Ambassador Griscom to the Secretary of State.

[Telegram.—Paraphrase.]

(The ambassador reports that President Affonso Penna in his inaugural address made unusual mention of the relations of Brazil with the United States, and quotes him as follows: “The PanAmerican [Page 113] conference in Rio de Janeiro and the visit with which the eminent statesman, Mr. Elihu Root, Secretary of State of the United States, honored our and other South American countries are facts of extraordinary political accomplishment, marking a new era in the relations of the people of the New World.” Also, “In the formative period of our political existence Brazilian statesmen understood the high desirability of close relations with the young and flourishing Republic of the United States of America, which first among the colonies of the New World proclaimed its independence. This traditional policy has in recent times received a great impulse, and will continue, I am convinced, to merit the careful attention of both peoples.” The President expressed confidence that the supreme tribunal of Brazil would show itself worthy of its great model, the Supreme Court of the United States. In his concluding paragraph he advised his compatriots to devote all their efforts to attaining the prominent position predicted for them by Mr. Root “in the prevision of the remarkable American statesman.” The fact that the United States was the only foreign nation mentioned in the address is remarked upon.)