File No. 033.3211/51.
The American Ambassador to
the Secretary of State.
No. 190.]
American Embassy,
Rio de Janeiro,
June 17, 1913.
Sir: I have the honor to report that President
Marshal Hermes da Fonseca expressed to me last evening his warm personal
gratification
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and the thanks of
the Brazilian Government for the cordial reception which Dr. Lauro
Müller, Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs, has received in the
United States. The President told me that the reception, which had far
exceeded his expectations, had produced an admirable effect in Brazil,
where henceforth American approximation would be more popular than it
had been at any time since the visit of Mr. Root to Brazil seven years
ago.
President Wilson will already have received before this despatch is
written the telegram of thanks which President Hermes sent him on the
15th instant, and the Senate and the House of Representatives will also
have received the telegrams which were sent them by the Brazilian Senate
and Chamber of Deputies. In the last connection I have the honor to
enclose in translation a copy of the speech which Representative Coelho
delivered in the Chamber of Deputies on the 13th inst. in support of the
motion:
We move that, through its President, the Chamber shall
demonstrate by cablegram, to the American Congress, the
gratitude of the people of Brazil for the very warm reception
given to Dr. Lauro Müller, Brazilian Ambassador on a mission of
friendship.
as well as a copy of the remarks with which Senator
Fernando Mendes de Almeida prefaced his motion in the Senate that that
body should express its gratification to the American Senate by means of
a telegram for the cordiality of the reception which had been accorded
Dr. Lauro Müller.
I have [etc.]
[Inclosure 1—Translation.]
Speech of Senator Fernando Mendes de Almeida.
Mr. President: The Senate has information
regarding the sincere manifestations of consideration and esteem
with which Dr. Lauro Müller has been welcomed in the United States,
these manifestations coming not alone from the President and the
official world but also from the great North American people, who
together celebrate the visit as a proof of the friendship of Brazil
and of the sentimental ties that unite the two countries in a bond
of fraternity and peace.
Our Foreign Minister is not only a messenger carrying the goodwill
and national sentiment of Brazil; he represents also the high ideals
of all Southern America in their efforts towards guaranteeing peace
and a general fraternization amongst the nations of this
continent.
The Senate, therefore, cannot remain unmoved before such
demonstrations of respect, goodwill and esteem, and for this reason
the Constitutional and Diplomatic Commission of this Senate, through
my medium, solicits from the Senate a solemn manifestation to this
effect, by means of a telegram of congratulation and gratitude to
the Senate of the great American Nation.
[Inclosure 2—Translation.]
Speech of Representative Coelho Netto.
The kindly attitude of the noble American people imposes on us the
courtesy of a motion which I am going to present, in the name of the
Diplomatic Commission of this Chamber.
We are living in a hostile age. Men seek to crush one another as
enemies; nations arm themselves, suspicious of attack; the clouds
that darken the horizon are heavy with the smoke of battles. Thus
the generosity of the American nation is enhanced, contrasting with
the warlike aspect of the Old World under arms.
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While war troubles the west, America festively receives the
ambassador of peace. It was a happy choice that the Government made
when naming our Foreign Secretary for this mission.
Dr. Lauro Müller is, amongst the politicians of the Republic, one of
the most worthy of consideration. While yet a young man he appeared
as a fighter on that glorious morning of November, and since that
date he has never shirked the responsibilities of the great destiny
of his country. He represented his State in both houses of the
National Congress and has continually proved to his fellow-citizens
his worth as an active worker and honest official. As Secretary of
Ways and Communications he was one of the great improvers of the
city of Rio de Janeiro; he rid it of its colonial deformities and
worked actively towards its sanitation. He was called to take the
place of great Rio Branco and has maintained with success the post
occupied by the hero of our national integrity.
A statesman, possessing purity of character and undoubted patriotism,
Dr. Lauro Müller is the right man in the right place as the
Ambassador of Brazil and under the flag of his country, gloriously
waving beneath the skies of America, he worthily represents our
ideals. The homage which is being done him by America and Americans
represents commendation of our policy of peace and fraternity.
