The PAN AMERICAN UNION
Leo 3\-g
BARTOLOME MITRE
1821-1921

A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF
THE GREAT ARGENTINE STATES
MAN AND HISTORIAN

YALE

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1921

From autographed photograph in the possession of Archer M. Huntington, Esq.
GENERAL BARTOLOME MITRE

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(JUNE 26, 1821-JUNE 26, 1921.)

Tribute to the memory of Gen. Mitre by Hon. L. S. Rowe, Director General of the
Pan American Union, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of Mitre's
birth.
ONE of the most inspiring features of the history of the de
mocracies of the American Continent is the gradual unfold
ing of the leadership of men truly representative of the
people, who, by force of character, high patriotic ideals,
and inexhaustible energy, make themselves the standard bearers of
national aspirations and the instruments through which the nation
advances toward higher economic, social, and political levels.
Such an outstanding figure is Bartolome Mitre. He stands forth
not only as one of the great men of Argentina, but also occupies one
of the foremost positions in America's Hall of Fame. Indeed, the
history of this continent affords but few instances of national leaders
in whom broad statesmanship is combined with the erudition of
the scientist, the literary ability of the historian, and the finer
artistic qualities of the poet. In every field of endeavor to which
he addressed himself Mitre excelled to a degree which gives to him
a unique place in the annals of history.
In the field of political endeavor he deserves the recognition of
the peoples of America, not only because of his services to his native
land, but also by reason of the fact that those services justify and
vindicate a principle which is to-day gradually finding acceptance
throughout the American Continent. In thought and in action he
stood for the principle of national unity as against sectional selfish
ness. The principles for which he stood are the foundation stones
of Argentine greatness, and carry with them lessons of far-reaching
significance to all the Eepublics of the American Continent.
Mitre's unswerving devotion to the ideals of liberty and order will
ever remain the outstanding note of his activities, as well as a con
stant inspiration to the younger generation in all the Eepublics of
this continent. Despotism in any form, whether unblusningly
paraded, or cloaked under the more subtle and misleading democratic
phrases, stirred his opposition and aroused him to energetic and
effective action. He constantly dreamed of an Argentina moving
forward to higher levels of democratic rule through the influence
of an educated public opinion and through the active participation
57285—21 3

4 BARTOLOME MITRE.
of her citizens in public life. He saw more clearly than any of his
contemporaries that real democracy is a state of society rather than
a form of government, and that it can only be secured through the
education of the masses, and through the development in them of
that self-control and devotion to the public welfare, without which
permanent progress is impossible. The strength of his convictions
and his devotion to his country's welfare were such as to rise to the
dignity and level of a religion, and his willingness to make sacrifices
for these principles is indicated by the fact that on five different
occasions he suffered exile because of his adherence to the standards
of truth, justice, liberty, and righteousness.
Mitre stands forth as one of the political glories of the American
Continent, and at the same time as one of the most sturdy and
fruitful of her cultural exponents. In his great histories of San
Martin and Belgrano, in his studies of native Indian tongues, and in
his other manifold intellectual activities, he sought his material in
distinctly American sources. In this respect he again gives an ex
ample to America, demonstrating the richness of her intellectual
material. The example which he set has not had as wide, and deep
an influence as it deserves. If Mitre's example had been followed
throughout the continent we would to-day be in possession of a far
richer literature, one more interpretive of America's social, economic,
and political development.
On this great day, when Argentina celebrates the centennial anni
versary of the birth of one of her greatest sons, the other nations of
this continent may well join with her in a spirit of congratulation
that she should have so illustrious an heritage. Mitre's work will
only be complete if it stirs in us a firm resolve that his example shall
be a constant stimulus to patriotic action, combining therewith a
steadfast determination that the great principles for which he stood
shall, to an increasing extent, become an integral part of the life,
thought, and action of the American Nations.
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
"Mitre, who was peace and civilization!
Mitre, who was tolerance and light!" — Olavo Bilac.
Bartolome Mitre was born in Buenos Aires, June 26, 1821, of an
old colonial family. The year after his birth his father, Gen. Am-
brosio Mitre, removed with his family to Carmen de Patagones,
where he became treasurer of the military funds and where his name
is intimately and honorably associated with the development of that
outpost town. In 1828 he resigned this post, emigrating with his
family to Uruguay, where he became treasurer of that new Republic.

