Argentina has just celebrated the first centennial of her independence from Spanish domination. On the 25th of May, 1910, there was opened in the city of Buenos Aires an exposition that continued for six months. It was undoubtedly the greatest exposition ever held in the southern hemisphere, just as Buenos Aires is the largest city in that half of the globe. For almost a year active preparations had been going on for this celebration. The United States honoured the occasion by sending five warships for the opening, and appointing a special commission to represent the government in an official capacity. The exposition really consisted of five separate exhibitions, which were located in different parts of the city and were practically independent of each other. These were the International Exhibition of Railways and Land Transports, the International Exhibition of The Exhibition of Hygiene was also important Each one of the foreign colonies entered heartily into the exposition spirit, and planned to present to the city some memorial in the way of a permanent work of art, in commemoration of this first centennial of the revolution which led to the independence of Argentina from Spanish rule or misrule, a date which is as sacred to the Argentinians as the Fourth of July with us. The British colony, which is one of the largest and wealthiest and numbers probably twenty-five thousand, presented a clock tower of artistic design. The German colony, of almost equal numbers, began the erection of a monumental fountain on a great and imposing terrace which was prepared by the city, and cost one hundred thousand dollars. The CONGRESS PALACE AND THE PLAZA, BUENOS AIRES Courtesy of the Bulletin of Pan-American Union All over the city of Buenos Aires men worked for months in the attempt to beautify the city for the centennial exposition. Plazas were rearranged, and new monuments erected in them; public buildings were redecorated and overhauled; the new Supreme Court Palace was hurried in order to have it ready for the sessions of the Pan-American Congress, which were held there contemporaneous with the exposition; six solid blocks were bought and condemned The great problem with Argentina is the settlement of the immense tracts of unoccupied land. These formerly belonged to the national government, but they are now generally owned by the various provinces. As in most Latin countries the government adopted the plan of subsidizing the railroads, instead of giving them lands which would have been an incentive to stimulate settlement along their tracks. The railways have only recently grasped the advantages of encouraging such migration. A large part of this land has already been secured by private owners. The country is overrun with land companies, and every newspaper is filled with advertisements of auction sales of lands and corner lots in projected colonies, or in estates which comprise thousands of acres. Nowhere will one find such elaborate advertisements of real estate as in the newspapers of Buenos Aires, where they spread over page after page of their bulky papers. The government is making earnest effort to encourage immigration and has been more successful than any other republic in South America. The immigration department publishes prospectuses containing elaborate and detailed information concerning public lands and guides for prospective settlers. The efforts of the national government are ably seconded by the provincial administrations, and they are jointly endeavouring to attract a class that will adopt an agricultural life. Free transportation is given desirable immigrants, and in many places money is advanced to build a modest house. A number of European companies are also establishing colonies and bringing in settlers. Some landowners who find their estates too unwieldy are letting their land out to tenants on shares. The immigrant receives far different treatment there from what he does in the United States, where he is simply turned loose after the inspectors have passed him. It has been charged in some instances that the government does not always keep its promises with these incomers, but I do not believe that can be at all general, for they are too anxious to populate the country. The country has been pretty well surveyed and good titles can generally be obtained. It Statistics show that, during the year 1909, two hundred and thirty-two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight immigrants entered Argentina. Nearly every steamer landing at Buenos Aires has a few hundred of these poor people down in the steerage quarters. They are just the same as one will see disembarking at Ellis Island from the Mediterranean steamers. During the past ten years the total number arriving over those departing was almost a million and a quarter. A great many come in for temporary work in the harvest fields or elsewhere, and after earning a few hundred dollars go back to their homes in sunny Italy. Of the number arriving nearly one-half are Spaniards and about one-third Italians. The proportion of Spaniards has greatly increased in the past two or three years. The other nationalities include Syrians, Russians (mostly Jews), French, Austrians, Portuguese, British, etc., It has been heretofore, and perhaps always will be, the case that Europe will devote greater attention to the River Plate countries than North America. There are two good reasons for