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[378] agriculture, the international exhibition of hygiene, and the national exhibitions of industry and arts. the first mentioned was perhaps the most important, for it consisted of a display of every kind of land transportation from animal traction to steam and gasoline. there were special sections devoted to each phase of railways, from the building of stations to the equipment of the finest trains in the world, including all systems in general use; other sections were devoted to tramways operated by the various kinds of power, automobiles and all forms of motor cars, etc. nothing was overlooked to make this transportation exhibit the most complete ever held in the world. six sections in a choice location, composing about fifteen thousand square yards, were assigned for united states exhibitors. great britain, on the other hand, had asked for and was given more than three times that amount of space. this condition cannot be blamed upon the argentine government, however, as the united states commission secured all the space that they asked for, and the commissioners found it difficult to fill their allotment.
the exhibition of hygiene was also important[379] in this age when science has made so much advance in overcoming the obstacles placed in the way of health by nature. this included buildings devoted to hygienic sports, hygiene of dress, naval and military hygiene, ventilation and calefaction in general, sanitary work of cities, hospitals, surgical instruments, and other allied subjects. the agricultural exhibition was particularly devoted to live stock, and the other exhibitions are made clear by their nomenclature.
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[380] austro-hungarian collectivity offered a meteorological monument, similar to those found in the cities of austria and hungary, which will be adorned with meteorological implements and appliances. the italians, who are the largest in number but not the wealthiest, built an artistic monument in italian marble of that great discoverer, christopher columbus. lastly, the three hundred americans offered a statue of george washington, to whose work and example more than anything else the liberty of all the americas is due, and the government donated to them a beautiful location on one of the principal plazas. thus, by this tribute, will another connecting link in the friendship between the two republics, each of which is predominant on its own continent, be added.
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[381] in order to give an approach to the new congress palace, and thousands of men were employed for months in tearing down these buildings, hauling away the débris, and preparing the ground for the beautiful little park into which the space has been created.
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.
[382]
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[383] will require all of the power of the government to break the city habit and induce the people to establish their homes in the campo. the lonesomeness and monotony of the never-ending pampas, where distance seems limitless, will no doubt always be an objection to them as places of habitation.
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.,[384] in order of numbers. all the north americans numbered less than three hundred. it will be seen that the overwhelming population come from southern europe. this is only natural for language, customs and religion are almost the same, and the transformation from italian or spanish to argentino is easy. it is a fact, however, that this element does not furnish the sturdy agriculturalists that the country needs. this is not the fault of the government. it seems impossible to induce settlers from northern europe to go down there. large as this emigration seems it does not nearly keep pace with the production of the nation, and there is always a scarcity of labour in the rural districts.
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[385] of his own land, such as canada and australia, and he, together with the german, finds the united states a congenial country in which to live. the frenchman, spaniard and italian finds conditions in argentina, southern brazil and uruguay more in accordance with his traditional customs. for the spaniard the language is the same, and the italian soon masters the difference in idiom. so this nation forms and should form the natural haven for these people, when the struggle for existence drives them from the land of their birth. as the government improves it will become still more attractive for them, and it is to be hoped that the stream of italian immigrants who now seek our shores will head for the river plate. this will redound in every way to the interest of the whole world. if the production of cereals and meat in that quarter of the world is sufficiently augmented, it will mean a substantial reduction in the price of these essential foodstuffs—it will mean cheaper bread and a lowering of the present almost prohibitive prices of meats. another reason is that the la plata ports are more accessible to europe than the united states, while on the north and west coast of south america the conditions are reversed and[386] the north american influence is much more pronounced.
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[387] large meat packing firms have been endeavouring to get a foothold in argentina, and two are already operating establishments of their own. the spectre of a meat trust is already beginning to haunt the argentinians, and the government in particular. it is said that some of the old established concerns have been bought out by the american firms, and are simply operated under the old names. this it was impossible to verify, so i am unable to state it as a fact or simply rumour. the fact that these meat barons are entering that field is in itself significant, and they will no doubt make an effort to gather up the entire industry, and thus be able to govern the prices just as they do in the united states. adverse legislation will probably head them off, however, unless the power of money should stifle the opposition.
