1 MODERN ARGENTINA BY THE SAME AUTHOR THE RETURN OF JOE, and other New Zealand Stories. Price 6/-. THE SEAT OF MOODS. A Medley. Price 3/6. LONDON I FRANCIS GRIFFITHS. MODERN ARGENTINA The El Dorado of To-Day WITH NOTES ON URUGUAY AND CHILE BY W. H. KOEBEL v\ With One Hundred and Twenty-three Illustrations LONDON FRANCIS GRIFFITHS 34 MAIDEN LANE, STRAND, W.C. 1907 PREFACE. In his desire to acknowledge the valuable assistance which friends in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile have rendered in connection with this small work the author finds himself confronted by a difficulty. Where so many, out of pure goodwill and interest in their native or adopted land, have spared neither time nor trouble in placing their knowledge at his disposal, the compilation of a full list of the names of those to whom he is under an obligation would be impossible. So far as the city of Buenos Aires is concerned, the writer desires to express his cordial thanks for the assistance received at the hands of his compatriots, and more especially to those numerous members of the Strangers', English, Hurlingham, and Lomas clubs who accompanied him in his explorations of the metropolis and its surroundings. As regards the various Estancieros whose guest he had the pleasure of being, it suffices to say that the famed hospitality of the " Camp " is indeed worthy of its reputation. He desires to thank in especial the following gentlemen for assistance received in matters dealing with both town and " Camp " : Messrs. W. Agar, F. Bradney, Dutting, A. M. Martinez de Hoz, George Keen, Carlos Luro, H. C. Martin, Moss, Luis Meyer, R. Inglis Runciman, Leishman Runciman, Robert Runciman, W. Riddle, F. Crawford Smith, W. Scheibler, Schwind, A. Soley, Thomas (of Carcarana), A. P. Treweek, Glyn Williams. 235577. VI. PREFACE Mr. E. A. Duffield he has to thank for special information and photographs concerning the Chaco district, Mr. W. N orris for a similar kindness con- cerning Patagonia, and Mr. P. M. W. Murdoch for information concerning the irrigation system of Mendoza. He is, moreover, deeply indebted to the assistance of the following gentlemen : Messrs. J. A. Goudge, F. C. Bowden, and E. G. Horrocks, of the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway; Messrs. Barrow and Gregory, of the Great Southern Railway; Mr. Brooker, of the Transandine Railway; and Mr. H. A. Petty, of the Central Argentine Railway. Mr. Henry Moody, of Buenos Aires, has permitted the use of some views of that city, and Mr. Charles Frost has very kindly supplied a number of the photographs taken by him in Mendoza, the Andes, and Chile, when in the company of the author. The matter of several sketches which have appeared in the " Globe " and " Manchester Guardian " has been incorporated in this book by the courtesy of the editors. CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION i CHAPTER I. THE MODERN ARGENTINE. The Composition of Society Cosmopolitan Elements The Argentine Aristocracy The Source of its Wealth Some Manners and Customs Domestic Life The Argen- tine Lady Young Argentines 4 CHAPTER II. POLITICS AND STRIKES IN ARGENTINA. Some Ethics of Government Integrity, past and present Some Methods of Contracting The Raison d'etre of Revolution Strikes and their Political Aspect The Rela- tionship of Buenos Aires to the Land Argentine Officials Conscription Growing solidity - - - 12 CHAPTER III. THE ENGLISH IN ARGENTINA. A First Impression Relations with Argentines In the Town In the Camp Some Instances of Tactlessness The Influence of Argentina upon the English Lost Britishers The Power of Sport Services to Argentina Some Misunderstandings and Amenities - - - - 25 CHAPTER IV. . BUENOS AIRES. Its Status as a Capital Rapidity of its Growth Streets and Public Places Palermo Park The Central Produce Market the Boca District The Docks La Plata River Climate of the Town -------37 CHAPTER V. BUENOS AIRES. Ways and Means in the Capital Restaurant Life Theatres The Teatro Apolo Other Entertainments Cafe's and their Management A City of Complacent Luxury Clubs Hotels Hurlingham A Paradise of Sport The Game of Pelota Suburbs The Tigre River - - - 47 CHAPTER VI. BUENOS AIRES. Hurlingham A Paradise of Sport The game of Pelota Suburbs The Tigre River ------ 58 viii. CONTENTS CHAPTER VII. BUENOS AIRES. PAGE Commerce and its Distribution Banks and Insurance Com- panies Tramway and other enterprises Mistakes of British Manufacturers The Birmingham Exhibition Retail Trade The Attractions of Boot-Blacking Shops Lotteries A Typical Scene The Aftermath of Good Fortune - - - ~ -__._. 