with the other members of the Council in its successful accomplishment.

The Council then proceeded to the election of the vice chairman. Dr. Héctor David Castro, Ambassador of El Salvador and representative of his country on the Council, was nominated by Dr. Julian R. Cáceres, Ambassador of Honduras and representative of that country, who said:

The Inter-American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee, created in an emergency Jsituation to protect the economy of the American republics, is today transformed into the InterAmerican Economic and Social Council, thus giving effect to Chapter 7, Resolution 9, of the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace. This Council, faced with the requirements of peace, will direct its efforts, as its name implies, towards coordinating and increasing the economic and social progress of the American republics.

Now that the war, which brought about the dislocation of all constructive activities, has come to an end, the Advisory Committee, which mitigated as far as possible the effects of this dislocation on the economic life of the continent, must yield its place to the Economic and Social Council. After the obliteration of human rights by war, this body, conceived with vision, will work to assert the dignity of man, which is peace.

In view of these essential purposes, the InterAmerican Economic and Social Council cannot be a merely academic entity. It will be a laboratory of ideas and principles, a living receptacle for systems and theories to be considered in conjunction with the aspirations of the nations of this hemisphere.

To coordinate the official inter-American activities of an economic and social character, to promote social progress and a higher standard of living in all the American republics, are not only functions of the Council but also tasks that require creative energy, a dynamic drive, and effective guidance for the enormous mass of humanity which from one end to the other of the continent moves and lives, believes in and hopes for the advent of greater collective perfection, for a greater power to prepare nature and man, animate beings and inanimate objects, and start them on the upward march of human progress.

At no time in the history of America has there been so imperative the organization of a continental Council to observe and consider the eco

nomic and social problems of the new part of humanity on this side of the Atlantic and to formulate at the same time programs for constructive action, for realities operating within the nations that are now advancing.

If America is a melting pot of races in the formation of its history, it must also be a melting pot of economic and social theories for the benefit of mankind, that is, for the progress of civilization and culture.

America, which is naturally eclectic and without prejudice in its historical development, which is eager to progress in every way, may well find for itself the stupendous formula-if it does not already have the beginning of one-which will fuse the various systems that in one way or another aspire to bring about the happiness of man.

How remarkably America has been the center of gravity for irresistible human aspirations, ideals, and hopes!

Every day the nations of America create, every day they construct, every day they advance in the understanding and the solution of their common problems. Democracy is a common denominator; that is, it offers equality of political and economic opportunities to individuals and peoples, political and economic security in the affirmation of inter-Americanism.

For these ends the American nations have created a system of collective fellowship, of spiritual and material cooperation, which holds them together and unifies them in the pursuit of the collective ideal. The solidarity that unites the nations of this hemisphere is mutual aid, common participation in the benefits of progress, and equivalence of spiritual and material means for their own progress. If we are a physical unit in the realm of geography, we are also a moral unit in the realm of the spirit, in the consubstantial democracy of our political systems and in the meshing of the diverse economic interests directed towards effective inter-American cooperation. In that spirit of mutual helpfulness, of the economic unity that we desire, the economic and social deficiencies of any American country will be considered and remedied, according to the intent of the statute of the Economic and Social Council, as if they were suffered by each and every one of the members of inter-American community; if indeed it is true that they really share shoulder to shoulder the destiny of any country that has not achieved in the past what the future today requires of it.

The Economic and Social Council has before it an enormous task. It is designed to complement a function of Pan Americanism in action. We are

to be congratulated because for these important activities we have unanimously elected as Chairman the Honorable Spruille Braden, who has an understanding mind and a continental culture and vision.

In this same spirit of satisfaction I have the pleasure of proposing for your consideration as a candidate for the vice-chairmanship of this Council an admirable figure well known for his fine qualities, a man whose name is familiar in Pan American activities. I have the pleasure of referring to the Honorable Héctor David Castro, representative of the Republic of El Salvador.

All the members of the Council concurred in this choice, and Dr. Castro expressed his thanks for the distinction conferred upon him, speaking briefly as follows:

My election as vice chairman of the new InterAmerican Economic and Social Council confers a high honor upon me. In speaking these words, I address the Secretary of State of the United States, the Chairman of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council, my diplomatic colleagues, the representatives on the Council, and the other members of this audience.

After hearing the authoritative addresses referring to the duties of the Council, I have little to say. I shall have the privilege of cooperating with a very worthy chairman of our Council, and this I shall of course do with all my heart, since I am acquainted with the work of the Inter-American American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee, and am desirous of joining in the labors of this new organiation which is now holding its first meeting under the name of the InterAmerican Economic and Social Council.

I shall be honored to collaborate with the Honorable Spruille Braden, its chairman, in the task of directing the new Council. Permit me to thank you, gentlemen, for the tribute you have paid me in electing me vice chairman. Well aware as I am of the responsibilities devolving upon me, I shall try to meet them to the best of my ability. Thank you.

The members of the Council as of December 10 are the following:

proved that analyses and the checking-up of investments are indispensable.

