TAN-AMERICAN UNION 101 PANDIT Suarez, Chilean Ambassador to the United States, presided over the meeting, which was largely attended by public men, scientists and educators of Ameri- can countries. The discussions covered almost the en- tire range of human activity and prog- ress. To facilitate progress, the congress was divided into 9 sections, which were in turn divided into 45 subsections, and the various pkases of the matters under discussion were considered by the proper sub-sections or group meetings. Elihu Root delivered a notable address before the Congress, asking protection for the weaker nations by the adoption of international rules of conduct. On Jan. 6, 1916, Woodrow Wilson urged a plan proposed by Robert Lansing, Secre- tary of State, on an agreement between all American nations which would guar- antee the independence and territorial right of each party to the agreement, and provide for the settlement of all disputes by arbitration. The members of the Congress were guests at a banquet given by Secretary of State Lansing on Jan. 8. The next meeting of the Congress will be held in Lima, Peru, in 1921, the time of the celebration of the centennial of Peruvian independence. PAN-AMERICAN UNION, the official international organization of the 21 inde- pendent governments of the western hem- isphere. It was originally organized as the Bureau of the American Republic, and was founded at the first Pan-Ameri- can Conference held in Washington in 1889-1890, and was continued through the second, third and fourth conferences. The name was changed to the Pan- American Union at the latter conference held in Buenos Aires in 1910. The or- ganization is supported by the govern- ments and is controlled by a governing board, composed of the Secretary of State of the United States, and the diplomatic representatives of the other American governments in Washington. The Union has a handsome building in Washington. It publishes the Pan- American "Bulletin" and a number of other reports and papers. The chief of this organization was John Bassett, who acted as its president until 1920, when he was succeeded by Dr. Leo S. Rowe. The Union has charge of the Pan-American conferences which are held periodically and are attended by representatives from the American countries. See Pan- American Conference. PANAY, one of the Philippine Islands, belonging to the Visayan group. The island in shape is nearly that of a tri- angle. In general it is mountainous, though there are many extensive and very fertile valleys. The island com- prises the three provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, and Antique; area, 4,611 square miles; pop. about 750,000. It is celebrated for forest products, there being in the single province of Capiz as many as 87 varieties of excellent building woods. From the forests are also gathered honey, wax, and pitch. Several quarries are worked, pro- ducing fine marble and tonalite. Lime of an excellent quality is abundant in the province of Iloilo. Besides these in- dustries, cotton, corn, chocolate, pepper, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane, and rice are cultivated with much success. PANCRAS, ST., the son of a heathen noble of Synnada in Phrygia, lost both parents while a boy, and was taken to Rome by an uncle, and there baptized, but immediately afterward was slain (304) in the Diocletian persecution, being only 14 years old. The first Church that St. Augustine consecrated in England was dedicated to St. Pancras; it stood at Canterbury. PANCREAS, in anatomy, an organ situated within the curve formed by the duodenum; its main duct opening into the intestine there, and secreting the pan- creatic fluid, which resembles saliva, the gland itself resembling the salivary glands. Its function is to secrete this fluid which has a strong digestive action on starchy matter, and in a less degree on fatty matters and albuminoid sub- stances. PANCREATIN, a mixture of fer- ments, or enzymes, obtained from the pancreas of the ox or hog. Occurs as a yellowish, amorphous powder, or as transparent yellowish scales, almost com- pletely soluble in water and insoluble in alcohol. When exposed to the air it absorbs water and loses its activity. Pancreatin has the property of bringing starchy, proteid and fatty foods into a more digestible form. This renders it valuable for treating digestive disorders, and cases where defective nutrition is indicated. It is also used in treating diabetes and cancer. In conjunction with sodium bi-carbonate, it is used in peptonizing milk for feeding infants, and is also added to beef tea, gruel and other invalid foods. PANDECTS, a collection of laws, sys- tematically arranged, from the works of Roman writers on jurisprudence, to which the Emperor Justinian gave the force of law, 533 A. D. PANDIT, or PUNDIT, a learned Brahman; one versed in the Sanskrit
