Study All America.
In a letter to high-school principals of the United States, Doctor P. P. Claxton, the government’s commissioner of education, urges special study of the countries of Latin America, those portions of America inhabited by races of Latin stock, including Central America, South America, Mexico, and parts of the West Indies. Doctor Claxton writes:
“We should teach in our schools and colleges more of the geography, history, literature, and life of the Latin-American countries, and we should offer instruction in the Spanish and Portuguese languages to a much larger extent than is now done.
“All our relations with the countries to the south of us are bound to become much more intimate than they have been in the past. The completion of the Panama Canal, the changes in commercial relations brought about by the war in Europe, as well as other recent events, have served to call the attention of the people of the United States to the recent rapid growth and development of the Latin-American republics.
“These countries comprise an area three times as great as the United States. They are rich in minerals, forests, water power, and a wide range of agricultural products. They have 70,000,000 of people, with governments modeled after our own. Their foreign commerce amounts to more than $3,000,000,000 annually, and is rapidly increasing.
“The third American city in population is in Latin America. Another Latin-American city has 1,000,000 inhabitants. Three others have approximately 500,000 each, and five others have each 20,000 or more. Some of these cities rank among the most beautiful and attractive in the world.[Pg 64]
“These countries are making rapid progress in elementary and secondary education and in industrial education. Several of their universities enroll from one to 2,000 students each. The history of their countries is interesting, and they possess a rich and varied literature.