IT A TRIBUTE TO WASHINGTON1 By RICARDO J. ALFARO President of the Republic of Panama IS with a feeling of genuine satisfaction that I take part in this celebration in honor of the great hero whose memory is revered not only by the people of the United States but by lovers of democracy all over the world. In the 200 years which have elapsed since the birth of George Washington the world has witnessed great transformations. When Washington was born on the shores of the Potomac there was little difference between the simple, patriarchal, homogeneous life then known to humanity and that which it had lived for centuries upon centuries. There was no steam, no electricity, no machinery, no great industrial development, and only a limited commerce, restricted on the one hand by national monopolies and on the other by the ravages of pirates and privateers. Transportation was limited to that which could be afforded by beasts of burden on land, by vessels at the mercy of winds at sea. Communication between individuals or between nations could not help being as difficult and slow as transportation. In political life the doctrine of the divine right of kings was unquestioningly accepted everywhere; emperors, kings, and princes exercised a generally absolute power over all lands within reach of their military forces. Africa and Asia, unknown in their greater part, remained extraneous to western civilization. Europe was dominated by ageold dynasties which decided the destinies of nations either by war or by family covenants. America was the property of four European crowns. The English governed the Atlantic colonies, the French Canada, the Portuguese Brazil, and the Spaniards the vast empire which extended from Florida and California to the Straits of Magellan. Humanity was apparently sunk in a lethargy which gave no reason to believe that great changes were near. Yet in the second half of that tranquil century in which Washington was born, events took place indicating that the human spirit was ripe for the advent of a new era of progress and freedom. The political ideas which had germinated in the brains of a few French thinkers found concrete expression in the Western Hemisphere when the English colonies revolted against 1 An address delivered by President Alfaro at a meeting of the American Society held on February 22, 1932, in the Instituto Nacional, Panama. This version is based on the reports published in both English and Spanish in "The Star and Herald," Panama, February 23 and 24. the Crown. The dream of the Encyclopedists became a reality when the American Republic emerged from the Revolution as a promise of freedom for oppressed peoples, of democracy for the whole world. And since the establishment of that great Commonwealth whose guiding spirit in war and peace was Washington, what great changes have taken place in history! We have seen the spirit of liberty return from America to France and start the enormous conflagration in which the horrors of feudalism and the institutions of the Ancien Régime disappeared forever. From that orgy of blood rose a man who gathered in his powerful hand the forces unchained by the Revolution, loosed them upon an astonished Europe, and erected an empire upon the ruins of the fallen monarchy and the foundations of the First Republic. The new Cæsar humiliated old dynasties, wiped out frontiers, and created new kingdoms, which he distributed among his family; thus a Bonaparte came to sit upon the Spanish throne. This usurpation in turn crystallized political convictions in the Spanish colonies which, after a long and bloody struggle, finally won their independence and established republics whose model was the great and prosperous Union of the North. Bitter and tenacious was the struggle between the old régimes and the new spirit of nationalism, democracy, and freedom. Through a number of wars and revolutions we see absolutism rise and fall, in one country and another. The Napoleonic Empire crumbled and France changed her form of government four times. Something similar occurred in Spain; and in Latin America monarchical government was abolished forever in Mexico and in Brazil. Where formerly mere geographical expressions had existed, as in the case of Italy and Germany, new, strong, and unified nations came to the front. England became Mistress of the Seas and Russia was recognized as the stronghold of serfdom and the impregnable bulwark of autocracy. New nations broke away from the old Ottoman Empire while historic nations remained absorbed by the apparently indestructible might of the Austrian colossus. Mighty powers weakened while other nations, whose beginnings had been modest, increased in wealth and power to an astonishing degree. And these changes, which took place during the course of the nineteenth century, have been succeeded by new, more radical, and more profound transformations in our twentieth century, when the World War disrupted the economic and social structure of nearly all nations and remade the map of Europe. In this changing panorama of the political world