55 CHAPTER VIII. BUENOS AIRES. The Press The Buenos Aires Police Methods and Efficiency System of " Point Duty " The Force as it was The " Cochero " His relations with the Public The coming " Motor " The Tramway system A confusing regulation Pick-pockets upon Tram Cars - 78 CHAPTER IX. BUENOS AIRES. The Traffic Question Licenses Porters An expensive city The cost of necessities and luxuries Servants Some local ethics of hospitality The Argentine cigarette Rus in urbe _.___. .... g O CHAPTER X. THREE IMPORTANT TOWNS. La Plata The artificiality of the town A stagnant city Palaces and grass-grown streets Municipal Methods Rosario A minor Buenos Aires A Wheat Centre Bahia Blanca A rising port Its future influence upon the Republic Fortunate land investments Camp towns 100 CHAPTER XL MAR DEL PLATA. A fashionable sea-side resort An Argentine description The Rambla Some matters of costume Sea bathing and life preservers The Sands Scene at the railway station upon arrival Hotel life and its cost The Casino Fruit sellers at the " Bristol " Some landscape features The Mar del Plata Golf Links Pigeon shooting Industrial attributes no CHAPTER XII. THE CAMP. Its aspect An ocean of land The fascination of vastness Squalls The monotony of the land A comparison between past and present Camp timber The Estanciero The Mayor Domo ....... I2 3 CONTENTS ix. CHAPTER XIII. THE GAUCHO. PAGE His past Influences at work Their results Costumes and ornamentations The " machete " Horsegear and horse- manship His humours Some bad specimens of the class The lust of revenge The Gaucho in lighter vein As an invalid As a striker - 136 CHAPTER XIV. THE GAUCHO AS STOCKMAN. The " Rodeo " Some exciting duties Counting cattle and " parting " The " brete " system Argentines versus Texan Cowboys Results of a competition Varying methods The advantages of a stock whip The Gaucho and refractory cattle - - - - - - -151 CHAPTER XV. THE WORKING OF AN ESTANCIA PASTORAL. Progress of the Industry Improvement in breeds Favourite strains The cabana Three methods of pro- cedure Cattle sheds Sheep The advent of the New Zealander A comparison of methods The live-stock census Some remount transactions Mule breeding Pigs The danger of overstocking ----- 161 CHAPTER XVI. THE WORKING OF AN ESTANCIA AGRICULTURAL. Rapidity of development The productiveness of the land Wheat Maize Linseed Their remunerative powers and risks Alfalfa Its influences upon the country Character- istics of the plant The Italian Colonist His enterprise His dwelling Methods of construction Migratory farmers Some rewards of industry The colonist and finance His utility Episodes of the past The Entre Rios Colony -- 172 CHAPTER XVII. CAMP TOPICS. Harvest in the Camp Methods of cutting and stacking wheat Perilous storm winds Threshing and contract labour English agricultural implements versus American Camp roads and Motor wagons Pumps and wells Scarcity of timber Fencing The cattle d'p Dairy farming The Carcarana creamery - 185 CHAPTER XVIII. CAMP TOPICS. The Camp Store Its aspects A heterogeneous stock-in-trade Methods of business A centre of sociability The siesta Some ethics of the custom Anthrax A terrible visita- tion Symptoms of the disease Camp method of its cure 198 x. CONTENTS CHAPTER XIX. THREE ESTANCIAS. PAGE La Germania A vast enterprise Cattle breeding Up-to-date farming Scenes on the estate Agricultural produce Staff Estancia house Chapadmalal Senor Martinez de Hoz A celebrated breeder Imported forest The beautify- ing of an Estancia La Independencia A model of a smaller property Mr. Bradney as a breeder of polo ponies 207 CHAPTER XX. MENDOZA. The irrigation system of the district Aspects of the town A pleasant city Quaint hotels Cabmen versus Tram-cars An earthquake centre Horrors of the past Method of building Mendoza vineyards -..-.. 