ah &
ISr
The Commoner.
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2 A
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havo enough good animals left (or a continuous
oxhlblt on the farm.
1 also visited a packing house at Campana,
ono of the ten or a dozon largo ones In the
country. It is an up-to-dato plant and looks
after the by-products as well as the meat. It
is conducted by an English company, and the
cattle and sheep slaughtered there go to Great
Britain in refrigerator ships Awico a month.
Some estimate can be made of Argentina's
Importance as a food producing country from
the fact that, according to the report of 1907,
there are in the country 07,000,000 sheep and
29,000,000 cattle. '
The production of so much meat In the form
of cattle and sheep carries with it the sugges
tion of a large commerce in wool and hldesj
There is at Buenos Aires an immense building
called a market, the largest of its kind in the
world, whero wool and hides, wheat, corn, oats,
flax-seed, and other products of the farm are
collected, sorted, and distributed. One can ob
tain hero some idea" of the magnitude of the
export trade of Argentina. Argentina, extend
ing over some thirty degrees of latitude, has,
nB might be expected, overy variety of fruit,
vegetables and grain, and its mountains, taken
, in connection with its area, give it every variety
of climate.
BuonoB Aires, situated In the heart of the
agricultural section and with a population of
nearly a million and a quarter, is, of course,
the moat important city, but Eosario, a hundred
miles north, which is sometimes styled the Ar
gentine Chicago, and Bahia Blanca, twenty
miles south, also do a large export business.
Besides these cities on tho water, there are
many inland centers of trado which aro grow
ing as tho country grows. That the country
is growing is ovldencod by tho number of im
migrants that enter tho country. With a pon
lation of a little more than 6,000,000 she has
?hn!Jn?nSP?in n. Umt sometlms amounts to more
than 200 000 in it year. The net increase in
her population by immigration during the last
fifty-two years was 2,500,000. As a largo num
bor of laborers come from southern Europe to
r'on,' urIne tho harvest season it is necessary
to subtract tho emigration from the immigration-In
order to ascertain the real increase. For
Zln'i ,nP1908' 3M12 persons came into
aid ?2? nVPm ?IontV,(lGO and foreign ports,
ff ' ? VGnt 0llt of he country during
the year leaving a not increase of 176,080
Spai and Jtaly furnlsh more avo-aixths of
the immigrants, while Syria and Russia come
qm?t w 1 AirS Is .I10t only tlle lareest city in
South America, but ono of the great cities of
he world, and it is as beautiful In it is large
hr f J?ad a7onue ana "dding to tho num
bor of them by widening several streets it
also has attractive parks and many Sf them
Its mayor, Senor Manuel Guiraldoai la an en
thiiBiast on the subject of parks and is cWtan
ly adding to tho number. He is quite likon
North American in appearance and manneriS
fact, bears somo resemblance to the elder Carter
Harrison who for so many years preside.? over
the destiny of Chicago. Ho speaks EnS
S?n?nily' ,and ,c?ntmtes a visit to the Un ?
States when his term of offlce expires
Argentina's capital is supplied with an in
terosting botanical garden much frequented bv
ca? garSen!' "d with a Very plotowSogJ
nJh?. cIty well-kept; the streets are clean
and the best of order is preserved. The rest
tnlarie ;ommodious, and show much arUstlc
taste In design and construction; many of thorn
havo beautiful gardens about them The m5S
v?t'AAv0ni(la (leI May- Is Hke our Pennsyl
vania Avenue in that it leads from the Gveo,K
offices to the building now undTr constSjS
in which congress will meet, but" it is am, oh
, more handsome street than Pennsylvania AvSiue
avenSVeS a PlaCG amnB the "orldat
The Municipal theatre, used only for oneras
cost nearly two million dollars. Thl JoS
Club occupies a magnificent building which b
. probably unsurpassed in completeness ; in? i
interior ornamentation, while La Prensa one
of the leading newspapers of the cltv im ,!
