artment of State at Washington as an expression of
the great pleasure with which the Pan American Conference
has received its honorary president, the Honorable Elihu
Root."]

The delegation from Peru desires that there may remain a mark of this
solemn session, in which all America has saluted as a link of union the
eminent statesman who has honored us with his presence, and, in his
person, the great American who, for the elevation of his ideas and for
the nobleness of his sentiments, is the worthy chief magistrate of the
powerful republic which serves as an example, as a stimulus, and a
center of gravitation for the political and social systems of America.

Honorable Minister, your country sheds its light over all the countries
of the continent, which in their turn, advancing at different rates of
velocity, but in the same direction, along the line of progress, form in
the landscape of American history a beautiful perspective of the future,
reaching to a horizon where the real and the ideal are mingled, and on
whose blue field the great nationality that fills all the present stands
out in bold relief.

These congresses, gentlemen, are the symbol of that solidarity which,
notwithstanding the ephemeral passions of men, constitutes, by the
invincible force of circumstances, the essence of our continental
system. They were conceived by the organizing genius of the statesmen of
Washington, in order that the American sentiment of patriotism might be
therein exalted, freeing it from that national egotism which may be
justified in the difficult moments of the formation of states, but which
would be today an impediment to the development of the American idea,
destined to demonstrate that just as the democratic principle has been
to combine liberty and order in the constitution of states, it will
likewise combine the self-government of the nations and fraternity in
the relations of the peoples.

Honorable Minister, your visit has given impulse to this undertaking.
The ideas you have presented have not only defined the interests, but
have also stirred in the soul of America all her memories, all her
dreams, and all her ideals.

It is as if the centuries had awakened in their tombs to hail the dawn
of a hope that fills them with new vigor and light.

It is the wish of Peru that this hope may never be extinguished in the
heart of America, and that the illustrious delegates who will sign these
minutes may rem