220 CHAPTER XXI. MENDOZA. The Wine Industry Its development Method of importing wines Characteristics of the wines Their commercial aspects Senor Kalless' establishment Gigantic vats Varieties produced The sobriety of the Mendozan The grape industry Fruit canning Argentine fruit cultivation Questions of quantity and quality Prospects under altered conditions 231 CHAPTER XXII. SOME INDUSTRIES AND PECULIARITES. Mendoza poplars Woods of San Luis The Chaco timber industry Quebracho wood Transport in the Chaco Peculiarities of the district Strange fish Nomadic Indians Other inhabitants Their manners and customs Animal life of the Chaco Patagonian Indians Travel in Patagonia The tide at Gallegos Argentine mining The Famatina mines Some native implements of the country _..._..---- 240 SOME ARGENTINE CUSTOMS AND FEATURES. Some Camp dishes Yerba Mate" Characteristics of the beverage The Mirage The Camp hawker Travel on the plains The coach The camp owl Its peculiarities The obsession of the bird A lost friend Traffic on the main rivers The fleet of Nicholas Mihanovich - 252 CONTENTS xi. CHAPTER XXIV. ARGENTINE RAILWAYS. PAGE Argentine railways Some monumental enterprises British Companies Transandine operations The Buenos Aires and Pacific The Great Southern Some travelling customs Goods traffic Termini in Buenos Aires External communication Shipping companies The Royal Mail Growth of the line ----- 262 CHAPTER XXV. NATURAL HISTORY SOME PESTS OF THE CAMP. The Locust Its rapacity, habits, and haunts Methods of destroying the insect The increase of the hare The introduction of the rabbit Danger of the proceeding - 272 CHAPTER XXVI. NATURAL HISTORY. The jaguar and puma Large rodents The carpincho and nutria Habits of the skunk The opossum The iguana Ostriches and their peculiarities Their commercial value Shooting in Argentina A land of partridge and duck The failure of the pheasant Vultures, large and small - 282 CHAPTER XXVII. NATURAL HISTORY. The parrot The flamingo The bustard The Chuna, Churrinche, and Pecho Colorado The scissor-bird The Viuda Varieties of humming-bird Call of the " Bien te Veo " Peculiarities of the oven-bird The lenatero Miniature pigeons and doves Argentine fish Frogs Snakes The Tarantula " Bichos " The dragon-fly Camp wasps Butterflies Ants The mosquito Flies The Thistle Some wild flowers of the camp Cactus The chuchu 292 CHAPTER XXVIII. FROM ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC. From Buenos Aires to Mendoza Aspects of the route Mendoza to Las Cuevas A climb into solitude Transan- dine stations The fascination of the inner Andes Cordillera colouring A mule journey to the " Cumbre " The frontier Appearance of the Chilian slopes Juncal to Guardia Vieja Vegetation on the road Guardia Vieja to Los Andes A pleasant route The Western terminus of the Transandine -------- 304 xii. CONTENTS CHAPTER XXIX. VALPARAISO. PAGE The Chilian State Railway Financial guards Quaint rolling- stock The journey's end The Pacific Some Chilian characteristics Valparaiso Site of the town A city of precipices and lifts Some questions of traffic and paving The Valparaisan cab-driver Aspects of the port Tram-car ethics Fisherman's Bay A bathing resort Agreeable methods of procedure 315 CHAPTER XXX. URUGUAY. A pastoral land Area of the Republic Progress Population An Uruguayan table of comparisons Montevideo Its harbour works Salto Paysandu The Railway system Uruguayan currency The livestock census Some exports Vine and fruit cultivation Some aspects of the country Intermittent streams The water stone Camp roads Climate An old Spanish law Fireflies - ... 335 CHAPTER XXXI. THE URUGUAY RIVER. A great water highway Its aspects and peculiarities Traffic on the river A maze of islands A picturesque stream Method of landing Fray Bentos Beauty of the " Lemco " town A kitchen of the world The workings and ramifications of the company ----- 337 CHAPTER XXXII. URUGUAYAN REVOLUTIONS AND POLITICS. The depth of party feeling Ordinary symptoms of revolution " Colorados " and " Blancos " An undesired lull Some causes of civil war Rough and ready warfare The Estanciero and revolutions The inconveniences of the latter An instance of the necessity of temporising Destruction involved by the struggle Gilbertian officers Criminals and the law Some instances of legal procedure - - - - - - - - -35* CHAPTER XXXIII. THE URUGUAYAN CAMP. Estancia life Popular breeds The " Bichadero " estancia Some features of the camp Transparent atmosphere and long sight An instance of the latter Some primitive manners and customs The Village of Sanchez A place of evil repute The Uruguayan peon Former habits and present progress in farming Methods of selling cattle, ancient and modern -._._._ 61 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE The Gaucho, a chip of the old block - Frontispiece. Government House, Buenos Aires ... x iv Congress Hall, Buenos Aires ------ xiv Gonzalez Rapid, Patagonia __-_..