THE PAN AMERICAN UNION, now 55 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; and the Eighth, at Lima in 1938. The creation of machinery for the orderly settlement of inter-American disputes is one of the outstanding achievements of the Pan American system.

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 135,000 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 as 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.

FROM October 12 to November 15, 1945, the Pan American Union at Washington displayed the books of some three hundred publishers in the Western Hemisphere. Fifty-seven hundred different titles, chiefly in Spanish and Portuguese, gave impressive evidence of the importance of books to other peoples as well as to ourselves. In the collection was a group of United States books on Latin American subjects. Decidedly, however, it was not a representation of United States publishing. But it was a display so significant that I wish to share with you the thoughts which arose in my mind as I examined these books.

The occasion was a ceremonial one. A small distinguished gathering had been invited to participate in the presentation of a beautiful set of Peruvian books to the Library of Congress. Five publishers, of

whom I was one, visited Latin America under State Department auspices in the summer of 1943. At Lima, Peru, we received a commission to serve as envoys in transferring certain printed historical documents of Peru to the national library of the United States. The presentation was delayed so that this gift might be placed against an appropriate background, a cross-section of Latin American book publishing.

As I examined this important exhibition of books, I again was filled with admiration for the technical skill of Latin American printers and publishers. Every possible printing and binding problem had been faced squarely; almost always the result was an artistic victory for the designers and workmen. The results in offset color printing were simply splendid, and the typography was of highest quality.