616
ARGENTINE
the expenses of a trading establishment are now, with a premium on gold of only 127 per cent., greater than they were when the premium stood at 300 per cent. Shipping and Navigation.—The shipping under the Argentine flag in 1898 consisted of 1416 sailing ships of a total tonnage of 118,894 tons and 222 steamships of 36,323 tons. The shipping entered at Argentine ports in the foreign trade in 1891 had a total tonnage of 5,275,094 ; in 1896, 7,115,46/ ; in 1897, 6,185,062; in 1898, 6,555,128 ; in 1899, 6,939,567. Railways.—The rapid development of the railway system is indicated by the following figures, which show the length of line open in various years from 1880 :— Year. 1880 1885 1890
Miles Open. j 1,435 I 2,820 I 5,745
The trans-Andean line is open to Santa Rosa, but 46 miles are required to unite the Argentine and Chilian sections. In 1900 the capital invested in the railways amounted to £105,323,324, of which £10,991,750 corresponded with the state lines, and the remainder with the private lines. In the course of 1900 the railways carried 17,898,961 passengers and 12,719,297 tons of goods, the average working expenses of all the lines in operation being (1898) 62 per cent, of the gross receipts. In consequence of the action of competing undertakings, the companies, without any National Government guarantee on the capital they employed, were compelled to extend their works, and expansion was only checked when the financial crisis of 1890 destroyed for a time the credit of Argentina in the money markets of Europe. The concessions granted during the tenure of office of President Roca from 1880 to 1886 had the specific object of uniting outlying districts with the capital, and could be justified on political as well as economic grounds. Those issued broadcast by President Celman had no such raison d’etre and were simply political jobs, which brought the guaranteed railway system into disrepute. Tramways.—In 1895 there were in operation 460 miles of tramways, 36 miles in construction and 32 miles projected. These lines had a capital of $84,000,000 paper, and in 1894 carried 88,306,866 {lassengers. In 1895 there were 179 stage-coach companies traveling over 11,940 miles of road. Telegraphs.—In 1896 the Argentine Republic had 25,345 miles of telegraph lines and 1237 offices. The national telegraph lines had a length of 11,023 miles with 23,572 miles of wire ; the railway lines, 7070 miles with 18,717 miles of wire ; companies’ lines, 4428 miles with 7462 miles of wire; other lines, 2824 miles with 9309 miles of wire. The despatches sent numbered 4,953,887. Aftsfe.—The Argentine Republic joined the Postal Union in 1878. In four years the national post offices handled mail pieces to the following numbers:—In 1894, 127,564,667 pieces; 1895, 142,436,240 ; 1896, 177,641,001 ; 1897, 190,506,860. In 1897 the internal correspondence amounted to 167,634,383 letters and papers, and the foreign to 22,872,487. In 1897 there were 1716 post offices. The revenue derived from the post offices, including the telegraphs, in 1897 was $15,257,966 ; the expenditures, $30,347,390. Credit.—By law of 16th October 1891 the old National Bank was placed in liquidation, and the Banco de la Nacion Argentina was opened. Within the republic there are many other banks, both state and private. The National and Provincial Hypothecary Banks, in the spendthrift period between 1886 and 1890, exercised a disastrous influence on Argentine credit. The fundamental principle of these mortgage banks was sound enough, the idea being that the bonds issued (cedulas) should be a first charge on real estate of approved value, and that their face value should not represent more than 75 per cent, of the approved value of the property. But in the “boom” of 1887-89 cedulasvjevz issued on the nominal value of property and through political influence, so that many millions of dollars were obtained on waste and worthless lands. When the true condition of affairs came to light it was found that cedulas amounting to some $400,000,000 had been issued by the Provincial Hypothecary Bank, and to about $120,000,000 by the National Bank. In the case of the Provincial Bank the security of the lands mortgaged was found to represent only about 10 per cent, of the nominal value of the cedulas issued. The guarantee of the Provincial Government had been attached to these bonds, but the province was in a bankrupt condition. Unfortunately, the cedulas had been largely bought in Europe under the impression that they were secured upon valuable real estate. When their price fell, nearly all landowners in possession of valuable properties and owing money to the bank at once bought up the bonds at depreciated values and cancelled their indebtedness. The bank was, therefore, left with only the mortgages that were worthless, and practically the $250,000,000 of cedulas now outstanding in Europe and Argentina are without intrinsic value. By