Sn7Huro of its ownNvhich besides ac
comodatlng its large force has several rooms
which are used for semi-public purposes ? J
Prensa, while it has no equal anywhere in thl
Sierf ' habltal1lon has a oFwertl
rivals In tho local newspaper field. The Nac on
founded .hy Sarmlento, a president of Apgenthm
-who has been compared to Lincoln i SI
political factor in Vhe republic? ajd La" S
S.ny5h WW1 an Bngllah eion called
;tte Standard has a daily circulation if 2
than 100,000. There are other dailies published
in different languages, Spanish, Italian, French,
Gerinan and English, besides weeklies and
periodicals.
The hotels of Buenos Aires are numerous,
large and comfortable. The latest addition, the
Plaza, is built after the American model, and
would attract attention in New York or Chicago.
There is a great cathedral in the center, and
many Catholic" churches scattered throughout
the city. There are also several Protestant
churches, and a flourishing Young Men's Chris
tian Association, which has recently collected
$200,000 for a building, half of the money be
ing subscribed locally and half contributed by
the .Association in the United States.
BuenoB Aires, like Washington, is in a dis
trict by itself and has the national treasury to
draw Xrom. The new capitol building is pat
terned after ours, and the building which" is
being erected for tho department of justice is
almost equal to It in design.
Aside from the n'ew buildings of a permanent
character, there are temporary structures which
the carpenters are erecting for the exposition
which will open in May. This centennial ex
position is planned upon a gigantic scale, and
yet the demand for space is so great that for
eign governments are not able to secure as much
room as they desire for their exhibits. The
buildings instead of being in one large enclosure
are divided Into groups, one group being de
voted to manufactures, one to machinery, and
still others to art, hygiene, agriculture, stock,
etc.
This exposition will furnish our manufactur
ers an excellent opportunity to show their goods,
and the people of Argentina express a desire
for increasing trade between the two countries.
This nation leads the South American republics
in its foreign commerce exceeding even Brazil,
which has more Jhan three rimes the population.
In 1908 the foreign commerce of the Argen-
tine republic amounted to $600,000,000 with a
balance in her favor of about $100,000,000.
England has the largest percentage of this
trade, -37 per cent; Germany follows with 16
per cent; and the United States comes third
with 13 per cent, but the United States and
Germany are Increasing their trade more ranidlv
than Great Britain.
' Our exports from the United States to Argen
ts lncroased 249 per cent between 1898 and
1907. In 1908 we sent $31,000,000 worth of
merchandise to this republic and bought $11 -000,000,
leaving a balance of $20,000,000 in
our favor. Timber, the largest item in our ex
ports, amounts to $12,000,000; vehicles and
railway material are furnished by us to the
amount of nearly $6,000,000, and we sell $7,
500,000 worth of agricultural Implements tools
sheet Iron, etc. "We purchased from Argentina
nearly twice as much in 1909 as in 1908 the
increase being mainly in hides and skins Of
the $24,000,000 purchased last year, about $20 -000,000
represent hides, skins and wool Our
nation has just secured, in a competitive con
test, the building of two battleships for Argen-
u' ,??& flrms, presenting five countries
submitted bids, and the award of the contract
to United States firms as the lowest bidders
caused international comment. As the shin
are being built for the government the attention
attracted by the award will doubtless turn the
eyes of the people of the republic to our grow
ing prestige in the manufacturing world Our
min ster Mr. Sherrill, who actively urged the
merits of the American ship, is justified in feel-
bu1ldaers I)rUd f tWS ViCt01T for our S"
The trade of Argentina is worth cultivating
Her people have an immense purchasing pSwef
they annually export 227,000 tons of frozen
and chilled meat; 125,000 tons of hides and
??' JA00 tom of W1; 54,000 tons ot
o& 823278,000,?n,f fHnSeea;o M00Mto
quarters in Great Britain and its vessels flv tt
Union Jack-. Hero is a chance for OUrgoven
ment to improve its commercial relations with
South Americanot through qiiiS5fI Y, ,
"t a few cVad
to withdraw or reduce but bv nutHnlr ?r
of government-owned boats least? Z a Hne
freight,-, passengers and raaih .and. at the-, nSl
time trail,. American seamenu Jhese JhlnS It
suggest in a former aVtSto.SSfd befnd
for transports in case of war, while In- time
of peace they would extend our commerce.
