THIRD INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CONVENTION. FEASTS AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONS IN HONOR OF THE DELEGATES. The courtesy and splendor with which the foreign delegates were received in Mexico by the National and Federal District Governments, by the Supreme Board of Health, and by the Mexican Delegation to the Conference, were indeed most notable. In the afternoon of the 3rd of December we were cordially_received in the National Palace by His Excellency General Porfirio Diaz, the President of the Republic. In the night of the 4th we were tendered an informal reception at the Department of Foreign Relations, at which occasion, on account of the illness of Señor Don Ignacio Mariscal, the Department was represented by Señor Don José Algara, whose unexpected death we now mourn profoundly. After a delicious tea the delegates were presented with an artistic gold medal, representing the Pan-American Union and bearing the following inscription: "Third International Sanitary Convention, Mexico, December 2 to 7, 1907." At the same time Dr. Eduardo Liceaga presented each delegate with a gold Aztec calendar, with the Mexican colors in the pin from which it hung. On the night of the 2nd a magnificent banquet was given us in the Municipal Palace by the Government of the Federal District and the Supreme Board of the Municipality of the Capital. The abundance of flowers and lights with which the Municipal Palace was ornamented offered a most wonderful view. The banquet was presided over by Don Guillermo de Landa y Escandon, Governor of the Federal District, who delivered an eloqueut speech to which Dr. Pedro L. Ferrer, of Chile, replied in the name of the foreign delegates. In the morning of the 3rd we made a visit to the Penitentiary of the Federal District, where we were cordially received by the Director of the institution, Don Octaviano Liceaga. The conditions of safety, hygiene, comfort and discipline prevailing in the Penitentiary were justly praised by the delegates. In the afternoon of the 3rd we were tendered an automobile ride to the Castle of Chapultepec, where we had occasion to admire the exquisite taste displayed in the furniture and ornaments of the different apartments. After visiting this sumptuous edifice and taking a ride through the beautiful park that surrounds it, we stopped at the Café de Chapultepec, where a tea was tendered us, beautiful ladies of the society of Mexico honoring us with their company. In the afternoon of the 4th we visited the magnificent new Post-Office building, which adds to its beautiful architecture all the necessary elements for the good administration of so important a branch of the Government. Engineer Ďon Norberto Dominguez, Director-General of Posts, received us most courteously and presented us with a luxuriously printed pamphlet describing the new building. After the sessions of the 4th we visited the offices and dependencies of the Supreme Board of Health; we had occasion to see the complete equipment of stoves, pumps, disinfecting apparatus and other instruments used in the splendid sanitary service of the Federal District. Taking into consideration the recognized ability of Doctor Liceaga in sanitary matters, his progressive ideas, his indefatigable activity, the fitness of his subordinate employees, and the wellmerited trust that the Government of President Diaz has placed upon him, one can easily explain the great progress achieved in Mexico during the last years in all that tends to the improvement of Public Health. In the night of the 4th a concert in the Arbeu Theatre was given in honor of the Delegates. The theatre was beautifully decorated, and the attendance was large and select; the musical program was wonderfully executed by the artists that participated in the concert. The 5th was spent in an excursion to Xochimilco, where we had opportunity to admire the great Water Works, nearing completion, that will supply the city with pure water. We were received by Engineer Marroquin Rivera, Director of the Works, thanks to whom we were able to appreciate that remarkable plant. From Chapultepec we were taken in an express train to Xochimilco. At I o'clock in the afternoon a splendid banquet was served in the open air and under an arch made of tree branches, palms and flowers. This banquet was rendered most charming by the presence of the beautiful ladies that attended it and by the melodies played by an excellent orchestra. Dr. Liceaga presided over the banquet and delivered a speech with the eloquence that characterizes him, and, at the request of the delegates, Dr. Azurdia, of Guatemala, thanked Dr. Liceaga in their name. At half-past two we sailed around the lake in big canoes that were richly decorated, and thus was ended one of the most pleasant excursions. In the afternoon of the 6th we took an automobile drive to the Juarez, Roma, and La Condesa colonies, as the new suburbs are called. In the same afternoon we visited the General Hospital of Mexico, a large and elegantly built institution which fills all the modern requirements. Its