n him and to make his
sojourn in the Argentine Republic agreeable; but it has appeared to me,
Mr. President, that the Chamber of Deputies should itself spontaneously
take an initiative in this manifestation, in view of the personality of
the man and the country he represents.

The United States are for us, as is well known, the cradle of our
democratic institutions; we are bound to them by those ties of
friendship and of interest that are known to all and which it would be
superfluous to enumerate; but apart from this, there exists between that
country and ours historic bonds that secure our profound sympathies.

It is beneficial from time to time to ascend the currents of history in
order to gather the lessons of the past which may serve us as a guide in
our constant march into the future. When we study in its annals the
action of the Government of the United States in the epoch of Argentine
independence, we encounter demonstrations of a solicitude, of an
affection, of a solidarity, of a participation in the struggles of
those heroic times, so marked that the Argentine spirit necessarily
feels itself impressed with the sentiment of intense gratitude and the
necessity of repaying in some way those manifestations now somewhat
forgotten.

It is of importance, Mr. President, that our people should know well the
other peoples with whom they exchange products, manufactures, and ideas,
especially when, in respect to the latter, those that they receive
surpass in quantity those they give. And if there is any country that
the Argentine people need to know well, any people, in its history, in
its methods, in its sentiments, and in its intentions, it is the United
States of America, the elder sister, the forerunner, and the model.

In the epoch of our independence, Mr. President, the public life of the
United States was constantly interested in the vicissitudes of the
struggle that these peoples waged for their independence on both slopes
of the Andes and in the regions of Venezuela. If you read the messages
of the Presidents of the United States you find in them, year after
year, words that prove the interest of that country in the destiny of
these countries. At a date as early as 1811, a message of President
Madison contained phrases full of sympathy for the great communities
which were struggling for their liberty in this part of the world; and
the attention of Congress was called to the necessity of being prepared
to ente