- i Gonzalez Rapid, Patagonia ___.... i View of Baker River -------- i Plaza Victoria, Buenos Aires ------- 5 Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires -_-___ 5 Pabellon Argentine, Buenos Aires ------ 5 Palermo, Buenos Aires --------12 The River Tigre part of Regatta course 12 The River Tigre -- 16 The River Tigre --------- 16 Argentine Labourers - - - - - - - - 21 Docks, Buenos Aires 28 Grain Elevators, Buenos Aires -------28 Harvesting ----------33 Stacking 33 A Northern Rancho ---.-__- 48 Scene at a Northern Station -------48 Typical Residence in a Camp Town 53 A Camp Race-Meeting --------60 A Camp Race-Meeting --------60 Driving in Hordes ---------65 Scene at a Camp Race-Meeting ------ 65 A halt in a Camp Journey ------- 65 Estancia Out-Buildings --------69 An Estancia house ---------76 Mar del Plata the Sands 76 Casino and Bristol Hotel, Mar del Plata - - - - 80 The Gaucho at Home -------- g^ Gaucho with lasso ---_ _ _ . _ 92 Gaucho --------___ 97 Horse, showing Gaucho saddle -------97 Buenos Aires and Pacific Wharf, Bahia Blanca - - 101 Mustering for a " Rodeo "- - - - - - -101 The Cattle bath 108 The Cattle bath in operation 108 xiv. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE A " Pulperia," Inn - - - - - - - - 112 The Cattle bath in operation - - - - - - -112 Harvesting Cart - - - - - - - - -117 Amongst the Cordoba Hills - - - - - - -117 Ox Wagon - - - - - -117 Carting Timber - ._.._. I2 ^. Ox Wagons ~ ----.____ I2 g The Carcarana Dairy -.-.._.. 144 Italian Colonist's hut - 144 Herd of Polled Angus Cattle ------- 149 Polled Angus Bull --------- ^9 Mendoza. Calle San Martin ------- x ^6 Mendoza. Plaza Independencia - - - - - 156 Mendoza. Approach to Railway Station 156 Mendoza. Ruins of Cathedral destroyed by Earthquake - 161 Mendoza. A Vine Lane -------- 161 Carting Quebracho Logs - - - - - - - -165 A 6|-ton Quebracho log. Florencia-B^fsail Railway - - 165 At the edge of a Chaco Forest - - - - - 172 Bridge on Florencia-Brasail Railway - 172 Indian hut, Patagonia ----_... 176 Last of Civilization. Rio Chico, about eight days from Santa Cruz. A Primitive Rancho ----- 176 Vineyard, Mendoza --.--_--- 181 Colonist's hut - 181 Transandine Train ------_-. 188 The Famatina Mines --__.--- 188 Famatina Mine. Original method of transporting ore from the mines to the smelting works ----- 193 Famatina Mine. Tension Station of Aerial Ropeway - - 193 Roasting an " Asado --------- 197 Travelling Coach -..___._. 204 Mail Coach -------.-_ 204 Iguazu Falls, Iguazu River ___.-_. 2O 8 Bull, La Independencia Estancia ------ 208 An Oven bird's nest -------- 2 o8 A Camp Road --.--__--. 2 o8 R.M.S.P. Araguaya - -- - - - - - -213 R.M.S.P. Araguaya - - - - - -.- - - 220 R.M.S.P. Araguaya --------- 220 Locusts on Tree Trunk -------- 225 Locusts on Wire Fence and Shrubs ------ 240 The Commencement of Civilisation. La Colonia, Patagonia 245 Hail Cove, Hail Island. Messier Straits, Patagonia - - 245 Camp at Baker River, Patagonia ------ 245 Big Fall, Baker River, Patagonia - - - - - 252 GOVERNMENT HOUSE, BUENOS AIRES. Facing Page xiv. CONGRESS MALI,, BUENOS AIRES, LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv. FACING PAGE Cochrane River. Horses Swimming stream ... 257 Bridge over Rio del Salto, Patagonia ----- 257 Transandine Railway. Uspallata Station- - 257 The erection of the Statue of Christ on the Summit of the Andes _._..._..- 2 6i Across the Andes. The Natural Bridge, Puenta del Inca - 261 Andine Travelling. The Coach Road ----- 268 Across the Andes. Las Cuevas. Changing from train to mules _.-..-._- 268 Frontier post on the summit of the Andes - 272 In the heart of the Cordilleras. The mule track - - 272 Coach road on Chilian slope ------- 277 Across the Andes. Juncal ..__--. 277 The Mule Track. The Andes 284 Patagonia. Descent from the summit of Cordilleras to the Chacabuco Valley - - . - - - - - - - 284 Mule track in the Andes. Commencement of descent into Chile 284 Valparaiso. The Port Railway Station 289 Plaza, Valparaiso --------- 289 Chilian lady in National Costume ------ 293 Section of an oven-bird's nest, viewed from above - - - 294 Outskirts of Valparaiso -------- 300 Bathing house near Valparaiso ------ 300 Chilian Slope of the Andes ---__._ 304 Chilian Cactus ---------- 304 Sheep on the Uruguayan Camp --_--_ 309 A Forest Nook, Uruguay - - - - - - - -316 Corral Work, Uruguay ... _ _ _ - 316 Shearing ---......