Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/152

 116 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS tion treaties with several countries, all of them Latin. This brings us to Mr. Root and South America, with which portion of the Western Hemisphere our dealings have been marked from the beginning with crudeness and stupidity. Our bad manners toward neighbors are an English inheritance which we have considerably augmented. As a very natural consequence, our neighbors both to the north and south do not like us. When the Mon roe Doctrine is considered, and our need of adjacent friends instead of enemies in case this doctrine should be forcibly disputed, a century of rudeness on our part does not help our already slender reputation for urbane statesmanship. Some perception of the need to redeem our selves had dawned upon preceding administrations. James G. Elaine, when Secretary of State, had presided over the first Pan-American Congress, held in Washington, in October, 1889. A second was called at Mexico twelve years later by Mr. McKinley, who was sensitive to the commercial disadvantages which our incivilities to our southern neighbors had brought upon us. The Third Pan- American Congress was in session at Rio de Janeiro from July 21 to August 26, 1906, and Mr. Root addressed the conference, not as a delegate, but as Secretary of State. Questions of naturaliza tion were considered, but chiefly a plan of uni-