s. The publishing activities of a
constantly growing community should, likewise, be stimulated, their scope
should be continually widened, the quality of Baha'i publications in
Spanish, Portuguese and French be improved, and their dissemination over a
wide area be insured. The two Spanish bulletins, the one already published
in Santiago and the other planned in San Jose, should, likewise, as an
adjunct to Baha'i publications, be developed and widely circulated. The
contact established with the two hundred and forty-four Masonic Lodges
should be reinforced by similar contacts with schools as well as business
firms established throughout the various republics, for the sole purpose
of giving further publicity to the Faith, and winning ultimately fresh
recruits to the strength of its followers.

IMPORTANCE OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS

Particular attention, I feel, should, at this juncture, be directed to the
various Indian tribes, the aboriginal inhabitants of the Latin republics,
whom the Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan has compared to the
"ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula." "Attach great importance,"
is His admonition to the entire body of the believers in the United States
and the Dominion of Canada, "to the indigenous population of America. For
these souls may be likened unto the ancient inhabitants of the Arabian
Peninsula, who, prior to the Mission of Muhammad, were like unto savages.
When the light of Muhammad shone forth in their midst, however, they
became so radiant as to illumine the world. Likewise, these Indians,
should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that they will
become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world." The initial contact
already established, in the concluding years of the first Baha'i century,
in obedience to 'Abdu'l-Baha's Mandate, with the Cherokee and Oneida
Indians in North Carolina and Wisconsin, with the Patagonian, the Mexican
and the Inca Indians, and the Mayans in Argentina, Mexico, Peru and
Yucatan, respectively, should, as the Latin American Baha'i communities
gain in stature and strength, be consolidated and extended. A special
effort should be exerted to secure the unqualified adherence of members of
some of these tribes to the Faith, their subsequent election to its
councils, and their unreserved support of the organized attempts that will
have to be made in the future by the projected national assemblies for the
large-scale conversio