PLAZA DE MAYO, BUENOS AIRES
In the center is the monument commemorating the revolution of 1810

6 BARTOLOME MITRE.
The young Bartolom6, unlike his two younger brothers, appears
to have been somewhat difficult to manage, early manifesting that
restless and indomitable spirit which made him, even then, a power
to be reckoned with. Of a rigid and austere disposition himself, the
elder Mitre, believing that a strict, almost military, discipline was
the only sure foundation of character, sent young Bartolom6 at the
age of 15 back to Argentina, where, on the estate of one of the Rosas,
famous alike for his breed of horses and cattle and as a disciplinarian
of youth, he was subjected to an extremely severe regimen — work
from sunrise to sunset, the most frugal of fare, and an entire lack of
amusement beyond what might be obtained from association with
his rustic comrades in their arduous task of breaking, grooming, and
training horses, and such scanty reading, an absorbing love for which
had already manifested itself, as he could find in that remote corner.
A little more than a year later his father recalled him from what
might well have proved a disastrous experiment had it been longer
continued, but which appears to have had the result desired, and to
have laid the foundation of that physical energy and endurance
which were so severely tested in the storm and stress of later years.
Mitre began his military career by enlisting, at 17, during the first
siege of Montevideo, obtaining the rank of lieutenant colonel during
the second siege of that city (1843-1846). About this time he
appeared as a free-lance journalist, and his first poetical compositions
appeared in print. Shortly after this he emigrated to Bolivia to
take charge of the military school, where, however, with sword and
pen he joined in the defense of the Government under Gen. Ballivian.
Upon the latter's overthrowal he went to Chile to edit El Mercurio, then
in violent opposition to the Government, so it is not surprising that
before long he was expelled from the country, taking refuge in Peru,
where he remained until 1852. He then returned to Chile, crossed
the Andes, joined his compatriots in their struggle against the Dic
tator Rosas, and, as chief of artillery in the victory at Monte Caceros,
won the rank of colonel.
Shortly after the fall of Rosas he was elected deputy to the Buenos
Aires legislature, but that body being soon afterwards dissolved
because of its violent opposition to the Government, Mitre, in
common with the rest of the members, found himself again, for a
short time, an exile. From this period, Mitre occupied some of
the highest positions in the gift of his country, rising from com
mander in chief of the army in 1853 to minister of war in 1859,
when, during the struggle between Buenos Aires and the other 13
provinces, he took the field at the head of the army, only to be de
feated by Urquiza and to see Buenos Aires again enter the con
federacy. In 1860 he was elected governor of Buenos Aires, his
administration being singularly prosperous and successful. Upon

BARTOLOME MITRE. 7
the renewal of hostilities in 1861 he once more took the field, this
time with success, the confederates being utterly defeated at Pavon.
The resignation of the President, the promulgation of the new
constitution, the normalization of the country in general, the calling
of general elections, and the election of Mitre to the presidency
(1862) followed in quick succession.
The country prospered greatly under Mitre's administration,
materially, socially, and intellectually. Railways were constructed,
telegraph lines were installed, schools were established, new roads
were opened, and those already existing were extended, this pro
gressive program being interrupted only by the war with Paraguay,
during which Mitre displayed himself anew as an able, courageous,
and resourceful military chief. His administration ended in 1868, but
in 1874 he was again a candidate, without success, however; where
upon, urged by his party, against his own wish and contrary to his
principles, he resorted to the pronunciamiento. The uprising was
very short-lived, Mitre and his party being defeated and, later,
generously pardoned by the new President.
Mitre continued to exercise a strong directive influence in the
affairs of his country until, in 1890, he made his first visit to Europe,
where he was received with signal marks of respect and honor, par
ticularly in Geneva, Paris, and later in Madrid (1891). His return
to his native land was the occasion of one of the most remarkable
demonstrations of affectionate veneration and esteem ever recorded
in history. Shortly afterward he was again invited to become a
candidate for the presidency. Refusing at first, he later yielded to
the overwhelming insistence of party friends and admirers. Never
was man more popular, and his triumph seemed assured, when re
newed party dissensions which threatened to disrupt the country
intervened, whereupon Mitre, by public proclamation, withdrew his
name — a withdrawal which a considerable part of the country did
not accept until, in 1892, all parties agreed on Saenz Peria as the
successful candidate.
Once more Mitre returned "al pueblo de donde habia salido," to
quote his own words on the occasion of his return to civil life in
1868, but from his peaceful retreat, which became the Mecca whither
both friend and foe repaired for advice and counsel, he still made
his influence felt in the affairs of the Nation until, on the 18th of
January, 1906, he passed away, full of years and honors, at the ripe
age of 85, his last recorded words being: "jOh patria! Oh Buenos
Aires! [Oh suefio de mi vida!"
With a spirit Attic in fineness of perception and love of beauty,
Mitre combined habits of Spartan frugality and simplicity. In spite
of the fact that he had occupied the highest public offices, including
that of generalissimo of the armies of three nations, Mitre lived in the

