Argentina is made up of a complex population. An Argentinian is a person born in the country, just as we class our own population. Perhaps nearly one-half of the inhabitants are foreign born, and most of them from the Latin countries. A large proportion of the remainder do not have to go back more than one or two generations until a European ancestor is discovered. The Latin races soon become mixed and cannot very easily be traced after a generation or two. The English and German settlers continue distinct and apart. They always remain foreign. The English traits in those who have lived there a generation or two are almost as marked as in those who have recently come over from the tight little island. The later Spanish and Italian immigrants are the workers and do most of the common labour. Wherever newer methods have been introduced the influences are distinctly English. The railways[190] are all owned and operated by the English, and these have given the British touch to all the later developments. There is an aristocracy in Argentina as in all countries. The real aristocrat here, as in other Spanish countries, is the pure-blooded Castilian, who follows unfalteringly the traditions of his native land, and who prides himself more upon the accomplishments of the past than upon anything his family or race have done in modern times. The greater aristocracy, however, is not an aristocracy of the old Spanish régime, such as one will find in Chile or Peru, but a more recent upper ten based upon wealth. The more picturesque attributes of a Spanish civilization have almost disappeared beneath the spirit of modernism in Buenos Aires. The development of social grades all over the republic has been rapid and has kept pace with the opening up of new lands. It is possible even now to watch this development, which is still in process of evolution in the newer communities. A material prosperity has sometimes overwhelmed the other virtues and inherited characteristics. Any way to make money is the aim of the Argentinian, and an aristocracy of money has grown up.
[191]
The Argentine magnate is not a man who has attained his prominence after a bitter and strenuous commercial struggle, which has developed a hard-headed, practical side, but his wealth has come through the automatic growth in the value of his expansive leagues of rich campo. His income has waxed greater each year through no effort of his own. So one will find the rich estanciero, intoxicated with his own wealth, disporting himself in the national capital on as lavish a scale as one will see in New York or London. These wealthy land aristocrats not only spend their money, but they are eternally bent on devising new ways for divesting themselves of the surplus pesos. It is spent lavishly and not always well, for the development of the finer tastes has not kept pace with the increase of material wealth.
Some of these moneyed estancieros are descended from honest farmers, whose fathers had no intimation of the wealth that would fall to their descendants. They lived the simplest of existences, and looked upon their broad acres only as a source of food and shelter. Then the land began to rise with almost incredible rapidity. A league that would have been wagered on a Camp race soon represented a small fortune.[192] The approach of the railroad to his estancia showed the son that fortune was in his hands and he longed for excitement. A palace in Buenos Aires was added to his possessions, he joined the famous Jockey Club and became a devotee of sport—following the odds on horses even more closely than he did the price of wheat or cattle. He now visits Europe frequently and has added a sort of cosmopolitan veneer to himself, and may possibly have learned to speak two or three languages. Thus it is that this hidalgo has added up-to-date and European customs and habits to his inherited traits, of which perhaps the vices have been imbibed fully as generously as the virtues and graces. So also it is that his life passes along in smooth and easy channels, with little to worry him except the problem of amusement and sufficient excitement.
 
A GROUP OF PEONS
 
There is no doubt that the Argentinian is ambitious. We may laugh at some of his impractical ideas, or the seeming stupidity of some of the more ignorant ones, but the fact remains that each one is endeavouring to get ahead. The Porte?o is aiming to make Buenos Aires the finest city in the world, the state governments vie with each other in prodigality,[193] and the ranchman is trying to develop the very best breeds of stock on his estancia. They want the best modern appliances and luxuries, and even the ladies must have the very latest Parisian designed hats and gowns. The workmen join labour organizations and they are as free to strike as in any other country in the world; in every way they are breaking away from the old traditions and trying to enter into the spirit of the modern, be it for good or ill. The same trend is observable whether the person is the descendant of one of the old families, or is one of the recent importations from Spain or Italy. This modernizing spirit seems to be in the air and is as contagious as the most virulent form of fever or plague. All differences of social station fade away before this one vital force which pervades both Camp and city. It is almost as marked as in any part of the United States and cannot be overlooked by the most unobservant traveller.