this: first, the temperate regions of South America provide an outlet for the surplus population of the Latin nations of Europe; and, secondly, these countries are depended upon to furnish a large part of the food supplies for the thickly populated nations of that continent. The Anglo-Saxon has a choice of the many colonies The peaceful conquest of Argentina by Europe was but a natural outcome of conditions. That continent had long realized the advantages of those broad fertile plains situated in a temperate climate. Europe likewise was in need of a granary near her markets, and these rich leagues with easy access provided what she ardently wanted and greatly needed. Force was not necessary in this conquest, for the power of money alone won the day, especially for England. British gold built five-sixths of the railways, nearly all the great frigorificos, the port works, and many other enterprises. British banks handled the national loans, and in every way British money won its way and made that country paramount in influence, even though Spain and Italy had two million former subjects living on the country. The total amount of British money in Argentina exceeds $1,500,000,000. Germany and France also have large investments there, and Italy as well, but they are small when compared with the English sovereigns. The United States investments are hardly worth considering, as they are so insignificant. In the last few years our The financial history of Argentina has been a checkered one and not without its scandals. In reality for years investors looked askance at all kinds of Argentine securities. The fact is that the national government suffered from its moral, if not actual, responsibility for the numerous loans floated by the various states. The national government in a real sense should Argentina to-day possesses one of the largest banks in the world, the Banco de la Nacion. It succeeded another national bank which went up in smoke a few years ago after a notorious career. Foreign banks do a large part of the business of the country. The first bank, called the Casa de Moneda, was established by English The Argentine Commercial Code, as it exists to-day, is a well-selected and well-digested assortment of the best points in the commercial laws of other countries. Many eminent men have participated in the development of this code. The laws relating to trade and contracts are excellent, but the latter have sometimes been at the mercy of judges who were not over-scrupulous, although foreigners have had less The Bolsa, or stock exchange, in Buenos Aires is a great institution. Millions of dollars worth of securities and grains are sold on the floor of this building. It reminds one of our own stock exchanges, except for the very babel of voices. Although the cries of the brokers are all in Spanish, you will see excited groups around you talking in Italian, German and English. Most of the brokers are able to join any group and converse in that language. Argentine securities are sold on this exchange in However old the history of Argentina, the civilization of the country is essentially new. One may find a beautiful mansion in the midst Argentina could furnish homes for and feed a population of one hundred millions. In this settlement, however, it is doubtful if the Anglo-Saxon will have much part. It will be a harvest field for that race to reap the wealth, but a breeding-place for the Latin. The Anglo-Saxon does not find a companionship among the Italians and Spaniards. Furthermore the loneliness of the plain grows upon him. The poor man who attempts to make a home in this country, as the homesteaders have in our western states and in Canada, will not succeed. He must have money to begin with and ability to compete with the wealthy estancieros who would be his neighbours. There is still plenty of opportunity to acquire virgin land at a comparatively low price within five hundred or six hundred miles of the capital, and watch it grow in value. Some colonies or communities have been quite successful, if the management has been in good hands. Several European companies have tried the plan of bringing in colonists and selling them lands. They advance money for machinery and the necessities, receiving in payment a certain share of the products. SHIPPING HIDES TO THE UNITED STATES The number of acres of land under cultivation in Argentina has more than doubled in the past ten years. The acreage that was tilled for the season of 1909 was 47,000,000 acres. Of this number 15,500,000 was sown in wheat, 7,500,000 in corn and 3,600,000 in flax. The following are the figures of production of cereals as reported by the Department of Agriculture in metric tons of 2,205 pounds avoirdupois: wheat, 2,576,009, corn, 2,336,334, linseed, 918,413, oats, 435,540. Of this production seventy-five per cent. of the corn is available for export, seventy per cent. of the wheat and ninety per cent. of the linseed. Only a small portion of the wheat is ground into flour before it is exported. The cereals are sent to Great Britain, Germany and Belgium, although the United States has been buying considerable quantities of linseed. There were 2,723,000 frozen carcasses of mutton exported in 1909, going almost wholly to Great Britain, and 2,584,301 of beef. In addition to this a lot of jerked, or salted, The present population of Argentina is only about five to the square mile. In 1869 