I find that the riches of your wonderful land are in the hands of a people who are worthy to enjoy them. I shall take away with me from Peru not only the kindest feelings of friendship and of gratitude but the highest and most confident hope of a great and glorious future for the people to whom I wish so well. Mr. Minister, will you permit me the honor of asking all to join me in drinking to the health of His Excellency the President of Peru? RECEPTION AT THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL SPEECH OF DOCTOR FEDERICO ELGUERA MAYOR OF LIMA September 10, 1906 The citizens of Lima welcome you and are glad to have you amongst them. You arrive at the capital of Peru, after visiting the leading cities in South America and receiving the greetings so justly due the great American nation and your own personal merits. You are an ambassador of peace, a messenger of good will, and the herald of doctrines which sustain America's autonomy and strengthen the faith in our future welfare. The wake left by the vessel which has brought you hither serves as a symbol, indicating union, fraternity, and friendship between the northern and southern states of this continent. You have been able to form a general opinion as to the present state of the political, economical, and social development of Latin America. You also know now what her resources are and to what conditions the growth and progress of this southern continent are due. After visiting prosperous countries, whose peaceful labor on behalf of civilization has not been disturbed by the sorrows of war, you reach a land where once flourished the greatest empire which ever arose in America. You have arrived at the ancient metropolis of Spanish America; you are now at the heart of a nation which attracted the world's attention in former days on account of its greatness and the treasures it possessed--a nation which fought the final battles for independence; and, more important than all, a country which, having been shaken and convulsed by dissension, has risen once more to a life of well-being through a supreme effort of will and a firm belief in its future. The Peru you are visiting is not only the country of olden times, which tradition has made known for its fabulous wealth, but it is a modern country, versed in the principles of order, industry, and labor. Nations which live exclusively on the wealth given them by nature make no effort to become greater, nor do they consider their future welfare, but perish, crushed by those whose envy and greed they excite. On the other hand, those countries whose prosperity is based on the principles of justice, trade, and peace attain success and incite others to follow, contributing thus to the great work of universal civilization.