--321 Shearing - - - - - - - - - - -321 Proportionate Diagram of the increase in population of various nations according to the latest census - 328 On the Upper Uruguay -------- 336 Timber Boat on the Uruguay ------- 336 View of the Liebig Company's Town, Fray Bentos - - 341 Fray Bentos. The Factory 348 A Lemco Managers' House, Fray Bentos - 348 Don Esteban River, Uruguay ------- 352 On the bank of the Uruguay River ----- 352 Troop of Cattle near Fray Bentos ------ 357 Watering Cattle. Uruguay ---_._. 357 Bichadero Estancia. Entrance to Courtyard - 364 Peon with Bull. Bichadero Estancia. Uruguay - 364 Representatives of a Coming Industry - 368 A Capataz -----_____ 368 GONZALEZ RAPID, PATAGONIA. GONZALEZ RAPID, PATAGONIA. VIEW OF BAKER RIVER. Facing Page i. MODERN ARGENTINA. INTRODUCTION. There exists probably no other civilised country of the magnitude of Argentina of which less is known in Europe. For some reason or other the Republic is but hazily pictured in the minds of those who are sufficiently well informed upon other topics. The questions to which a returned South American has to submit are in themselves sufficient proof of this. Details of San Francisco, for instance, are occasionally begged by those who believe the Northern town to be somewhere in the neighbour- hood of Buenos Aires. One is asked whether the country be bare or timbered, flat or mountainous, if its climate be hot or cold. The questions may be natu-ral enough ; but it would be as easy to reply off-hand as to the peculiarities of a Continent. Argentina owns districts as large as a European country that are wooded; others, equally extensive, that are all but treeless. It is flat in that it possesses thousands of square miles of plain, while in dealing with mountains it can produce the Andes as a trump card. One may broil in the Chaco, and shiver with cold in Southern Patagonia. The difference, in fact, between the Northern and Southern climates is as marked as that between the temperatures of Italy and Iceland. Indeed, to expect a single representa- tive type of anything whatever throughout the vast B 2 MODERN ARGENTINA tracts of Argentina would be as unreasonable as to look for uniformity in Africa, from Egypt to Cape Colony. That which, perhaps, has least of all been realised on the part of the general public is the important role which this Republic is undoubtedly destined to play in the world's affairs. It is true that Argentina has now been colonised for little short of four hundred years ; but, so far as its present position is concerned, it is to all intents and purposes a new country. Its vast resources and wealth have lain fallow for centuries. In the distant past the Jesuits made strenuous and successful efforts to place the land upon the road to its proper development. Agriculture, viticulture, fruit-farming, mining, and many other industries beyond were started and fostered by them. Political and other causes, how- ever, stepped in to delay, if not altogether to arrest, a progress that promised so well. Until recent years the country has been content to wrest from the land sufficient to maintain itself and no more. The outer world saw but little of its produce, and the methods employed were, from the very nature of things, crude and wasteful in the extreme. Cattle were slaughtered for the cutting of a steak or some small portion of meat from each, while the -rest of the carcase was left rotting upon the camp, a feast for the carrion birds. Mines were toyed with much after the manner in which a child disturbs the top- most sands with its wooden spade. In the then restricted agricultural areas a successful crop came in the manner of a gift, almost unaided. It was the INTRODUCTION 3 era of happy-goluckdom, when the fateful word " manana" had a far more real significance than now. Then came the revolution a far more important one than any mere political outburst to which Argentina has been subjected. The system of chill- ing and freezing meat was undoubtedly one of the chief factors which made this possible. The Republic awoke all at once to the realisation of the