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[388] have no more responsibility for a provincial debt than our federal government assumes the obligation of a state under our form of government. creditors naturally tried to press this responsibility whenever a province defaulted, and in many instances the government accepted the liability. money was borrowed for all kinds of purposes, in particular by the notorious celman administration, and the government became badly involved. the province of buenos aires became a notorious defaulter in its “cedulas,” and its administrators have many times been characterized as “robbers” by the british security-holders. the municipalities of cordoba and santa fé also have rather unenviable records. many of these debts are being slowly adjusted, however, while the national government has no difficulty in placing new loans under the more recent administrations.
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[389] and argentine capital as early as 1822. one of the leading banks of the present day is the london and river plate, which has been established for almost half a century. it has paid many dividends as high as twenty per cent., so that its stock is considerably above par. interest used to be as high as twenty-four per cent. on loans, and exchange fluctuated greatly. to-day interest is much lower, though still high, and exchange is more steady. the london and brazilian bank, the british bank of south america, the anglo south american and the bank of london and mexico are other british banks. then there are german, french, italian and spanish banks, which do an immense business. the provincia de buenos aires is one of the largest native banks, and it has a number of branches.
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[390] trouble in that line than natives. the laws relating to the organization of incorporated companies are excellent. under them each vote counts irrespective of holdings, a man with one share having as much influence as the man with a thousand. this prevents a one-man company, as there must be at least ten shareholders. any concern working under a concession must have a fiscal agent, who is nominated by the government or municipality, and whose duty it is to supervise the accounts and general conduct of the concern. if this agent is an honest man, and not susceptible to bribes, he can have great influence for good; if, however, he is corrupt, the shareholders are doubly unfortunate.
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[391] parcels and they rise and fall rapidly, the margin in one day often being considerable. prior to the great crash of 1890, a half billion dollars worth of securities in gold values were sold at this exchange. when the panic came ninety per cent. of the companies failed, and the shares were not worth a cent on the dollar. the great national bank, with a capital of $50,000,000 national money, which closed its doors, precipitated the crisis, and brought down with it the london house of baring bros. the depositors of this bank lost more than $70,000,000 by the unfortunate failure, which was brought about by crookedness on the part of the management, and high financing. money came in so easily and rapidly that the directors thought there was no end to the golden stream headed their way. immense sums were loaned to irresponsible politicians with no hope or scarcely expectation of having it returned. large drafts would also be cashed from the same sources, and bribery was rampant. its loans at one time were over four hundred million dollars in national money.
however old the history of argentina, the civilization of the country is essentially new. one may find a beautiful mansion in the midst[392] of a princely domain. everything else, however, is crude. the workmen who are scattered over the estancia are ignorant and unprogressive, and if left to themselves would retrograde. even near the cities the people live in a very primitive way. the roads across the pampas are hardly distinguishable from cattle trails, and they are certainly no better. the bones and carcasses of cattle and sheep that have died on the march are numerous, and do not beautify the highway. the railroad maps are no criterion of the actual settlement of the country. names will be seen in abundance, but most of them are only stations for freight upon big estancias, with elevators, stock-pens and perhaps a water-tank. even a small town may be distant twenty or more miles from a farmer in some of the older settled provinces. everything points to a country in its infancy. the habits of the natives and colonists are usually sluggish and seemingly unrefined in many ways, but the kindliness and hospitality of the latin is everywhere in evidence. the village life of american states is missed, for the little railroad settlements seem composed of a shifting, wage-earning population different from our villagers, most of whom own their own modest[393] little dwelling. here a shack answers for a habitation.
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.[394] the baron hirsh colony of jews has been quite successful, but in this case unlimited money was back of the scheme in addition to the spirit of benevolence rather than the commercial and money-getting mania.
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,[395] beef is sent to nearby markets. the united states purchases the bulk of the hides, and for the year 1909 received 2,608,230, weighing 38,798 metric tons. horse hides, of which two hundred and fifty thousand were exported, went to germany, sheep hides to france and goatskins to uncle sam. argentina exported 176,682 metric tons of wool, of which france took almost one half and the united states 18,961 tons more than great britain.
