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1947 San Francisco Convention
Tributes to Paul P. Harris
Fernando Carbajal, RC Lima, Peru
FERNANDO CARBAJAL: My dear Friends: We Latins are really
sentimental. We believe that when the human race is at a crisis,
there is a Divine Justice which sends to earth men who are
endowed with the ability of offering a life‑saving raft to a
floundering humanity. All too often, the common man is unaware
of the crisis which confronts him. These inspired persons,
however, quickly perceive the wickedness that gnaws at the
vitals of civilization. They have the facility to penetrate the
darkness and to see into the future. They have the courage to
act and the vision to translate their dreams into reality.
To
us, from Latin America, Paul Harris was such a person!
In
that jungle of selfishness, egotism, and prejudice which was the
typical large city at the turn of the last century, Paul Harris
was keenly aware of the downward path which humanity was
treading toward its own destruction. He sought a medium which
would bring men together in an atmosphere of helpfulness and
service, based on a mutual acquaintance. It was in this search
that he conceived and created the first Rotary Club.
Paul Harris' message to the world could be reduced to two words.
These words have the same number of letters. They both reside in
the human heart, but there is room in the heart for only one at
a time. Those words are “Love” and “Hate.” If the first is taken
as our guide, the result will be a better world. If, however, it
is the second which guides our actions, disaster will be the
inevitable result.
In
Latin America that message of Paul Harris has been taken as a
revelation. There have been many manifestations of its
acceptance by our people. Over the bloody fields of the
conflicts between Bolivia and Paraguay, generous and kindly
hands of Rotarians of both countries aided the prisoners of war,
and that same Rotary intervention helped to bring about an end
of that conflict between Peru, my own country, and Colombia, a
misunderstanding arose which threatened war, but the friendship
of two men, men who understood Rotary, and to whom the
principles of international understanding were not alien,
enabled our two countries to reach an understanding without the
shedding of a single drop of blood.
Again, between two neighboring countries, Chile and Peru, for
many years apart because of a painful conflict, Rotary aided
with its beneficial influence and helped to develop into
friendship those differences of opinion which had threatened the
peace and security of our peoples.
All this, and much more, is what Paul Harris has meant to Latin
America. The seed that he planted has blossomed into a flower of
rarest fragrance. Rotary, in that part of America, is now an
integral part of our very being. We could not think of being
without it.
Paul visited us several years ago. In a pilgrimage through
several of our countries, he and Jean won the hearts of all who
had the privilege of knowing them. Moreover, scores of people,
both within and outside our organization, people who have never
had the privilege of shaking Paul's hand, have felt a deep
veneration for the Founder of Rotary. To them, Paul Harris is,
and shall always be, the symbol of an idea that will guide all
men toward a better world. To these people Paul Harris has not
died, nor will he ever die. Wherever Rotarians gather, wherever
the forces of good overpower the evil in the world, wherever the
unfortunate receive a helping hand, there will the spirit of
Paul Harris live and thrive in the hearts of men.
Those of us who knew him have lost a dear friend, but to us he
has bequeathed an important message. As trustees of that
inheritance, we feel the responsibility of spreading that
message of goodwill and understanding throughout the world. Let
us hope and pray that one day thd message will so influence the
actions of men that humanity will at last find the goal of peace
for which we have so long sought. When that happens, and not
until then, can we begin to even measure the length of the
shadow which Paul Harris cast upon a sorrowful world.
(Applause)
CHESLEY R. PERRY: I will now present the sixth speaker of our
group of Rotarians from outside the United States and, when he
has finished, Tom Warren will resume and proceed to introduce
the final speaker in this memorial program. Our sixth speaker is
S. R. Sarma of the Rotary Club of
Madras, India. (Applause)
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