Conference Individual Freedom Pledged Lima, Dec. 9.
ENERAL Oscar B. Benavides, President of Peru, formally opened the eighth international Conference of American States at 6 o'clock this evening. The Peruvian President sounded the keynote of the Conference in his opening speech when he stressed the necessity for inter-American solidarity and continental strength. General Benavides emphatically rejected the possibility of a continental imperialism developing in the western hemisphere now or in the future.
General Benavides addressed the delegates from the speakers dais of the Chamber of Representatives, in the Legislative Palace. He cited Peru's efforts in 1847 "o form a confederation without ihe rigidity of a political formula but with sufficient reality for international efficienc; This was interpreted as urging the delegates to present a solid front to the world, without sacrificing any one country's freedom of action through formal treaties.
"We wish to be strong in order to Memel Germans to be respected," ne went on, "but we do not now have, nor cam we heve, either politically or economically or spiritually, a continental imperialism."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.