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.
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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............