A general wastefulness characterizes all classes, both urban and rural. In many cases this is probably due to ignorance. The very bountifulness of nature has no doubt accentuated a natural disinclination to attend to detail and small economies. If conservation would[194] be studied much more profit could be realized by all. On the estancias this wastefulness is noted in the methods of taking care of the crops and vast herds of stock. In the city one will see it in the administration of municipal governments in the various departments. In private life one will discern it everywhere, and even the common labourer shows the same traits of improvidence and lack of thriftiness so characteristic of the German or French peasant, for example.
The railroads are wasteful oftentimes and are unprepared to handle the immense crops produced by a bountiful nature, so that thousands of tons of grain have been lost through sheer inability to get them to market, and the estanciero was unable to take care of his grain because he had no elevators or granaries to hold his crop. Thousands of cattle have been lost in a dry season because the owner trusted wholly to nature and had no food to keep them from starvation when the pasture failed. But then Argentina is not alone in these traits, and it is perhaps easier to find fault or give advice than to do the things ourselves if we were placed in the same position.
Like all Latin people, the Argentinian loves[195] politics. The opera bouffe style of government, which can still be found in Central America, has disappeared, so that the melodramatic element no longer exists. With each year the people grow less inclined to indulge in revolution simply as a pastime. The risks of the revolutionists too are greater in a nation of nearly seven million people than formerly, when there were not one-fourth that number, and a country in which prosperity and education have made great strides. Furthermore, there is the feeling on the part of the Argentinians that their country is on its way to take its place as one of the great nations of the earth, and this idea has undoubtedly sobered them somewhat. There are, no doubt, many, even to-day, who enter politics with no other purpose than to enrich themselves. Their methods, however, are far more subtle than the revolutionists of old, and they hedge themselves about with an air of apparent honesty and patriotism that is difficult to penetrate. They have had good examples of genuine patriots in the not distant past, which has no doubt aided in clarifying the political atmosphere. It is in the question of government contracts where the test of honour comes. If the tales[196] that are told are to be believed, then rich pickings often fall to officials. In some cases this has been done openly and yet caused little comment, because such a result seemed to be but natural and expected as a matter of course.
Argentina is a country that is purely pastoral and agricultural, for the proportion of those engaged in manufacturing is numerically very small. And yet one city contains nearly one-fifth of the total population. When you include the other cities, such as Rosario, Tucuman, Mendoza, etc., the proportion of city dwellers is still greater. The cities of Argentina have outgrown the rest of the country. With people of an excitable nature, such as the Latins are, it may bode serious trouble in the future. Strikes have become very common, and lawlessness in connection with them is very easy to stir up. Just before my visit the chief of police was killed in one of those disturbances. The method of the government in dealing with these exigencies is sensible but drastic. A state of siege and martial law is declared, and every suspicious character is deported as an undesirable. Following the killing of the chief of police, several hundred Italians and Spaniards were deported. It was only after several weeks[197] of martial law that the ban was lifted and life moved along as before. Many of the Italians are, no doubt, anarchistic in their tendencies, and sometimes it might be wondered that disturbances are not more frequent and more general than they actually are. The police of the city usually show themselves competent to cope with the situation.
Notwithstanding the cosmopolitan character of the population, the republic is governed solely by the real Argentinians. No foreigner is permitted to sit in Congress or take any hand in the legislation of the country. The character of elections has undoubtedly progressed, but they are still far from being perfect or free from criticism. It is very easy to tell beforehand who will be elected by observing the forces and influences behind the various candidates. How it is accomplished might be difficult to explain, but it is done, and the man with the proper support will almost invariably win out in some way. Absolute freedom of expression is allowed the individual and press; one may listen to or read political addresses full of flowery eloquence and fire, or hear the most bitter denunciation, with no police interference whatever. The government does not worry itself[198] about such trifles, which are merely abstract questions and do no one harm. The chances are that if the opponents of the government are allowed to work off their pent-up emotions in this way, their opposition on election day will not be very active. Hence they always treat the “not-ins” with a sort of good-natured forbearance that would be irritating to a North American.
There are perhaps fifty thousand or more persons in Argentina who might be classed as British. It would be difficult to find a community where a few of these Anglo-Saxons do not dwell. Of this number a large proportion are of Hibernian extraction. As a rule they may easily be spotted. In Buenos Aires and Rosario this colony remains entirely distinct and mingles very little in social relations with the natives. They are engaged in commerce and the other business enterprises. The Britisher is self-satisfied and the Argentinian would call him boorish, although he is welcomed, as is any one who will contribute to the............