possibilities which its lands held; and, when once awake, the ball of progress was set rolling with remarkable speed. Pedigree bulls and fine stock gene-rally were imported in order that the increasing herds should gain in quality* Agriculture followed, to rival in importance the breeding of sheep and cattle, while the railways spread their tentacles ever more widely over the land. There are many who hold the opinion that the progress of Argentina and its consequent accumula- tion of wealth has been brought about too rapidly for the ultimate good of the Republic. According to these, the mere fact that the present prosperity of the country is unexampled is in itself an omen of evil for the future. On the other hand, when it is taken into consideration that not one tithe of those rich lands which lie in readiness for the ploughshare has yet been developed, the present welfare might surely be looked upon with more justice as the forerunner of a prosperity on a yet larger scale. CHAPTER I. THE MODERN ARGENTINE. The Composition of Society Cosmopolitan Elements /The Argen- tine Aristocracy The Source of its Wealth Some Manners and Customs Domestic Life The Argentine Lady Young Argentines. When all is said and done, the most important feature of a country is represented by the people who dwell within it. For this reason it may be well to turn first of all to the inhabitants of this Southern Republic. From the point of view of nationality, the term Argentine embraces a wide field of humanity. The various communities that go to form the nation may be classified thus : I. The descendants of the " Conquistadores "and of the subsequent Spanish immigrants who settled in the land during the period of the Spanish occupation. II. The descendants of immigrants of other nationalities. The Basques, although they come from either slope of the Pyrenees, may come within this category. So far as pre- dominance is concerned, the Italian greatly outnumbers the representatives of any other nation. III. The Gaucho-Argentine, i.e., the descendants of those Spaniards and others who have inter- married with the Indians. 4 PLAZA VICTORIA, BUENOS AIRES. AVENIDA BE MAYO, BUENOS AIRES. PABELLON ARGENTINO, BUENOS AIRES, Facing Page 5. THE MODERN ARGENTINE 5 IV. The natives proper of Patagonia and of the Chaco. Except for picturesque purposes these may be considered as more or less of a negligible quantity. V. The children of foreigners resident in the country. By Argentine law these latter, if born within the Republic, become its citizens from that fact alone. It is from these elements that is formed the Argentine Nation, as it at present exists. An Olla Podrida of all nationalities, its composition is bewilderingly heterogenous. The result is, never- theless, satisfactory. It is true that, up to the present, the vast amount of enterprise which has been lavished upon the country has been conducted almost entirely by foreigners. Indeed, it may be said that the Argentine more especially the landowner has floated to prosperity on the back of English capital and Italian labour. Yet the force of example and the spur of inter-marriage has told. To use an Americanism, the Argentine is a live man in a live country. The nation, of course, is still in the making. Indeed, it is possible even now to watch the forma- tion of new communities which is actually in process. The development of social grades here vies in rapidity with the opening up of the land. As a natural sequence, the more picturesque attributes of the Argentines are becoming lost to sight beneath the spirit of hard and fast modernism. In common with every other Republic, Argentina possesses its aristocracy not that of the old Spanish regime, 6 MODERN ARGENTINA which is to all intents and purposes extinct, but a more recent upper ten of its own. It is primarily an aristocracy of money, yet it differs widely from the usual conception of the kind. '"The Argentine magnate must not be confused with his harder- headed Northern brother who has attained his fortune only after strenuous commercial struggles. Unlike this latter, he has watched the automatic growth of a wealth for which he has* to thank the continuous increase in the value of land; thus he has been content to study the politer arts, while his income waxed yearly more imposing through no effort of his own. The grandfathers of these sons of