The cordiality of intercourse finds its most pleasant manifestation in the frequent visits to South America of distinguished Frenchmen--among them have been Anatole France and Clemenceau--who carry messages of sympathy across the Atlantic to crowded and enthusiastic gatherings in Latin-American cities.
In the United States this double movement, intellectual and economic, is still more marked. Latin-American history and economics are regularly taught in the universities, and prizes are provided for essays on historical works on those lands. Harvard University has a special endowment for Latin-American studies, an Instructor in Latin-American history and a South American Library of 10,000 volumes; and the University, in order to encourage the entry of Latin-American students, dispenses with the use of the English language in the Entrance Examination in certain cases. The Jesuit traveller, Father Zahm, better known by his pen-name of Mozans, has presented his South American library to Notre Dame University, Indiana. The Rector of the Leland Stanford Junior University places at the disposal of the University his library of 7000 volumes on Brazil. Scholarships are granted in the Universities to Latin-American women students. In the year 1913, Latin-American students in American universities numbered 813. American scientific missions are at work in Latin America, as well as missions of teachers to study educational methods in those lands and to invite return visits to the United States. One hears, moreover, of a Spanish-American Athenæum at Washington, 2000 institutions teaching the Spanish language, 1700 clubs formed for the study of Latin America, new magazines dealing exclusively with those regions, Argentine men of letters received with an honoured public welcome, an Inter-American Round Table, founded by representative ladies of New York, who propose to hold annual meetings of women, to take place successively in the capitals of the American Republics.
This educational and social movement accompanies and supports a great business effort directed towards Latin America. The latter has an obvious bearing on the subject of Pan-Americanism, which is treated in a later chapter: but it is convenient to indicate the facts here, as forming part of a general movement of approach by other peoples towards Latin America. The American business effort assumed concrete form at the beginning of the war, when the United States Government invited the Finance Ministers and leading bankers of all the American Republics to a Financial conference at Washington. All but Mexico and Haiti accepted. The conference met in March 1915. A committee was appointed for each republic, and their reports were submitted to a joint committee. The decisions so reached were unanimously accepted by the whole conference. They recommended a standard gold coin for the whole of America, also unification of regulations concerning classification of merchandise, customs, consular certificates and invoices, trade marks and kindred matters. Questions of banking facilities, transport and credit were also discussed.