It would seem desirable that the invitation, as well as the
acceptance, be given publicity, and an inquiry has been made to
a member of the Peruvian Embassy as to the possibility of making
the two notes available to the press simultaneously in Lima and
Washington. The Department has not yet received a reply to this
inquiry and you might wish to mention the matter to Dr.
Concha.
The Secretary of
State to the Peruvian Minister for Foreign
Affairs (Concha)
Washington, September 2,
1938.
Excellency: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s courteous
communication of August 2, 1938 by which
[Page 11]
you so kindly extended on behalf
of the Government of Peru an invitation to the Government of
the United States to participate in the Eighth International
Conference of American States which will be held in Lima on
December 9, 1938. I hasten to accept on behalf of my
Government Your Excellency’s kind invitation, and I can
assure you that it will afford my Government the greatest
satisfaction and pleasure to participate at this important
conference. I shall be glad to communicate to you at a later
date the names of the representatives of my Government.
As Your Excellency so clearly points out, the grave problems
confronting the world today afford the American Republics,
united by a common ideal, an opportunity to set an example
to the world through the creation of new bonds of solidarity
and friendship. My Government is confident that the Lima
Conference will carry one step further the American ideal of
an international society devoted to the spirit of fraternity
and cordial understanding.
The American nations have collaborated at inter-American
conferences for many years with a view to the mutual
improvement of their respective political, commercial,
social, and cultural life. The American nations have made an
important contribution to the cause of world peace by the
elaboration of an inter-American society based upon respect
for the independence, sovereignty, and political equality of
nations.
Events in other parts of the world have emphasized recently
the extent to which some nations have wavered from the
orderly and friendly relations which should prevail between
neighbors. The nations of the world are faced with the issue
of determining whether relations shall be characterized by
international anarchy and lawlessness or by the principles
of fair play, justice and order under law. No nation and no
government can avoid the issue; neither can any nation avoid
participation, willing or not, in the responsibility of
determining which course of action shall prevail.
The peoples of the American Republics have inherited the high
hopes of their liberating fathers. The American peoples
still have an abiding faith in the Americas and there is an
imperative need to maintain unimpaired the American system.
This cannot be done by any one nation but only through
cooperation and friendly collaboration of all the American
Republics. It is therefore with a sense of real pride that
the representatives of the American Republics will meet as
guests of Your Excellency’s Government for the sole purpose
of advancing the cause of an orderly international life
based upon principles of morality and justice and in
accordance with the well-established precepts of
international law.
[Page 12]
My Government welcomes the opportunity to join with the other
American Republics in the capital city of your great country
for the purpose of collaborating for the common good, the
strengthening of traditional ties, and the elaboration of
measures for their mutual benefit. The Program for the
forthcoming Conference offers abundant opportunity for the
American nations to consider further means of guaranteeing
peaceful continental neighborly life, and of solving the
many existing important questions of a political, juridical,
and economic character. You may be assured that the
Government of the United States will collaborate to the
fullest extent with your Government and the governments of
the other republics at the forthcoming Conference.
Accept [etc.]
