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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY |
| An allegory of the Pampa—Patriarchs and Oligarchies—National and local politics and administration—Patrician government—The landed aristocracy—Patriotism and foreign railways—The problem of agricultural labour—Propaganda, in theory and in practice—Needed and unneeded immigration—The peon of to-day and the gaucho—Urgent need of rural population—Industries in waiting—The INCALCULABLE future of the River Plate countries—Lack of Uruguayan statistics | 1 |
CHAPTER II
THE WAR |
| The shock falls on existing local depression—Vigorous and prompt action of the River Plate governments and banks—No “MaÑana”—Mr. C. A. Tornquist’s views—Again the need of rural population—Socialism from above and below—Buoyancy of national securities | 18 |
CHAPTER III
HISTORY AND POLITICS |
| The Declaration of Independence—Subsequent chaos—Rozas and ArtÍgas—Sarmiento—Mitre—Juarez Celman—The Argentine financial crash of 1891—Uruguay; “Whites” and “Reds”—Uruguayan patriotism and honesty—“State socialism gone mad”—The commencements of modern River Plate history—Dr. Saenz PeÑa—Sound financial policy—Future peace and prosperity—The ballot in Argentina and former electoral corruption—The people a new factor in Argentine politics | 29 |
CHAPTER IV
RACIAL ELEMENTS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS |
| The Argentine of the future (?) and of the past—Spanish and Italian immigration—Young patriots—Argentine and Uruguayan sources of immigration—River Plate Spanish and philology—Argentines and Uruguayans contrasted—Manners and characteristics—The true signification of “MaÑana”—Some advice to immigrants—Land and the foreigner—Much learning and little application—Lower-class illiteracy—Argentine women, households, and children—Jeunesse dorÉe—Further contrast of Argentines and Uruguayans | 40 |
CHAPTER V
NATIONAL, PROVINCIAL, AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT |
| The constitutions of Argentina and Uruguay, advantages and defects of each—Dr. Figueroa Alcorta—“RevoluciÓn de arriba”—A “Coup d’État”—Former Argentine electoral practices—Doctrinaire government in Uruguay—An autocratic democrat—General strike and general festivities—Certified milk-cans—Provincial authorities—Freedom from corruption of National governments—The “making” of internal politics—Finance—“A fat thief better than a lean one”—Childish things, soon to be put away | 62 |
CHAPTER VI
MONTEVIDEO AND BUENOS AIRES |
| History and modernity; music and verdure—Theatres and Bathing—The ambition of Montevideo—Carnival—The origins of two great fortunes—More historic buildings and the “Palace of Gold”—The Buenos Aires “tube”; its tramways—Comparative expense of living—Opera houses and theatres—Night and day—Ever-changing Buenos Aires—The Jockey Club—Palermo and the Avenida de Alvear—Fashion moves northwards—Corso and race-course—Gambling—The agricultural show—Hurlingham—The Tigre—The Recoleta—“The Bond Street of the South”—Hotels—Buenos Aires not a hot-bed of vice—Marriage and mourning—“Conventillos”—Fashion in Buenos Aires and Montevideo | 79 |
CHAPTER VII
FINANCE AND COMMERCE |
| Susceptibility of South America to conditions of the European money markets; early fear of Balkan complications—Relatively bad times—Transient “crises”—August, 1914—Protective measures—“It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good”—Still further insistence on the need of agricultural population—Currencies—The Argentine “Conversion” Law—Former gold speculation and banks of issue—Golden opportunity for British trade—A South American view of the Monroe doctrine—The “Hustler”—British manufacturers and the South American trade—How to lose it—How to keep it—Uruguay’s creditable reputation—General commercial conditions in Argentina and Uruguay—The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange—Gambling—Sound securities: the Argentine Hypothecary Bank, and National, Provincial, and Municipal Debenture Bonds—The new and the old Buenos Aires corn exchanges—More about the “Bolza”—Fictitious booms—A great bear—The death of public speculation—Cedulas and Cedulas—Credito Argentino | 93 |
CHAPTER VIII
RAILWAYS, PORTS AND IMMIGRATION |
| An Imperium in Imperio—Foreign capital in River Plate railways—Gauges—The “Mitre” Law—Luxurious travelling—An U.S. Syndicate—Argentine national railways—The Transandine and Entre Rios lines—The projected southern transandine line—Maritime accessibility of the River Plate Republics—Chief ports—Spanish immigration | 122 |
CHAPTER IX
GENERAL STATISTICS |
| Increase of trade during past two decades—United Kingdom imports of grain and meat—U.K. exports, showing importance of Argentina and Uruguay—British capital invested in Argentina during first half of 1914—Trade of the U.S. with S. America—U.S. exports, showing importance of Argentina—Argentine imports from Europe in 1913—The rich productiveness of Uruguay—Increase of Argentine and Uruguayan exports—Public works and small budget surpluses—Buenos Aires commercial and industrial census, 1914; bread an
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