Andrew Jackson Lamoureux and George Edmundson

“ The largest and only important river is the Salado del Sud, which rises in the north-west corner of the province of Buenos Aires and flows south-east for a distance of 360 m. into the bay of Samborombon. On the southern margin of the pampas are the Colorado and Negro, both large, navigable rivers flowing entirely across the republic from the Andes to the Atlantic. Many of the rivers of Argentina, as implied by their names (Salado and Saladillo) , are saline or brackish in character, and are of slight use in the pastoral and agricultural industries of the country. ”

“ The aggressive attitude of Chile towards Bolivia was causing considerable anxiety, and Argentina and Brazil wished to show that they were united in opposing a policy which aimed at acquiring an extension of territory by force of arms. The feeling of enmity between Chile and Argentina was indeed anything but extinct. The delay of the arbitration tribunal in London in giving its decision in the matter of the disputed boundary in Patagonia led to a crop of wild rumours being disseminated, and to a revival of animosity between the two peoples. ”

“ Finance.—The revenue of the republic is derived mainly from customs and excise, and the largest item of expenditure is the service of the public debt. Since 1891 the national budgets have been calculated in both gold and currency, and both receipts and expenditures have been carried out in this dual system. The collection of a part of the import duties in gold has served to give the government the gold it requires for certain expenditures, but it has complicated returns and accounts and increased the burden of taxation. ”

“ Under the government of Rivadavia the people of Buenos Aires became involved, practically single-handed, in a war with Brazil in defence of the Banda Oriental, which had been seized by the imperial forces (see Uruguay) . The Brazilians were defeated, notably at Ituzaingo, and in 1827 the war issued in the independence of Uruguay. Rivadavia’s term of office was likewise memorable for the constitution of the 24th of December 1826, passed by the constituent congress of all the provinces, by which the bonds which united the confederated states of the Argentine Republic were strengthened. ”

“ Justice is administered by a supreme federal court of five judges and an attorney-general, which is also a court of appeal, four courts of appeal, with three judges each, located in Buenos Aires, La Plata, Paraná and Córdoba, and by a number of inferior and local courts. Each province has also its own judicial system. Trial by jury is established by the constitution, but never practised. Civil and criminal courts are both corrupt and dilatory. ”

“ Among the marvellous changes wrought in Argentina by the advent of European civilization, is the creation of a new flora by the introduction of useful trees and plants from every part of the world. Indian corn, quinoa, mandioca, possibly the potato, cotton and various fruits, including the strawberry, were already known to the aborigines, but with the conqueror came wheat, barley, oats, flax, many kinds of vegetables, apples, peaches, apricots, pears, grapes, figs, oranges and lemons, together with alfalfa and new grasses for the plains. ”

“ To meet the needs of technical and industrial education there are a school of mines at San Juan, a school of viticulture at Mendoza, an agronomic and veterinary school at La Plata, several agricultural and pastoral schools, and commercial schools in Buenos Aires, Rosario, Bahia Blanca and Concordia. Schools of art and conservatories of music are also maintained in the large cities, where there are, besides, many private schools. Secular education has been vigorously opposed by strict churchmen, and efforts have been made to maintain separate schools under church control. ”

“ The principal wheat and Indian corn producing districts lie in the provinces of Santa Fé, Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Entre Rios, and the average yield of wheat throughout the country is about 12 bushels to the acre. Little attention is paid to methods of cultivation, and the farmer has no resources to help him if the cereal crops fail. In the Andean provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca and Rioja viticulture attracts much attention, and the area in vineyards in 1901 was 109,546 acres, only 18% of which was outside the four provinces named. ”

“ The large increase in military expenditures during the disputes with Chile also proved a heavy burden, and in the continued strife with Brazil for naval superiority this burden could not fail to be increased greatly. A very considerable percentage of Argentina’s population of five to six millions is hopelessly poor and unprogressive, and cannot be expected to bear its share of the burden. ”

“ The normal schools, maintained by the state on a secular basis, were founded by President Sarmiento, who engaged experienced teachers in the United States to direct them; their work is excellent; notably, their model primary schools. For higher and professional education there are two national universities at Buenos Aires and Córdoba, and three provincial universities, at La Plata, Santa Fé and Paraná, which comprise faculties of law, medicine and engineering, in addition to the usual courses in arts and science. ”

“ The Misiones territory of the extreme north-east belongs to the older highlands of Brazil, is densely wooded, and has ranges of hills sometimes rising to a height of 1000 to 1300 ft.
The remainder of the great Argentine plain is the treeless, grassy pampa (Quichua for “level spaces”) , apparently a dead level, but in reality rising gradually from the Atlantic westward toward the Andes. Evidence of this is to be found in the altitudes of the stations on the Buenos Aires and Pacific railway running a little north of west across the pampas to Mendoza. ”

“ All laws are sanctioned and promulgated by the president, who is invested with the veto power, which can be overruled only by a two-thirds vote. The president, with the advice and consent of the senate, appoints judges, diplomatic agents, governors of territories, and officers of the army and navy above the rank of colonel. All other officers and officials he appoints and promotes without the consent of the senate. The cabinet is composed of eight ministers—the heads of the government departments of the interior, foreign affairs, finance, war, marine, justice, agriculture, and public works. ”

“ During the first half of the 19th century civil war and despotic government seriously restricted the natural growth of the country, but since the definite organization of the republic in 1860 and the settlement of disturbing political controversies, the population had increased rapidly. Climate and a fertile soil have been important elements in this growth. According to the first national census of 1869 the population was 1,830,214. The census of 1895 increased this total to 3,954,911, exclusive of wild Indians and a percentage for omissions customarily used in South American census returns. ”