This policy, which should be the fundamental policy of the Land and Mortgage Bank, will certainly startle some of the loan applicants; but debtors will realize that the Bank's investigation prior to the granting of credit as well as supervision during the life of the indebtedness are measures indispensable to a sound credit organization and a better orientation of the producers' business.

The bank as a public service

Another principle of these Banks is that they should function, like any other business, according to sound and fair standards, though never forgetting that they are performing a public service. Therefore, the Land and Mortgage Bank of the Dominican Republic should ever strive to help render the Nation's financial conditions favorable to the furtherance of agriculture, industry, and business in general.

In 1844, our Founding Fathers obtained political independence for the present generation. A century afterwards, I am taking another step towards the consolidation of economic independence, the basis of all prosperity.

The nation at large, I am sure, will modify many concepts and standards in the social order, bringing them into line with technical knowledge and the exercise of Christian justice, through the deep humane content that I wish to impress upon the reform which creates the system of long-term credits and low interest rates. The plan involves the protection of the weak without injury to the legitimate rights of the more fortunate, for it is my belief that the former may be strengthened without necessarily injuring the latter.

Political democracy and economic democracy Observation of present-day world events teaches us that political democracy cannot be stable if it is not founded upon economic democracy. It is the duty of statesmen nowadays not to run counter to the social laws that Destiny points out. That is why I wish to take advantage of the present occasion when we are witnessing the birth of this credit institution, the role of which is bound to be so important for the future of the Republic, to describe briefly the stage that my Government aims to reach in the immediate future as part of its plan for the development of national wealth which, according to its economic policy, it has been carrying out for a number of years.

I am deeply interested in getting this plan through, and I have spared no efforts to make it

effective, considering as I do that the development of wealth constitutes the basis for the dignity of nations.

Poverty in our past

All the vicissitudes of our past, both in internal and international relations, have their root in poverty. Although we were called by destiny to occupy a privileged position among the peoples of the New World, since this was the land that served to transfer European civilization to the Western Hemisphere, adverse fate has hitherto prevented us from seeing that destiny fulfilled. The whole course of our history, once the early years of colonization were over, is nothing but an accumulation of adverse factors that did not cease to affect us unfavorably, even after our political independence.

I want to be the vindicator of that destiny, and so the foremost and greatest of all my efforts as a leader has been to infuse in the Dominican people a love for work and to bring home to them the conviction that therein lies the primary force which is bound to result in the advancement of their own welfare. I can state with legitimate pride that my preaching has produced the results sought, and that the change brought about in our people's habits is already producing the desired benefits.

Unwarranted doubts concerning our administrative

capacity

I cannot deny that it is with intimate and deep satisfaction that I look at what has been accomplished. The first step was the suppression of the outdated instrument which overshadowed for many years the sovereign power of the State in financial questions; this culminated in the Treaty of September 24, 1940. The second one was the creation of the Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic, which has placed in the hands of our national economy a first-class credit institution designed to promote our commerce and develop wealth.

In both instances there were those who expressed doubts as to our administrative capacity to carry out efficiently operations of the highest economic and financial order, which until then had always been in foreign hands; and nowadays even those who rejoiced in forecasting chaos acknowledge, or should acknowledge, that the collection of customs duties, the service of the public debt, and the record of the Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic have attained a

standard of efficiency far above the most optimistic expectations.

The future

In the future we shall have to confront a situation demanding a high degree of foresight and an unswerving will for the execution of our proposed plans, inasmuch as we shall have to protect and stimulate the economic development attained in a world at full boiling point, the ultimate course of which cannot be predicted. Therefore, I wish to lay down now the program that my Government proposes to introduce during the next few years in order to meet the circumstances.

Agricultural policy

As regards agricultural activities, I shall continue to sponsor an increase in those crops which furnish our principal supply of foodstuffs. The policy that I pursued concerning rice production, which shifted us from importers to exporters of this cereal, has been continued and will be continued with regard to all other essential items of consumption with a view first of all to fostering the domestic market so that the Dominican people can enjoy adequate food, according to modern nutritional standards, and conveniently satisfy their needs for clothing, shelter, education, and recreation. I consider this the basic point in my program. All the other activities must be coordinated so as to satisfy this objective, since every man living in this country is entitled to the benefit

of the labor of all: particularly it is the humble man, the laboring man who struggles against the soil or moulds with his hands the works of progress, whom I wish to obtain the greatest satisfaction in our economy. The development of the domestic market and a raise in the standard of living of the Dominican people is my highest aspiration as a

leader.

New industrial outlook

In the industrial field I intend to continue and increase the stimulus to Dominican enterprises that furnish work and means of livelihood, in the country as well as in the cities, to that mass of the population which must distribute its activities between the home and labor. With this aim in view I have drawn up a plan to increase the number of trade schools, wherein the State will offer the technical training leading to improved and increased production in textiles, reed and wicker articles, furniture of fine hardwoods, wooden housewares, and numberless other objects which already have found markets, both within and outside the country. And in an order of even greater scope, I have already stated my purpose to stimulate the creation of machine industries in which our leading raw materials must be processed. There is no reason whatever why we should not attain the highest success in the processing of cacao, coffee, sugar, molasses, to mention only a few of our products, when we possess all the necessary factors to obtain higher prices and better conditions in the markets.