Office of the Regent

School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University
Washington, D. C.

March 1, 1921.

To the President of Georgetown University.
Sir:

I hand you herewith papers relating to the visit to Venezuela made by a group of eighteen students in the summer of 1920. These papers comprise a brief report of the trip, by Dr. G. A. Sherwell, who was in charge of the mission, some of the essays on the economic resources of Venezuela, prepared by the students, and, in the appendix, a translation of a notable address delivered by Dr. Itriago ChacÍn at the close of the Georgetown students' sojourn in Caracas, together with editorial comments from certain journals of this country and Venezuela. I venture to refer briefly to each of these documents.

Dr. Sherwell's report makes clear how great was the courtesy shown and how extensive were the facilities afforded to the Georgetown students by the official and academic authorities of Venezuela. I believe the University, and for that matter academic circles outside our own University in this country, must be grateful for the many attentions and unfailing interest manifested by the Venezuelan officials and teachers in the work of these students.

Dr. Sherwell's report likewise makes clear that the contact was a valuable one for the particular students who made the trip, and that they bore themselves well and creditably. All the more satisfaction may be derived from this fact inasmuch as the students selected might be fairly taken as a cross section of the student body in the School of Foreign Service,—and you are already aware how widely representative of the youth of our country that student body is. That these young men should have made a favorable impression in a rather long trip of this character when they were under the observation of a great number of persons, and often in situations calling for a demonstration of no inconsiderable poise and sense of the fitness of things, can not but enhance our satisfaction and our confidence not merely in the resourcefulness but in the trustworthiness of the men upon whom this country must depend in the future for the promotion of her trade and the dignified and active representation of her policies.

The address of Dr. Itriago ChacÍn has been reproduced in full,—in so far as a translation can ever render the full effect of an original,—and it is, quite apart from its intrinsic merit, a document of much interest, for it shows how profitable and enlightening must be the studies in the field of political science carried on by students sent out in groups under conditions described in this report. Studies in the field of Political Science are not, to be sure, the primary object of students going abroad to survey the economic resources, the commercial usages, and the facilities for transportation and distribution of commodities in the countries which they visit. None the less, sustained contact with trained masters of political studies may at times be possible, and should in all cases be availed of in order to gain the valuable experience of hearing points of view on matters of international policy developed in other countries and under conditions quite different from those obtaining at home.

Space forbids that more than thirteen of the reports prepared by the students be published. Those selected are believed to have the more general interest and to contain material not easily found in other sources. All of them were based upon personal investigation and consultation with Venezuelan authorities. Obviously, there are evidences of hasty preparation and the papers leave something to be desired in the arrangement and presentation of material, the collation of figures, and the critical discussion of printed sources. In places, too, there are statements which might require modification if a more mature person were to assume responsibility for the given report. They are submitted solely as the work of students in process of formation.

It is of interest to call attention to the fact that this visit to Venezuela was the source of much favorable comment in the press of the two countries, several papers in the United States dwelling upon its significance as the first formal effort to place our own students directly in contact with the life of the other Republics. Specimens are included in the Appendix.

Dr. Sherwell has referred to the bestowal of a decoration on him by the Venezuelan Government, and has minimized its personal significance. This reservation of his I transmit with amendments, for I can not but share the views of the Venezuelan authorities in granting him first, the Medal of Public Instruction and later the Order of the Liberator, that he had rendered Venezuela a lasting service, no less than his own country, by his dignified, gracious, and enthusiastic interest in the promotion of the intellectual and commercial relations of the two republics.

The immense practical value of laboratory work in the physical sciences is among the cardinal tenets of sound pedagogy. In like manner, the application of economic principles and theories of political science to actual conditions as they exist in the world to-day is the ideal feature of a liberal education for foreign service such as this department undertakes to provide. Perhaps in no other educational program should more pains be taken to cultivate the faculty of accurate observation, exact expression and bold initiative, based on logical reasoning aided by fertile imagination.

Proficiency in the technique of foreign trade or consular practice or diplomatic procedure is but a fractional part of the full equipment of American youths aspiring to serve their country's interests abroad either in public or private capacity. Technical knowledge will be futile unless humanized by a broad sympathy with the men and institutions of other climes. Therefore, the policy of sending such groups of students abroad deserves encouragement, and I earnestly recommend that the Regent of the School of Foreign Service be authorized, on the basis of the substantial success of this first experimental visit, to send such students as it is possible to select and send under competent direction, to other countries in the summer of the present year and hereafter.

Respectfully, Edmund A. Walsh, S. J.,
Regent.
To
John B. Creeden, S. J., Ph. D.,
President of Georgetown University,
Washington, D. C.