"Among the most important recommendations made by the First International American Conference, held in Washington in 1889-1890, with a view to facilitating trade and communication between the American Republics, was that looking to the construction of an intercontinental railway, by which all of the republics on the American continent would be put into rail communication with each other. In pursuance of the recommendations of that conference, an international railway commission was organized, and under its direction surveys were made which showed that it would be entirely practicable, by using, as far as possible, existing railway systems and filling in the gaps between them. … The report of the intercontinental railway commission showed that the distance between New York and Buenos Ayres by way of the proposed line would be 10,471 miles, of which a little less than one-half had then been constructed, leaving about 5,456 miles to be built. Following up the work of the first conference and the intercontinental railway commission, the present conference adopted a strong report and a series of carefully considered recommendations on this subject. … "The resolution … providing for the meeting of an international American customs congress in the city of New York within a year, to consider customs administrative matters, is one of the subjects on which early action should be taken by our Government if the success of the congress is to be assured. The governing board of the International Bureau of the American Republics is to fix the date for the meeting of this congress. … This congress will have nothing whatever to do with the subject of tariff rates in any of the countries represented. Its functions … briefly stated, are to consider means for bringing about, as far as may be practicable, the adoption by the several republics of uniform and simple methods of custom-house procedure and a uniform and simple system of port regulations and charges; measures to secure the adoption and use in customs schedules and laws of a common nomenclature of the products and merchandise of the American republics, to be issued in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, and that it may become the basis for the statistical data of exports and imports; to provide for the organization of a permanent customs committee or commission, composed of persons having technical and expert knowledge, which, as a dependency of the International Bureau of the American Republics, or otherwise, shall be charged with the execution of the resolutions and decisions of the congress and the study of the customs laws of the American republics, in order to suggest to the several governments the adoption of laws and measures which, with regard to custom house formalities, may tend to simplify and facilitate mercantile traffic. … {22}