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[396] the conditions and influence of a new land. the old conservatism and hindrance of tradition will, to a great extent, disappear before the new-world aggressiveness and progressiveness. thus there will be a new type, which can already be traced, with perhaps a french stamp upon it, but it will nevertheless be distinctively latin.
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[397] will continue to prevail. a change may occur before long, as many of the big landowners borrow money at exorbitant rates of interest in order to live in luxury. this will possibly result in breaking up some of these holdings. if the government would enter upon a systematic campaign to encourage the homesteader and small farmer, much good of a permanent value might be accomplished, and a stable as well as intelligent population be built up. the fertile soil and kindly climate of this republic ought to easily support a population of more than five times the present number.
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[398] the church door are tables around which sit several men. the ballots are of paper and are dropped through slits in the boxes. many hand their ballots to the receivers to be voted. some voters openly repeat their ballots by giving different names, and the receivers pay no attention to the palpable fraud. in rosario, for instance, out of forty thousand argentine citizens qualified to vote at the presidential election of 1910, only ten thousand registered. of these ten thousand only one-fourth took out their voting tickets, and of these all did not cast their ballot on election day. thus less than twenty-five hundred actually voted at the june election in rosario, in that large city. one party, calling themselves the radicals, decided beforehand not to go to the polls, because certain electoral reforms demanded by them were not granted. says the review of the river plate: “in electoral matters the country is as backward as it was one hundred years ago, and outside the federal capital there is no freedom of the polls, force always carries the day—and the elections. the official party say that they will not bring forward any candidate for deputy who does not subscribe fifty thousand dollars towards the funds of the party. this is a[399] pretty stiff price, as the period is for six years and the emoluments of a deputy only amount to fifteen hundred dollars a month, which is the highest figure paid to any legislator in any part of the world. the voters’ tickets, when issued, are often traded about and sometimes bring quite a premium about election day.”
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[400] by the growth in land values, the unearned increment, and they spend their money like water. their arrogance inspires envy in those less fortunate. argentina may well be glad that the age of demagoguery has not yet been reached, for it is fully as dangerous as open bribery and corruption, in my opinion. at present the country is materially prosperous and every one is able to find employment. the cost of living, however, is very high and rapidly increasing, so that differences between capital and labour seem to be on the increase. the enormous fortunes in the hands of the few, many of them ignorant and without tact, may cause trouble in the future.
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-pe?a, 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[401] change in recent years. the comic-opera traits have generally disappeared. the constitution is admirable, but its provisions are not always carried out to the letter. the laws are much better administered in the larger centres than in the remote camp. bribery used to be common, and was considered as a matter of course as much as stamp dues. this has generally disappeared, at least as an open custom. many argentinos no doubt still enter politics with the expectation of enriching themselves and hope to retire with a well filled purse.
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[402] either country it is reprehensible and is a disgrace to pretended civilization. the authorities have a drastic way of dealing with disorders by declaring a state of siege or martial law. this submits the disturbance to be dealt with according to military law and often effectually stops it. the italians are there, as here, often the greatest disturbers during the strikes. the bull-fight has been abolished, and they now have no sport that equals in brutality, or exceeds in gambling proclivities, the prize fight, the so-called “manly art.”
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[403] that liberty is such an elastic and unfathomable principle that there is nothing beyond. this intemperance, unless checked, bodes trouble for the future. orators and so-called advanced thinkers must remember that the status of free men is only possible while the beneficiary acknowledges his obligation to bestow the same privileges that he enjoys. if the citizen is protected by law against violence and calumny, he must not be guilty of a violation of the same legal precepts by calumniating the government and its officials. if the officials are forbidden to do acts which are ultra vires, then the citizen must be inhibited against an excessive zeal. an ignoring of these plain principles can lead to nothing else than anarchy and the subversion of all legitimate government.
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[404] in this development, if they desire and pursue the right policy. it is well to study the country and its needs, the people and their wants, and the result will be interesting as well as satisfactory.
