of Secretary Root's mission to dispel this unfounded
impression, and there is just cause to believe that he has succeeded. In
an address to the Third Conference at Rio on the thirty-first of
July--an address of such note that I send it in, together with this
message--he said:

We wish for no victories but those of peace; for no
territory except our own; for no sovereignty except the
sovereignty over ourselves. We deem the independence and
equal rights of the smallest and weakest member of the
family of nations entitled to as much respect as those of
the greatest empire, and we deem the observance of that
respect the chief guaranty of the weak against the
oppression of the strong. We neither claim nor desire any
rights or privileges or powers that we do not freely concede
to every American republic.

These words appear to have been received with acclaim in every part of
South America. They have my hearty approval, as I am sure they will have
yours, and I cannot be wrong in the conviction that they correctly
represent the sentiments of the whole American people. I cannot better
characterize the true attitude of the United States in its assertion of
the Monroe Doctrine than in the words of the distinguished former
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Doctor Drago, in his speech
welcoming Mr. Root at Buenos Ayres. He spoke of--

the traditional policy of the United States, which, without
accentuating superiority or seeking preponderance, condemned
the oppression of the nations of this part of the world and
the control of their destinies by the Great Powers of
Europe.

It is gratifying to know that in the great city of Buenos
Ayres, upon the arches which spanned the streets, entwined
with Argentine and American flags for the reception of our
representative, there were emblazoned not only the names of
Washington and Jefferson and Marshall, but also, in
appreciative recognition of their services to the cause of
South American independence, the names of James Monroe, John
Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Richard Rush. We take especial
pleasure in the graceful courtesy of the Government of
Brazil, which has given to the beautiful and stately
building first used for the meeting of the conference the
name of "Palacio Monroe." Our grateful acknowledgments are