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GENERAL BARTOLOME MITRE
BARTOLOME MITRE. 9
most modest manner, his income being barely sufficient to provide
for the personal necessities of himself and family.
No sketch of Mitre would be complete without special mention of
his extraordinary and incessant literary activity, the output of which,
bearing in mind his manifold military and political duties, is well
nigh incredible. There is hardly a field of human knowledge which he
did not enter and which he did not enrich. The following titles, chosen
from the 80 or more bearing his name, will give an idea of Mitre's
wide intellectual range and broad culture: His youthful Memorias
de un botbn de rosa and Soledad; his 3 volumes of Rimas and his
translation into Spanish verse of El Infiemo de Dante, published in
Paris; a 4-act drama, Policarpo Salavarrieta, and a translation of
Ruy Bias; Biografia de Rivero Indarte; Estudio historico sobre la
revolucion argentina; Cartas poUmicas sobre la Triple Alianza; Las
Heras en Chile; El crucero de la Argentina; Informe historico sobre
los antecedentes y reformas de la constitucion; La abdicacion de San
Martin; Lenguas americanas: el Mejee y el Zaque, el Araucano y el
Allentialc, el Tupy; Notas biogrdficas y bibliograjicas sobre TJlrich
Schmidel, primer historiador del Rio de la Plata; Bibliografia lingui-
stica americana; Recuerdos del asedio de Montevideo; Historia del
Belgrano and Historia de San Martin, two monumental works in the
historical literature of the Nation.
Passing mention only can be made of the innumerable articles
Mitre contributed to La Nacion, of which he was the founder and
proprietor, likewise of that incomparable bibliographical treasure
trove known as the Biblioteca americana de Bartolome Mitre, which,
in accordance with Mitre's wish, was presented by his son Emilio to
the Argentine Nation, and which, for all time, will constitute the
richest and most original source, in documentation, of everything
relating to the history of Argentina from the earliest times to the
death of Mitre, one of her most illustrious sons.
EXCERPTS FROM EL ARCHIVO DEL GENERAL MITRE.
Mitre's Odyssey. — In 1848 Mitre, writing of his eventful journey
through Bolivia and Peru, said :
I have made a long and wearisome pilgrimage, during which I
have been journalist, novelist, soldier, educator, poet, engineer, and
politician. I have enjoyed ovations and experienced the bitterness
of exile. I have written for two papers; I have taken part in two
wars; I have traversed Bolivia from south to north; have commanded
two military expeditions; visited the fabled Cerro de Potosi and
voyaged the great lake of Titicaca; I have explored the ruins of
Tiahuanaco; I have crossed the Cordillera twice; I have been on the
island where Manco Capac was born; I have been the object of all sorts

10 BARTOLOME MITRE.
of honors, including those of persecution, as a result of which I spent
four months in Peru. From there I went to Valparaiso, where I earned
eight onzas [gold] a month in editorial work. In all these alterna
tives of good and bad fortune I have never been downcast, and, what
is more, I have emerged with a clear conscience and a serene brow.
The United States Minister Speaks. —
Legation of the United States of America,
Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 2, 1868.
Sir : I beg to acknowledge receipt of your esteemed favor, inclosing
copy of a letter from His Excellency D. Bartolome Mitre, President
of the Argentine Republic, in which he expresses his great admira
tion for the life and character of the immortal George Washington.
His eloquent eulogy of the patriot, soldier, and statesman, 'first
in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,' is
precisely what I should expect from one of so noble a spirit.
I hope that His Excellency, who is inspired by the same ambition
that governed Washington, will succeed, through his patriotic ef
forts, in diffusing strength and prosperity throughout the Argentine
Republic, and that in the eventide of life he, like his great prototype,
may enjoy that inward satisfaction which is derived from the full
consciousness of having been the instrument in God's hands of per
petuating and spreading the benefits of civil liberty.
Assuring you, my dear sir, of my sincere appreciation of your
courtesy in sending me a letter of such distinguished sentiments, I
beg to remain,
Your obedient servant, (Sgd.) Robert C. Kirk,
United States Minister to Argentina.
Sr. don Jose Tomas Gutdo,
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
— Archivo del General Mitre, tomo XXIII, pp. 53, 54.
Post Election Philosophy. — * * * You seem, my friend, to
be somewhat sore when referring to the injustices and disappoint
ments incidental to the political campaign in which you have taken
so active a part both as a militant and as a peaceful worker. Doubt
less, in the case of the literary or scientific man, politics, in the com
mon acceptation of the word as a mere struggle in the lust for power,
has much of the brutal. But the fruitful labor of governing has also
something of brutality even in time of peace, since brutality is inevi
table in the clash of men and political passions and, if actual physical
force is involved in the struggle of men and ideas, the blows given and
taken are necessarily painful. Ideas themselves must clash with a
certain force in order to produce efficient results, and neither the

