Part 1 (1/2)
Argentina From A British Point Of View.
by Various.
PREFACE.
In May last I was asked to read, towards the end of the year, a paper on Argentina, before the Royal Society of Arts. The task of compiling that paper was one of absorbing interest to me; and though I fully realise how inadequately I have dealt with so interesting a subject, I venture to think that the facts and figures which the paper contains may be of interest to some, at any rate, of the Shareholders of the Santa Fe Land Company. It is upon this supposition that it is published.
Whilst I was obtaining the latest information for the paper (which was read before the Royal Society of Arts on November 30th, 1910), several members of the staff of the Santa Fe Land Company aided me by writing some useful and interesting notes on subjects connected with Argentina, and also giving various experiences which they had undergone whilst resident there. I am indebted to the writers for many hints on life in Argentina, and as I think that others will find the reading of the notes as engaging as I did, they are now reproduced just as I received them, and incorporated with my own paper in a book of which they form by no means the least interesting part.
The final portion of the book--Leaves from a journal ent.i.tled ”The Tacuru”--is written in a lighter vein. It describes a trip through some of the Northern lands of the Santa Fe Land Company, and it is included because, although frankly humorous, it contains much really useful information and many capital ill.u.s.trations, I should, however, mention that this journal was written by members of the expedition, and was originally intended solely for their own private edification and amus.e.m.e.nt; therefore all the happier phases of the trip are noted; but I can a.s.sure my English readers that the trip, well though it was planned, was not all luxury.
To the many who have helped me in this work I tender my most sincere thanks.
CAMPBELL P. OGILVIE.
LAWFORD PLACE, MANNINGTREE, ESs.e.x, _December, 1910_.
ARGENTINA FROM A BRITISH POINT OF VIEW.
Argentina, which does not profess to be a manufacturing country, exported in 1909 material grown on her own lands to the value of 79,000,000, and imported goods to the extent of 60,000,000. This fact arrests our attention, and forces us to recognise that there is a trade balance of nearly 20 millions sterling in her favour, and to realise the saving power of the country.
It is not mere curiosity which prompts us to ask: ”Are these 79,000,000 worth of exports of any value to us? Do we consume any of them? Do we manufacture any of them? And do we send any of this same stuff back again after it has been dealt with by our British artisans?” It would be difficult to follow definitely any one article, but upon broad lines the questions are simple and can be easily answered. Amongst the agricultural exports we find wheat, oats, maize, linseed, and flour. The value placed upon these in 1908 amounted to 48,000,000, and England pays for and consumes nearly 42 per cent. of these exports. Other goods, such as frozen beef, chilled beef, mutton, pork, wool, and articles which may be justly grouped as the results of the cattle and sheep industry, amounted to no less a figure than 23,000,000. All these exports represent foodstuffs or other necessities of life, and are consumed by those nations which do not produce enough from their own soil to keep their teeming populations. Another export which is worthy of particular mention comes from the forests, viz., quebracho, which, in the form of logs and extract, was exported in 1908 to the value of 1,200,000. The value of material of all sorts sent from England to Argentina in 1908 was 16,938,872 (this figure includes such things as manufactured woollen goods, leather goods, oils, and paints), therefore it is clear that we have, and must continue to take, a practical and financial interest in the welfare and prosperity of Argentina.
New countries cannot get on without men willing and ready to exploit Nature's gifts, and, naturally, we look to the immigration returns when considering Argentina's progress. To give each year's return for the last 50 years would be wearisome, but, taking the average figures for ten-year periods from 1860 to 1909, we have the following interesting table. (The figures represent the balance of those left in the country after allowing for emigration):--
Yearly Average.
From 1860 to 1869 (inclusive) ... 15,044 ” 1870 ” 1879 ” ... 29,462 ” 1880 ” 1889 ” ... 84,586 ” 1890 ” 1899 ” ... 43,618 ” 1900 ” 1909 ” ... 100,998
Sixty-five per cent. of the immigrants are agricultural labourers, who soon find work in the country, and again add their quota to the increasing quant.i.ty and value of materials to be exported. Facing this page is a diagram of the Immigration Returns from 1857 to 1909.
Nature has been lavish in her gifts to Argentina, and man has taken great advantage of these gifts. My desire now is to show what has been done in the way of developing agriculture in this richly-endowed country during the last fifty years. One name which should never be forgotten in Argentina is that of William Wheelwright, whose entrance into active life in Buenos Aires was not particularly dignified; in 1826 he was s.h.i.+pwrecked at the mouth of the River Plate, and struggled on barefooted, hatless and starving to the small town of Quilmes.
[Ill.u.s.tration: DIAGRAM OF IMMIGRATION RETURNS.
NOTE:--IN THE YEARS 1888, 1889 & 1890 THE ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT a.s.sISTED Pa.s.sAGES.]
Mr. Wheelwright was an earnest and far-seeing man, and his knowledge of railways in the United States helped him to realise their great possibilities in Argentina; but, strange to say, upon his return to his native land he could not impress any of those men who afterwards became such great ”Railway Kings” in the U.S.A. Failing to obtain capital for Argentine railway development in his own country, Wheelwright came to England, and interested Thomas Bra.s.sey, whose name was then a household word amongst railway pioneers. These two men a.s.sociated themselves with Messrs. Ogilvie & Wythes, forming themselves into the firm of Bra.s.sey, Ogilvie, Wythes & Wheelwright, whose first work was the building of a railway 17,480 kilometres long between Buenos Aires and Quilmes in 1863; afterwards they built the line from Rosario to Cordova, which is embodied to-day in the Central Argentine Railway. Other railways were projected, and this policy of progress and extension of the steel road still holds good in Argentina.
The year 1857 saw the first railway built, from Buenos Ayres to Flores, 5,879 kilometres long; in 1870 there were 457 miles of railroad; in 1880 the railways had increased their mileage to 1,572; in 1890 Argentina possessed 5,895 miles of railway, and in 1900 there were 10,352 miles.
The rapid increase in railway mileage during the last nine years is as follows:--
In 1901 there were 10,565 miles of railway.
” 1902 ” ” 10,868 ” ” ”
” 1903 ” ” 11,500 ” ” ”
” 1904 ” ” 12,140 ” ” ”
” 1905 ” ” 12,370 ” ” ”
” 1906 ” ” 12,850 ” ” ”