[STATISTIC -5 REPUBLIC careful management the affairs of the National Hypothecary Bank were brought to a fairly sound financial condition, but this was in great part owing to the fact that the charter of the bank practically confined all mortgages to the municipality of Buenos Ayres, where property has steadily risen in value for some years past. The development of the resources of Argentina is effected largely by means of foreign capital. In a consular report of July 1900, the foreign capital invested in undertakings within the country is estimated at £122,865,000, of which £119,018,000 is for railways and tramways, and the interest annually paid to capitalists outside the republic is put at about £4,900,000. The paper money in circulation on 31st December 1899 amounted to $291,326,000, or about £25,600,000, gold being at a premium of 127 per cent. On 4th November of that year a law was passed for the conversion of the paper currency into gold dollars at the rate of 44 cents gold per paper dollar, provision being made for the formation of a conversion fund. In April 1900 the fund amounted to $3,200,000 gold, or £640,000. It is anticipated that five years must elapse before the fund can reach an amount sufficient for an attempt to carry out the conversion. The metric system has been nominally compulsory since 1887, but the old Argentine system is not yet abandoned. Authorities.—Alsina, Juan A. La Inmigracidn Europea en la Republica Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1898.—Argentine-Chilian Boundary: Report presented to the British Arbitration Tribunal on behalf of the Argentine Government. 4 vols. London, 1900.—Carranza, Arturo B. Consiitucion Nacionaly Constituciones Provinciates Vigentes. Buenos Ayres, 1898.—Daireaux, Emile. La Vie et les Moeurs a La Plata. Paris, 1888.—De Gubernatis, Comte Angelo. L’Argentina. Firenze, 1898.—Galarce, A. Bosquejo de Buenos Ayres, capital de la Nacion Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1886. 2 vols.—Gonzales, Meliton. El Gran Chaco Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1890.—Grant and Sons, John. English Directory and Argentine Commercial Guide. Buenos Ayres, 1899. —Latzina, Francis. Diccionario Geografico Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1891.—Geographic de la Republique Argentine. Buenos Ayres, 1890. —L'Agriculture et I'Elevage dans la Ripublique Argentine. Paris, 1889.—Mitre, BartolomA Historia de San Martin y de la Emancipacion Sud-Americana, Segiin nuevos documentos. Buenos Ayres, 1887. 3 vols.—Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1883. 3 vols.—Mulhall, M. G. and E. T. Handbook of the River Plate. London, 1892.—Schmitz, Otto. Die Finanzen Argentiniens. Leipzig, 1895.—Sold an, Felipe. Diccionario Geografico Estadistico National Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1885.—Turner, Thos. A. Argentina and the Argentines. New York and London, 1892.— Zeballos, Estanislao S. Description Arnena de la Republica Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1881. 3 vols.—Anuario de la Direccidn General de Estadistica 1898. Buenos Ayres, 1899.—Wiener, Charles. La Republique Argentine. Paris, 1899.—Segundo Censo Republica Argentina. Buenos Ayres, 1898. 3 vols.— Hilder, F. F. Education in the Argentine Republic. Washington, 1899.—Handbook of the Argentine Republic. Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, 1892.—United States Consular Reports. Washington. — British Foreign Office Diplomatic and Consular Reports. London. (W. W. R.; I. P. A. R.( C. E. A.) II. Recent History. The history of Argentina since the time of its emancipation from Spain is a confused, wearisome story of political intrigues, party struggles, civil wars, and military revolutions. In 1875 the temporary lull led many people to believe that the period of civil strife was at an end and that no new revolutionary movements would be attempted for a long time to come. These sanguine expectations were not destined to be realized. During the presidency of Dr Avellaneda, who had succeeded Sarmiento in the office of chief magistrate, political feeling in the city and province of Buenos Ayres began to show unmistakable signs of forcing to an issue the question as to what position Buenos Ayres was to hold for the future in regard to the remaining provinces of the confederation. Before retiring from office, the President endeavoured to secure the election of General Julio Roca as his successor, and on this point hinged the principal political events of 1879, leading to the civil war of 1880, by which the power of Buenos Ayres was crushed. When, in 1879, the people of Buenos Ayres perceived that
