Buenos Aires. Dec. 1 Calling upon the "American family of nations" to join hands in a consullative agreement for economic unity and political peace in. the Western Hemisphere against the grim, frowning menace of war In. older lands. President Roosevelt formally opened the Inter-American Peace Conference here to-day.
'The President's opening remarks, however, were challenged by the son of the Argentine President. Liboro Justo, a Communist recently expelled from' Brazil. Gen, Justo' son heckled the' President's opening words with repeated shouts of "Down with "imperialism!" until police arrested him and removed him from the assembly. The President, how. fever, Inmored the heckler. continuing hig speech without Interruption.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder in our final decision." the President said, "that others who, driven by war madness or land hunger, might seek to commit acts of aggression against us, will find this hemisphere wholly Prepared {o consult together for mutual safety and mutual good."
"The welfare and prosperity of each of our countries." President Roosevelt emphasized, "depends in a large part on the benefits derived from commerce amor and with other nations:
"Beonomle Madness"
'The President bitterly denounced "economic madness" which is leading to war snd poverty in the land: across the seas in' every direction from the western world, The peace conference, he declared, was an opportunity for the peoples of the Americas {0 ce-operate in establish= {ng economic unity.
"Every nation in the world felt the evil effects: of recent efforts to erect trade barriers from which every individual citizen suffered." Me. Roosevalt slated, "It is no ace eident that the nations which carried this process the furthest are. those which proclaim the loudest that they require war as instruments of belt policy, It is no accident that at. tempts at self-sufficiency ted 10 falling standards of living for the people and over increasing loss of democratic ideals in the mad. race to pile armament on armament. It is no uecident that, because of these suleldal policies, many people have come despairingly to believe that the price of war seems less than the price of peace.
Plain People Want Peace am profoundly convinced that plain people everywhere in the elvillzed world wish to live at peace with one another. And still leaders and governments resort to war.
The negotiation of reciprocal trade pacts between the American nations, the President asserted, is essential in maintaining peace in the western world. 4 "Democracy is still the world's only hope." Mr. Roosevelt stated. "Our hemisphere has finally "come of age and we are assembled to show the world It is united. We took from our ancestors a great dream, We here offer it back as great, unified reality."
President Roosevelt inter told 9 group of Argentine newspapermen to-day that the United States is still determined not to join the League of Nations. The President refused to comment on the possibility of organizing a league of American nations.—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.