we can observe the decadence and growth of nations and of peoples, we can follow the rise and fall of their wealth and power. But the curve that never drops is the one marking the ascent of those principles which George Washington espoused and for which he fought. As time has elapsed, the number of republics has constantly increased and, notwithstanding the many shortcomings of the democratic system, no better substitute nor even one as good, has yet been found. The historical figure of George Washington is characterized by a moral balance and by a serenity of mind which constitute the greatest gifts of a truly republican ruler. Great as were his virtues as a military leader, as an able statesman, as an indefatigable organizer, and as a valiant fighter, the most admirable feature of his career is that judicious way in which he kept his country and his countrymen from feeling the weight of his superior qualities and advantages, by means of which it would have been easy for him to wield power as long as he desired. For that reason I venture to say that, from the Latin American point of view, the greatest glory of George Washington consists in having governed with success the first republican nation established in modern times and in having set examples and standards that will last as long as justice and righteousness, honesty and wisdom, unselfishness and patriotism preside over the destinies of free and civilized nations. From an old lithograph published in aid of the Ladies Mount Vernon Association which took possession of the estate in 1860 with the idea of preserving it as a national shrine. Within the tomb, which was built in accordance with Washington's wishes, are the sarcophagi containing his remains and those of his wife. The stone shafts in front of the tomb mark the graves of Nellie Custis Lewis and her daughter. FAREWELL LUNCHEON TO THE RETIRING AMBASSADOR OF CUBA, DR. ORESTES FERRARA, MAY 20, 1932 Seated around the table, beginning at the left are: Dr. Luis Manuel Debayle, Chargé d'Affaires of Nicaragua; Dr. Horacio F. Alfaro, Minister of Panama; Señor THE ESSENTIALS OF PAN AMERICANISM O AN ADDRESS BY DR. ORESTES FERRARA N May 20, 1932, His Excellency Dr. Orestes Ferrara, retiring Ambassador of Cuba in the United States, now Secretary of State of his own country, was the guest of honor at a farewell luncheon offered him by the Governing Board of the Pan American Union. During his stay in Washington Doctor Ferrara played a distinguished rôle not only in his diplomatic post, but also as an official delegate to various Pan American conferences and congresses, and especially as Vice Chairman of the Governing Board. The eloquent address which Doctor Ferrara made on severing his connection with the Pan American Union, a "school of international ethics," to quote his own words, is his credo of Pan Americanism. Friendship, mutual respect of nations on a basis of equality, the acceptance of the principles of international law, especially as they lead to the pacific settlement of inter-American disputes, are, he believes, ideals which guide the Republics of this hemisphere in their relations with each other. These views were expressed in response to the remarks of the Hon. Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State of the United States and Chairman of the Governing Board, who said: We have come together to-day to do honor to our distinguished colleague, the Ambassador of Cuba, who is about to leave us to assume the heavy responsibilities of Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Machado. Our gratification at the high honor which has come to him is tinged with a deep feeling of regret that we are to be deprived of his counsel and companionship in the work of the Governing Board of the Pan American Union. As a member of the Board and as its vice chairman, he has never wavered in his enthusiasm and devotion to the purposes for which the Union was founded. During his stay in Washington, he has won the confidence and affection of all those who have been privileged to come into close contact with him. I feel certain that I am giving expression to what is in your mind when I tender to him our sincere thanks for the important service which he has rendered to the Pan American Union during his stay in Washington. To-day marks the thirtieth anniversary of the installation of the first independent government of Cuba and it is a happy circumstance that we have assembled on this day to honor Doctor Ferrara. We extend to our colleague, who will soon be the Secretary of State of his country, our most cordial felicitations, combined with the warmest wishes for a full measure of success in the fulfillment of the important duties entrusted to him by the President of Cuba. Doctor Ferrara then paid his impressive tribute to Pan Americanism in the following words: Permit me to express my thanks for this compliment to me by my colleagues of the Governing Board, and to say that I am profoundly affected by the cordial words of our chairman, the Secretary of State of the United States. I do not |