress was formally 

 opened by Commander R. E. 

 Peary, President of the Congress, Thurs- 

 day morning, September 8, in the large 

 hall of George Washington University. 

 Hon. Charles D. Walcott, as the personal 

 representative of President Roosevelt, 

 welcomed the Congress to the United 

 States. 



Mr Walcott, in his brief remarks, em- 

 phasized the fact that the practical side 

 of geographical science had been spe- 

 cially followed in this country : 



"We have, with our Canadian and 

 Mexican neighbors, a large country, 

 containing a great variety of geographic 

 features, and in the work of making it 

 a fit place of abode for the American 

 people geographic factors have had much 

 influence. Hence the study of our own 

 geography has had a practical bearing, 

 as well as a theoretical interest to us, and 

 it has received much attention. 



' ' Recent events, moreover, have in- 

 tensified the interest of the American 

 people in geography and expanded the 

 field of their stud}- to the limits of the 

 earth. The United States has recently 

 been placed in a position involving wide- 

 spread duties and responsibilities. While 

 other countries have for generations 

 borne the burden of policing the remoter 

 parts of the earth, this country has until 

 recently taken little part in those labors. 



' ' The expansion of the country has 

 increased the geographic knowledge of 

 the mass of the people, for the country's 

 welfare holds the attention of every cit- 

 izen. Our interests in the Philippines 

 have quickened our thought concerning 

 the problems of all the East. While all 

 aspects of geography have had a great 

 revival among us, we are, perhaps, espe- 

 cially and most directly concerned with 

 the commercial aspects of the science." 



Dr G. K. Gilbert, Acting President of 

 the National Geographic Society, wel- 

 comed the Congress on behalf of the 

 Society. 



' ' Your visit to our land finds us in the 

 midst of a period of exceptional growth 

 of geographic interest. As you have 

 just been told in the message brought by 

 Dr Walcott from the President of the 

 United States, our geographic outlook 

 as a nation has been revolutionized by 

 the recent acquisition of a number of in- 

 sular dependencies. While our people 

 as individuals are divided in opinion as 

 to the advantage of that acquisition, we 

 are of one mind in accepting the respon- 

 sibility involved and in recognizing the 

 need of a colonial policy and a colonial 

 system. With that acceptance and that 

 recognition comes a new need for broad 

 geographic knowledge, and the nation 

 is eager, as never before, for information 

 on a wide range of geographic subjects 

 and an important array of geographic 

 problems. 



' ' In the field of physical geography 

 we have long been active, and we have 

 felt that we were measurably in touch 

 with the geographic scholars of other 

 lands, but in the geography of countries, 

 in the geography of industries, and in the 

 geographic problems of administration 

 we are the merest tyros. And now that 

 you, the geographers of the Old World, 

 have come to our shores, we are eager 

 to listen to all that you have to tell us. 



"The National Geographic Society, 

 having its home at the seat of govern- 

 ment, and including in its membership 

 the official geographers of the nation, is 

 peculiarly appreciative of the opportuni- 

 ties afforded by this occasion, is pecu- 

 liarly grateful that you have consented 

 to favor us by your presence. On behalf 

 of that society I offer you a hearty wel- 

 come to our land and to our city." 



