166 Hispanic America
gravity to this continent. Mankind needs to-day, more
than ever, the wealth and work, and, above all, the spirit,
of America. In this respect, the United States is the chief
factor; but Spanish America has also a share, in no wise
contemptible; and this being true, it is important to under-
stand the relations between these two different, but essen-
tial, elements of the culture of the New World.
My principal obligation in this lecture is to be frank.
I must now forget the language of former diplomacy in
order to call things by their names. We might say that
there are three periods in the history of relations between
the Americas. The first period is that of the political tie
constituted by the Monroe Doctrine; the second, that of the
commercial relations of the present time; and every one
expects the dawn of the third period, in which, over and
above the solidarity required for the defense of our inde-
pendence, and over and above the advantages of commer-
cial exchange, the souls of our people will establish a bond:
our culture will be comprehended and our aims harmonized.
We should make a great mistake to base the mutual ap-
proach of the Americas upon their economic interests alone.
Sad to say, many Spanish-Americans believe the United
States is nothing more than the centre of finance and of
technical experts; and many North Americans look upon
Spanish America merely as a commercial market and as an
attractive field for industrial development. If we do not go
beyond these ideas, the relations between the Americas will
be but superficial. We Spanish-Americans are much inter-
ested in studying the spiritual side of your people; and you
North Americans would do well to learn how, in spite of
our economic and political crises, we have an intellectual
and social culture that may not be neglected. In order to
attain our goal, it is necessary to eradicate the prejudices