Remarks in Panama

I am grateful to you, Mr. President, and to the people of Panama, for the cordial welcome you have given me. It is a great pleasure to me to return to Panama after an absence of twenty-two years and to see the great progress which has been made and is being made in the well-being of the Republic.

But my interest in Panama may be said to be of a historic character as well, because it was my own great-uncle, Mr. William H. Aspinwall, who was instrumental in starting the Panama Railroad in 1848 and who in the face of many natural difficulties carried it to a successful conclusion in 1855.

It was this railway which began to restore to the Isthmus its former proud position of the crossroads of the Americas. When the work started there was no city where Colon now stands and Panama City had but 10,000 inhabitants. Through the succeeding years, you have become a Nation and an important nerve center of the commerce of the world.

The Canal serves all Nations in the needs of peaceful commerce. The United States is therefore a trustee for all the world in its peaceful maintenance. In that trusteeship, we have always had, and I am sure always will have, the complete cooperation of the Republic of Panama. The questions of administration and of methods of cooperation, which arise and will continue to arise in many new forms in the future as conditions change and new problems confront us, will, I am certain, be solved in the same spirit of justice which we are now displaying.

It was to me most delightful—and most helpful—to have President Arias visit Washington last winter. I appreciate the problems of the Republic of Panama, but I am happy to think that Panama and the United States have both definitely entered into the period of recovery from difficult days.

Both Nations are seeking a greater progress and a greater social justice. For you, Mr. President, and for Panama, I wish every happiness and every good.