EAST FRONT "LA CASA ROSADA" OR THE PRESIDENT'S PALACE, BUENOS AIRES

12 BARTOLOME MITRE.
active combatant nor the passive worker should expect to be immune,
nor should either complain of the blows received, or nurse his
wounds instead of manfully and courageously returning the blows.
Not even when the political standard of a country is debased, not
even when the government is actuated entirely by sordid motives
and its politicians become a byword, not even then should the com
batant desert the arena, nor permit himself to become a renegade to
public service, or regard righteous political passion as an evil or a
mere human weakness, as do you when you tell me of the serene
indifference with which, from your retirement, you regard the melee.
'Government,' as Guizot has said, 'will always be one of the noblest
employments of human intelligence, and that which demands the
loftiest souls.' As has already been observed, great men who have
governed for the benefit of mankind, always looked forward to retire
ment, because public office to them meant sacrifice; their life, work;
their only reward, the fruits reaped by others; rest and discourage
ment being alike denied them. Remember, my friend, that historical
personage of whom Macaulay speaks (I think it was Temple), who,
on retiring from his ministerial office, shut himself up in his library,
forgetting the very existence of politics since it was no longer neces
sary to play a part therein; but when, later, recalled to active life,
he paused in his reading, placed a marker in the page so that, without
bitterness, he might resume his reading when he had fulfilled his
duty as a man and as a citizen of a free people, or of a people on the
road to freedom. — Archivo del General Mitre, Tomo XX, pp. 49-51.
An Indictment. — ¦ * * * We have advanced little, if any,
since the voyage of Humboldt at the beginning of this century
[XVIII]. Gay has revealed to us the Chilean soil, which Piscis has
studied geologically, tracing at the same time its topographical map,
which Domeyko and Philippi, both foreigners, illustrated. Codazzi,
another foreigner, aided by his predecessors, established the basis
of Venezuela's geography, the limits of which have not since been
extended. D'Orbigni and other European travelers, whose data
have not yet been fully exploited, are still, notwithstanding their
errors and deficiencies, our oracles. Fitzroy has achieved the car
tography of America. Darwin has studied our soil, geologically,
and Rutland has measured the height of our mountains. Boussin-
gault examined our physical phenomena and Costeluan sent an
exploring expedition across the continent with the object of bring
ing to light its inland mysteries, entirely without American help,
suggestion, or initiative. The English and North Americans have
lifted the veil which covered the mysteries of America's prehistoric
monuments. Maury has revealed the laws of the ocean and air