the population was estimated at less than two million. A dozen years later it had risen to three million, and in 1895 it was still less than four million. From 1857 to 1897 the number of immigrants was estimated at a million and a half in round numbers. Of the total number of inhabitants those of other than Latin origin probably do not much exceed one hundred thousand in number—by this I mean those who do not inherit Latin blood from one parent or the other. This would not include the native races that dwell in considerable numbers in some of the territories. It means that Latin customs and traditions are likely to continue to prevail, although they will be considerably modified by The growth of cities and towns in Argentina has been out of proportion to the increase in population. Buenos Aires, of course, receives the largest number, but the same disposition to reside in the crowded centres is apparent in Rosario, Bahia Blanca, Tucuman and the other cities. This massing together in municipalities is not the healthiest condition that could be devised. As none of these cities are manufacturing districts this concentration of population hinders economic development in a nation whose resources are in the cultivation of the soil. Every man thus withdrawn from farm work is a loss to the producing power of the country, for much land is lying idle for the simple reason that labourers are lacking. Until the bulk of the land is alienated from the present princely estates and broken up into smaller holdings it seems likely that these conditions Politics has been one of the curses of Argentina. A certain class has had all the opportunity to get the benefits of office holding. The politicians work night and day—they are the counterparts of our own, and never sleep on the job. A little more tact and grace on the surface only covers the same motive—graft. The elections are always one-sided. Formerly they were conducted at the whim of a dictator or political autocrat; to-day the ballot box is stuffed and the election laws are ignored. The elections are never really an expression of the sentiment of the people. They are held on Sundays at the doors of the churches. Outside Mr. Carpenter tells a story about the mayor of a certain city. On the voting list was the name of a man who was dead, and some one protested: “Why, mayor, Munyoz is dead. Don’t you remember we were together last month when the report of his death came in?” “Oh, yes, I remember,” replied the mayor, “but if he is dead that is all the better; he can’t now make any fuss as to how his vote shall be cast.” Nothing to preserve the secrecy of the ballot has yet been adopted. This has led to much political unrest which has shown itself in various disturbances. Added to this has been the agitation of professional disturbers, who have come here from Italy and Spain and attempted to spread their propaganda of social revolution. It is a fertile soil for such doctrine, for nowhere is the discrepancy between wealth and poverty greater. In one generation hundreds have become wealthy It is a mistaken view to think that Argentina is governed by revolution alone. It is true that in the past quarter of a century there have been three more or less serious revolutions, as well as minor disturbances. Two Presidents, Celman and Saenz-PeÑa, were compelled to resign by these malcontents. As a rule little blood is shed, and it was simply their method of introducing a change. The majority of people simply looked upon them as an interruption to business and a nuisance in general. The government, however, has undergone a great It is not a rare thing for a President or other high official to quit public life after many years of service poorer than he went in. President BartolomÉ Mitre was one of the more recent types of that kind, as he bore a reputation for financial integrity that was absolutely above reproach. The country is becoming too big for petty graft and petty revolutions. The increasing importance of the nation has rather sobered all classes by a feeling of responsibility for its reputation. The spirit that formerly showed itself in revolutions now occasionally makes itself felt in disorder during strikes. And yet I do not know that this disorder is much greater than has been experienced in our own land. In Absolute freedom of the press prevails in Argentina, as well as liberty of speech. The papers are at times filled with caustic criticisms of the government which go unnoticed. Public orators also unburden themselves with the most bitter arraignments of officials with impunity. An instance of this nature occurred during the writer’s own sojourn in Buenos Aires. A large meeting was held in the Plaza de Mayo where two socialist orators arraigned the President and his ministers as “a gang of thieves” in the most intemperate language. The Argentine constitution is so free in its wording that the people seem to believe it has no limitations at all. They appear to think One cannot study this promising republic without an awakening interest and a considerable degree of admiration. There are faults that one can easily find, and many criticisms that can be made. Its development, however, is recent, even if its history is as old as our own land. The future means much for Argentina, and its advancement during the next decade will be marvellous, unless all signs fail. The North Americans can have an important part THE END. |