THE PAN AMERICAN UNION, now 56 years old, is an international organization created and maintained by the twenty-one American Republics: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Originally known as the International Bureau of the American Republics, it was established in 1890 in accordance with a resolution passed April 14 of that year by the First International Conference of American States, which convened at Washington in October 1889. April 14 is celebrated annually throughout the Americas as Pan American Day.

The work of the Union was greatly expanded by resolutions of the Second Conference, held at Mexico City in 1901-2; the Third, at Rio de Janeiro in 1906; the Fourth, at Buenos Aires in 1910; the Fifth, at Santiago, Chile, in 1923; the Sixth, at Habana in 1928; the Seventh, at Montevideo in 1933; the Eighth, at Lima in 1938, and by other inter-American conferences. The creation of machinery for the orderly settlement of inter-American disputes is one of the outstanding achievements of the Pan American system, but more important still is the continental public opinion that demanded such procedure.

PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION

The purpose of the Pan American Union is to promote friendship and close relations among the Republics of the American Continent and peace and security within their borders by fostering constructive cooperation among them. The Union is supported by annual contributions

from all the countries, in amounts proportional to population, and its services are freely available to officials and private citizens alike. Its affairs are administered by a Director General and an Assistant Director, elected by and responsible to a Governing Board composed of one member from each American Republic.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

The administrative divisions of the Pan American Union are organized to carry out the purposes for which it was created. There are special divisions dealing with foreign trade, statistics, economics, intellectual cooperation, music, juridical matters, agricultural cooperation, travel, and labor and social information. All these divisions maintain close relations with official and unofficial bodies in the countries members of the Union. The Columbus Memorial Library contains 138,500 volumes and 2,400 maps. The BULLETIN of the Pan American Union, published monthly in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, is the official organ of the institution. For a list of other publications of the Union, see the inside back cover.

PAN AMERICAN CONFERENCES

The Pan American Union also serves as the permanent organ of the International Conferences of American States, usually referred to the Pan American Conferences. In addition to preparing the programs and regulations, the Union gives effect to the conclusions of the Conferences by conducting special inquiries and investigations and by convening or arranging for special or technical conferences in the intervals between the International Conferences.

SITUATED in a fertile valley framed by mountains, the city of San Salvador, capital of the Republic of El Salvador, has more than 100,000 inhabitants and is from every viewpoint the true metropolis of the country.

San Salvador lies about twenty-three miles from the Pacific Ocean at a little more than 2,200 feet above sea level. This altitude and the natural barrier help to give the city an agreeable climate, less humid than that along the coast. The mountains heighten the beauty of the landscape and protect San Salvador from the full fury of the hurricanes that visit it once in a long time. Life is peaceful, although people work hard. The communications with the rest of the republic are excellent. Railroads unite the capital with the other important cities of the coun

try and with the neighboring Republic of Guatemala.

This is modern San Salvador,1 which on September 27, 1946, will celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the day it was raised to the category of city by royal decree of Charles V of Spain. Its name reflects the missionary character of the Spanish conquistadors, who thus from the beginning placed the capital under the protection of the Savior of the World.

Historians' opinions differ on the true date of the founding of San Salvador, as well as with regard to the person who should be known as its founder. Some believe that it was Diego de Alvarado, who by command of Jorge de Alvarado founded San Salvador at the place called La Bermuda near the present city of 1 Holy Savior.