BARTOLOME MITRE. 13
currents round about our continent, and we have been content to
go no farther than he. Gillies, in Chile, supplemented by Maesto,
and Gould in Argentina, are alone in interrogating our southern
skies and enriching the catalogue of its stars. Pauli, that most cos
mopolitan traveler, has illustrated our climatology by his observa
tions — a matter upon which our own Rawson now touches in his
lectures on hygiene. The Spanish Azara at the beginning of the
century, the Englishman Parish, the Frenchman Martin de Moussy,
and, latterly, the German Burmeister, are unique in their studies
and descriptions of Argentina in its every aspect, and have con
tributed new data to the science of the world. But why continue
this documentation of our inability to know ourselves, and to make
ourselves known to outsiders? Enough and to spare has been said.
I am not unaware that to the work of these foreigners might be
added our own contribution, represented by such glorious American
names as Caldas, Clavigero, Oliva, Gama, Velarghen y Leon, B.
Pastina, Suarez Larraflaga, Arenales, Paz Soldan, Sigiienza, Abrate y
Ramirez, Unanue, Rivero, and many others. With the exception of
Azara, the most original although the least scientific of the explorers
of the New World, all the rest, including Humboldt — and Humboldt
more than any other — owe at least one-fourth of their data to the
studies, complete or in embryo, of Americans, in much the same way
as they owe another fourth to their European collaborators, thus
leaving a scant half of the work and glory to their own personal
credit. But this is precisely what leads me to believe that we can
and must insist that American intelligence give a more ample radius
to its own springs of action; that it derive its inspiration more and
more in the reasoned contemplation of its own being; that it exploit
the rich material it has already at hand; that the tendency of the
world is toward the study of America, and that we should nourish
and direct that tendency, shining by our own light and not, like
an extinguished star, in borrowed light which frequently is, itself,
a mere reflection. * * *
An American periodical which does not fulfill these conditions,
which is not nourished and tempered by the physical and exact
sciences in their many applications will be, at best, a field of activity
dimly illuminated by the misleading light of imagination — a field
which in the last analysis will yield but a poor and a scanty harvest.
— Archivo del General Mitre, Tomo XX, pp. 55-56.
Mitre Compares the Pen with the Sword. — "* * * I have read
your article on Gay and his work published in the Revista. Every
thing in it is new, wise, and judicious and, alike in the wealth of detail
and the impartiality of the author's conclusions, it makes agreeable
and useful reading. * * * I note that this work has cost 50,000

14 BARTOLOME MITRE.
duros [silver], which, added to another 50,000 duros for the instru
ments, traveling and other necessary expenses, makes an outlay of
100,000 duros in the course of 40 years' work. You are anxious to
prove that this cost to the Government is not excessive. This could
be quite sufficiently proved by calculating what it has cost the public
treasury to pay some colonel, who owes his rank to favor or acci
dent, a salary equal or greater than that sum for doing nothing dur
ing 40 years, comparing the task with the result accomplished in each
case, and leaving the public to draw its own conclusions. * * *
An Estimate of Bello which Time Has Confirmed. — All Chileans
are disciples of Andres Bello, that great example of talented assimi
lation, that marvelous encyclopedic spirit, that elegant and methodic
interpreter of others' themes, original only in the matter of the
Castilian language, where, with Baralt, he establishes the entire
competence of Americans to deal with a language which they speak
with much more vigor, although less correctly, than the Spaniards
and to which the latter have to date contributed but little. * * *
To such an illustrious master I render homage as to the true Amer
ican savant. — Archivo del General Mitre, Tomo XX, p. 49.
Nationality of the Native Born. — * * * Though Mitre believed
that the political and economic future of the Spanish- American coun
tries lay in gaining population, he was, nevertheless, alert to the
danger of destroying nationality thereby instead of strengthening it, if
the principle of nationality by birth, or "jus soli," were not adopted,
and he threw all the weight of his influence into the demand for the
reform of the constitution in 1853, urging that existing laws be
revoked and changes effected in treaties whereby the cardinal
principle of nationality by birth should be adopted.

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FIRST ROUGH CASTS OF THE ARGENTINE MEDAL COMMEMORATING
THE CENTENARY OF GENERAL MITRE'S BIRTH

7952

THE PAN AMERICAN UNION is the inter
national organization and office maintained
in Washington, D. C, by the twenty-one
American republics, as follows: Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Domini
can Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hon
duras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Salvador, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
It is devoted to the development of commerce,
friendly intercourse, good understanding, and the
preservation of peace among these countries. It is
supported by quotas contributed by each country,
based upon their population. Its affairs are ad
ministered by a Director General and Assistant
Director, elected by and responsible to a Governing
Board, which is composed of the Secretary of State
of the United States and the diplomatic repre
sentatives in Washington of the other American
governments. These two executive officers are
assisted by a staff of international experts, statis
ticians, commercial specialists, editors, translators,
compilers, librarians, clerks, and stenographers.
The Union publishes a Monthly Bulletin in English,
Spanish, and Portuguese, which is a careful record
of Pan American progress. It also publishes num
erous special reports and descriptive pamphlets
on various Pan American subjects of practical in
formation. Its library, the Columbus Memorial
Library, contains 50,000 volumes, 23,000 photo
graphs, 175,000 index cards, and a large collection
of maps. The Union is housed in a beautiful
building erected through the munificence of Andrew
Carnegie and the contributions of the American
Republics.