“ The guia tax on the transport of stock from one province to another, which has been declared unconstitutional in the courts, is still enforced, and is a vexatious tax upon the stock-raiser, while the consumption, or octroi, tax in Buenos Aires and other cities is a heavy burden upon small producers.
Manufactures.—Manufacturing enterprise in Argentina, favoured by the protection of a high tariff, made noticeable progress in the national capital during the closing years of the last century, especially in those small industries which commanded a secure market. ”

“ It has also the exclusive right to impeach the president, vice-president, cabinet ministers, and federal judges before the senate. The executive power is exercised by the president, elected by presidential electors from each province chosen by direct vote of the people. The president and vice-president are voted for by separate tickets. The system closely resembles that followed in the United States. The president must be a native citizen of Argentina, a Roman Catholic, not under thirty years of age, and must have an annual income of at least $2000. ”

“ The lack of coal in Argentina greatly increases the difficulty and cost of maintaining these industries, and high prices of the products result. Electric power generated by steam is now commonly used in Buenos Aires and other large cities for driving light machinery.
Commerce.—The rapid development of the foreign trade of the republic since 1881 is due to settled internal conditions and to the prime necessity to the commercial world of many Argentine products, such as beef, mutton, hides, wool, wheat and Indian corn. ”

“ In the meantime the Spaniards had penetrated into the interior of what is now the Argentine Republic, and established themselves on the eastern slopes of the Andes. In 1553 an expedition from Peru made their way through the mountain region and founded the city of Santiago del Estero, that of Tucumán in 1565, and that of Córdoba in 1573. Another expedition from Chile, under Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, crossed the Cordillera in 1559, and having defeated the Araucanian Indians, made a settlement which from the name of the leader was called Mendoza. ”

“ Francisco Latzina in 1901, the national revenues and expenditures for the 37 years from 1864 to 1900, inclusive, reduced to a common standard, show a total deficit for that period of $408,260,795 gold, which has been met by external and internal loans, and by a continued increase in the scope and rate of taxation. The growth of the annual budget is shown by a comparison of the following years:—
The bane of Argentine finance has been the extravagant and unscrupulous use of national credit for the promotion of schemes calculated to benefit individuals rather than the public. ”

“ Unfortunately, in no part of the Spanish oversea possessions did the restrictive legislation of the home government operate more harshly or disadvantageously to the interests of the colony; it was a more effective hindrance to the development of its resources and the spread of civilization over the country, than the hostility of the Indians. Cabot had urged the feasibility of opening an easier channel for trade with the interior of Peru through the river Plate and its tributaries, than that by way of the West Indies and Panama ”

“ The pampas were almost destitute of animal life before the horses and cattle of the Spanish invaders were there turned out to graze, and the puma and jaguar never came there until the herds of European cattle attracted them. The timid viscacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus) , living in colonies, often with the burrowing owl, and digging deep under ground like the American prairie dog, was almost the only quadruped to be seen upon these immense open plains. The fox, of which several species exist, probably never ventured far into the plain, for it afforded him no shelter. ”

“ The postal and telegraph services are administered by the national government, and are under the immediate supervision of the minister of the interior. Argentina has been a member of the Postal Union since 1878. Owing to the great distances which must be covered, and also to the defective means of communication in sparsely settled districts, the costs of the postal service in Argentina are unavoidably high in relation to the receipts. ”

“ The choice fell upon Dr Saenz Peña, a judge of the supreme court, and a man universally respected, who had never taken any part in political life. This compact aroused the bitter enmity of Dr Leandro Alem, who did his utmost to stir up the Union Civica to a campaign against the neutral candidate. ”

“ The pastoral and agricultural industries have been hampered by fluctuations in the value of the currency, farm products being sold at a gold value for the equivalent in paper, while labourers are paid in currency. The existing system of taxation also presses heavily upon the provinces, as may be seen from the fact that the national, provincial and municipal exactions together amount to £7 per head of population, while the total value of the exports in 1898 was only £6 in round numbers. ”

“ This federalization of the capital has proved to be a most important factor in binding together the different parts of the confederation, and in promoting the evolution of an Argentine nation out of a loosely cemented union of a number of semi-independent states. ”

“ The vegetation of each region has its distinctive character, modified here and there by elevation, irrigation from mountain streams, and by the saline character of the soil. In the extreme south, where an Arctic vegetation is found, the pastures are rich, and the forests, largely of the Antarctic beech (Fagus antarctica) , are vigorous wherever the rainfall is heavy. The greater part of Patagonia is comparatively barren and has no arboreal growth, except in the well-watered valleys of the Andean foothills. ”

“ In 1620 Buenos Aires was separated from the authority of the government established at Asunción, and was made the seat of a government extending over Mendoza, Santa Fé, Entre Rios and Corrientes, but at the same time remained like the government of Paraguay at Asunción, and that of the province of Tucumán, which had Córdoba as its capital, subject to the authority of the viceroyalty of Peru. ”

“ In addition, there is a corps of coast artillery numbering 450 men, from which garrisons are drawn for the military port, Zárate arsenal and naval prison. The government maintains a naval school at Flores, a school of mechanics in Buenos Aires, an artillery school on the cruiser “Patagonia,” and a school for torpedo practice at La Plata. The naval arsenal is situated on the “north basin” of the Buenos Aires port, and the military port at Bahia Blanca is provided with a dry dock of the largest size, and extensive repair shops. ”

“ The prevailing winds through this southern region are westerly, being moist below the 52nd parallel, and dry between it and the 40th parallel. In the north and on the pampas the north wind is hot and depressing, while the south wind is cool and refreshing. The north wind usually terminates with a thunderstorm or with a pampero, a cold south-west wind from the Andes which blows with great violence, causes a fall in temperature of 15° to 20°, and is most frequent from June to November—the southern winter and spring. ”