there is an International Bureau of the American Republics,
in which all the Republics of Central and South America are represented.
It is housed in a magnificent palace made possible by the beneficence
of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, the American multi-millionaire and philanthropist,
and the contributions of the different governments. It cost 750,000
gold dollars, and Mr. John Barrett, the capable and popular director
of the Bureau, has well called it "a temple of friendship and commerce
and a meeting place for the American Republics." The Bureau is supported
by the joint contributions of the twenty-one American Republics,
and its affairs are controlled by a governing board
composed of their diplomatic representatives in Washington,
with the American Secretary of State as chairman ex officio.
This institution no doubt strengthens the position of the United States
and is calculated to draw the American Republics into closer friendship.




Chapter 2. American Prosperity



One of the main causes of the prosperity of the great American Republic
is its natural resources. It possesses coal, oil, silver, gold, copper,
and all the other mineral ores. Nature seems, indeed, to have provided almost
everything that man needs. The soil is rich; wheat and every kind of fruit
can be grown; but favorable as are these native conditions
they could not be turned to any great advantage without the skill and industry
of enterprising men. Many countries in Africa and Asia
possess equal advantages, but they are not equally prosperous.