Speech of His Excellency Don Adolfo Díaz, President of Nicaragua, welcoming Mr. Knox, Managua, March 6, 1912.
Mr. Secretary:
You are in a country where your name has long been known, because on a memorable occasion for our liberty you linked it with the history of our struggles for advancement by an act of justice of the American Government, inspired by the sentiment of that great people which abhors tyranny not only within its own frontiers, but in every place to which it may carry the beneficent influence of its policy.
As an admirer of that policy by reason of its evident results in other fortunate Latin countries, I live in the firm intention of accepting that friendly influence so long as I myself have any influence in the destinies of my country, whether as a ruler or as a citizen.
[Page 1113]Unfortunate has been the existence of Central American democracy. A prolonged and bloody struggle has consumed the vigorous life of these nations during almost an entire century of sterile uprisings. To refer only to my own country; it has been a republic for almost a hundred years without having known republican methods in all that time, except at brief intervals. Our political struggles have unfortunately not been a luminous contest of ideas and principles; they have been a terrible duel between despotism, on one hand, and, on the other, the ill-directed efforts of the people in search of happiness never attained—a duel, a horrible duel, which has at length left the Republic, if not dead, at least almost utterly exhausted.
Horrible disasters have happened among us which have been viewed, if not with indifference, at least with passive calmness by the rest of the civilized world, because in international regulations the selfish doctrine has prevailed that in the matter of good government each nation should concern itself only with its own people, as if those who suffer the oppression of tyranny were not human beings, like other unfortunates to whom succor is never denied among Christians. This doctrine, thanks principally to the United States, is disappearing among nations to give place to the more generous one of mutual assistance.
In the light of these principles I entered the revolution of Blue-fields with firm faith, a faith maintained unchanged even amidst the greatest vicissitudes of that terrible war, because I knew that we were engaged not in one of the many uprisings, vain efforts, common in our disorganization, without positive results, but in a real revolution, an absolute overthrow not only of the despot but also of his baneful system, and thereafter a triumph of justice and the establishment of order and lasting peace in Nicaragua.
I knew then, and I believe to-day, notwithstanding my transition from a revolutionist to a member of the Government, that this happy outcome can not be obtained without the assistance of your country. We are weak and we need your strong help for the regeneration of our debilitated land. The hand which your Government generously and fraternally extends to us I accept without reserve or fear, for I know it belongs to a people which has made a religion of liberty and, educated in and for freedom, loves its independence above everything and respects the independence of others.
In this work for the welfare of Nicaragua, increasing the hope of its ultimate success, your name is pledged. It has been connected, to the joy of our people, with two of our principal events: With your famous note, in which, as the mouthpiece of civilization, you pronounced the doom of tyranny before the world, and with the treaty you signed in Washington with our Minister Castrillo, the clauses of which are a guaranty of peace, the basis of a future of prosperity and order, and the confirmation of which by the American Senate all good Nicaraguans are to-day anxiously awaiting in order to enter tranquilly upon the enjoyment of their assured rights and the anticipation of that future of development and wealth.
The name of your worthy President, William H. Taft, and your own name are pronounced by all Nicaraguans, from the statesman to the humblest countryman, as though they were names of personages of our fatherland, due to the fact that every day the bonds [Page 1114] are becoming closer between your great and happy country and my own small country, worthy, however, of equal happiness because it consists of a generous race inhabiting a rich land.
This sincere friendship between the powerful and the weak is meritorious for both—for the one because of its altruism; for the other because of its confidence. Yes, sir, unlimited confidence in the proven morality of the American Government, and even greater confidence in the people of your great nation, who in every circumstance would be the first and most earnest defenders of justice for the weak, even against their own Government.
In this new political life of Nicaragua, which, scarcely begun, is already showing the effect of almost forgotten liberties—in this work of regeneration you have been one of the most active agents, bringing to us at this opportune moment of our transformation the influence of your power without offending us with your strength. For this reason you may count upon firm affection in Nicaragua; for this reason you are received like an old acquaintance, and I, in the name of the people and of the Government of Nicaragua, greet you cordially, and hope your sojourn may be pleasant in this country, where your name signifies an ideal.