system of pavilions, the extent of its site, its good ventilation, perfect hygienic conditions, and magnificent administration place it among the first in the world. Afterwards we went to inspect the Pumping Station and Sewer-cleaning . plant, magnificent institutions which are classed among the best of the sanitary works of Mexico. On the 7th, at 8 o'clock in the evening, we were tendered a splendid farewell banquet by the Mexican Delegation, which took place in the "Salones Sylvain." This banquet was attended by the Assistant Secretary of Foreign Relations, representing the Secretary who was ill at that time, the United States Ambassador, the Minister Plenipotentiaries of Spain, Italy and Belgium, the Charges d'Affaires Guatemala and Salvador, several foreign consuls, all the Delegates to the Convention, and several representative gentlemen. Dr. Liceaga offered the banquet with a well-worded toast which he closed saying: "I drink, gentlemen, to the personal prosperity and to the health of your chiefs executive, to the prosperity of the nations represented in this congress, and that the inhabitants of the whole universe may consider themselves as one single nation in all that relates to the preservation of human health, or to the achievement of universal peace." Dr. E. Fernandez Espiro, of Uruguay, responded to the toast of Dr. Liceaga, in the name of all the delegates, and closed his remarks drinking to the health of the President of the Mexican Republic and Doctor Liceaga. Then, Señor Licenciado José Algara, Assistant Secretary of Foreign Relations, spoke in the name of the Mexican Government, and praised the progress of modern hygiene, the scientists that were honoring Mexico with their presence, and Dr. Liceaga. My colleagues of the Convention honored me with the pleasure of answering to the official toast of the Assistant Secretary of Foreign Relations. After congratulating the Mexican Government for the progress achieved in the country thanks to its well-directed efforts, and the activity it had displayed in the work that now speaks so highly in its favor, and after making special mention of the remarkable impulse which had been given to sanitary works, in the ports as well as in important cities, principally the capital, I closed my remarks drinking to the health of President General Porfirio Diaz and his officials, who fully realized the importance of the improvement of public health; to the welfare of the noble nation that had received us so splendidly; to the health of the Mexican Delegation, whose attentions to us had no bounds; and to the health of the illustrious Mexican, the eminent Doctor Liceaga, our chief, teacher and friend. Upon the closing of my remarks, I had the pleasure of fulfilling the mission with which my colleagues had entrusted me, placing in the hands of Dr. Liceaga a copy in parchment, signed by all the Delegates to the Convention, of the resolution in which is stated the appreciation and recognition that we all felt towards him for the most valuable services he has rendered his country, and in which a tribute of respect and admiration is paid to the distinguished hygienist of Mexico, glory of the medical profession of the American Continent. Finally, it is mv pleasant duty to express in the name of all the delegates our sincere appreciation for the many attentions that were accorded to us in Mexico, and to the persons who honored us with social functions, making special mention of Doctors Liceaga and Monjarras and their families. New York, November, 1908. (Signed) JUAN J. ULLOA. THIRD INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CONVENTION OF AMERICAN REPUBLICS. MR. PRESIDENT: MEXICO, December 6, 1907. We have the honor to inform you that at the session held yesterday by the Third International Sanitary Convention of American Republics the Honorable Delegate from Uruguay, Doctor Fernandez Espiro, made the following remarks: I have listened with great pleasure to the report that has just now been read by the President of the Convention, regarding the works of sanitation that have been carried out in the Mexican Republic, and, if all the delegates here present agree with the motion, I would propose, in their name and in my own, that a resolution be adopted expressing the gratifying, impression that the reading of that report has afforded us, and that a copy of the said resolution be forwarded to the Government of Mexico, through Honorable Doctor Liceaga, President of the Convention. The motion having been seconded by the Delegate from Costa Rica, and accepted by all the delegates, it was submitted to the Convention and unanimously approved. The Chairman of the Convention expresses his appreciation therefor, and stated that he would be pleased to transmit the resolution to the President of the Republic. We take advantage of the opportunity to renew the assurances of our most distinguished consideration. TO SEÑOR GENERAL DON PORFIRIO DIAZ, President of the United Mexican States, (Signed) E. LICEAGA, Chairman of the Convention. (Signed) JUAN J. ULLOA, Secretary of the Convention. |