The Argentine Republic' leads the South
American republics in railway development,
having nearly twice as many miles per capita
as any -of its neighbors. It is only fair, how
ever, to suggest that this Is due in part to the
fact that, because of -the vast extent of level
country, Tallroad building is not so expensive
as in the mountainous districts. Of the .3,000
miles of road now in operation, the" government
owns about one-third, and is planning the con
struction of 2,500 miles more.
In the matter of banks, too, Argentina Is well
supplied. The capital stock, the . deposits, the
dividends, thebulldlngs occupied, the number of
employes and' the throng of customers all give
evidence of thriving business. The Argentine
National bank has a capital of nearly $50,000,
000; the Spanish bank has $15,000,000; the
French bank has $12,000,000 and the Italian
bank $6,000,000. Several British banks have
a capital of pver $5,000,000.
In education the Argentine Republic has made '
great progress. While there is still a large
percentage of illiteracy, it is smaller than in
any other South American country, with the
possible exception of Uruguay. There -are 5,500
public schools in the United States of Argentina
and they cost about $13,0X)0,000 per year. The
private school, however, still plays an important
part in the educational system of the republic.
Like the other countries of Latin America, Ar-
gentina began at the top and established her
university first; then came the secondary
schools, and last the primary schools, but the
progress of democracy is noticeable in the in
creasing effort to bring education to within the
reach of all.
Medicine is the popular profession here, there
being an attendance of 3,000 at .the govern
ment school for physicians, pharmacists and
dentists. The- course in this school covers seven
years, but includes some studies which our
physicians take before they enter medical col
lege. In the professions, the lawyers come next
to the physicians in number, but there is a
perceptible tendency toward engineering. Suffi
cient attention has not been given thus far to
the agricultural college and to the manual
training school, but these will come in time as
will Improvement In the normal schools, for
the leaders of thought in this country are too
patriotic and too progressive to permit these
departments of education to be much longer
neglected.
Argentina resembles the United States in the
cosmopolitan character of her population, the
main difference being that her Immigrants come
largely from southern Europe while ours have,
until recently, been mainly from the north. Her
people are courteous and hospitable, and her
officials are men of intelligence and culture.
President Jose F. Alcorta is credited with be
ing one of the wisest politicians who has ap
peared in the political arena of Argentina during
recent years, and he has associated with him a
body of strong men as ministers, among whom
Senor Plaza, whose position corresponds to our
secretary of state, deserves special mention. '
JtLt relations existing -between the United
States of America and the United States of Ar
S wL? mSt -cor(iial and they are destined
Id SS fcessIve nat ons, come better acquainted-and
as commercial intercourse increases.
n til .T WILLIAM J. BRYAN.
Copyright, New York World.
GUARANTEED DEPOSITS
The United States circuit court of appeals-has
reversed the decision of Judge John C. Pbilock
of the United States circuit court at Topeka,
S tnf i?nJ:0llSC enjoined th enforce
X!? iiJ2S Ka,nsas bimlc guarantee law. While
braaka Swnwhw ?0t directly affe ie Ne
States sunreJi11?1 JfB now before the United
fplenda of ?S?nS??P ,n appeal !t eives the
UP TO THE PRESIDENT
ness for a cabinet noStlm? tB. to hIs Unflt"
. .President to diachareo him ' ti,'8 UI to he
j.;slno alone beforp , ?J? Balllnger bore hla
l)residen?s notZthZ:011 to the
.ato with Ba linSS nS ?tent:mast bear
icGanho afford to ddau iBf1?nse-romaln.
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