fortune had doubtless no inkling of what lay in store for their descendants. Honest, frugal" farmers who looked upon their broad lands as little beyond the source of food and shelter, they lived the simplest of lives, varied only by an occasional outburst of blood- letting. Then arrived the period when the land rose in price by leaps and bounds. An acre that would joyfully have been exchanged for an old sombrero became an asset of importance; a league that might have been diced for and lost with scarcely a pang, grew to represent a small fortune. Thus Juan or Pedro became rich, though to all intents and purposes he remained in ignorance of the fact. To one of his simple nature the money possessed no value save to purchase better and larger Herds. His own existence he continued precisely as before. It was left to his son to discover the wider significance of this fortune that had come to him, THE MODERN ARGENTINE as well as the revelations which the exploration of the hitherto unknown outer world induced. To his son, in turn, the new order of affairs comes as a natural and accepted thing. Educated in Europe, he will visit Paris, London, and other centres periodically throughout his after life. He cultivates racehorses, plays golf and baccarat, shoots pigeons, and usually speaks two or three languages. This uppermost stratum, in fact the last which Argentine society has flung up is, as a whole, well educated and sufficiently able to hold its own in any of the polished corners of the globe. It lives its life in an altogether up-to-date and European fashion, although many of its habits and customs, virtues and vices included, are more exotic and grace- ful. Many have taken to sport, as we know it, with a profound enthusiasm. They are becoming more and more acquainted with the true spirit that contests of the kind demand. It is true that the desire to win at any cost has not yet been altogether eliminated. The Argentine is, perhaps, just a little addicted to that " slimness" which permits the employment of a trick to win where he would otherwise have lost. But, if he occasionally resort to such practices, it is from no love of meanness itself. He takes something of an ancient Grecian pride in the cuteness of such performances. As likely as not, he will tell one about it afterwards, and expect one to laugh with him in appreciation of it. The lives of these magnates lie in smooth and pleasant places. Each will own an establishment in Buenos Aires that ranks little beneath a palace. 8 MODERN ARGENTINA In his own winter he will frequently seek the European summer ; in the hottest season he will retire to the cooler surroundings of his own estancia, and, should time chance to hang heavy upon his hands, he will buy a new race-horse, or dabble just a little in politics. In eloquence, the modern Argentine has lost little of that fluency which distinguishes the old world Spaniard. He is much addicted to speechifying, and, so far as this is concerned, he is rather the gainer, for he possesses a sense of humour far more acute than any which his ancestors ever knew. In all things he aims at smartness, and usually attains that end with one notable exception. The appear- ance of his domestic staff leaves everything to be desired. One may see a perfectly appointed carriage, for instance, whose appearance is marred by the slouching figure of an anarchistic looking person upon the box. It is much the same with all ; valets, maidservants and grooms have, as a rule, the air of honest bourgeois, who wisely study comfort rather than appearances. How far this is the result of the Republican spirit or of mere slackness it is difficult to say. In domestic life the Argentine, though a little prone to make his wild oats perennial, shows himself genuinely attached to his family. So much is this the case that he is frequently loth to permit marriage itself to sever the older standing ties. Thus it is no uncommon thing for an Argentine when he marries to espouse the whole of his wife's family as well as herself. A father-in-law will gladly add THE MODERN ARGENTINE 9 to his house or set apart a portion of it in order to meet -with the new arrangements. In this way a son or daughter-in-law becomes a genuine addition to the family. So far as the Argentine ladies are concerned, their chief claim to distinction lies in their femininity, by which amongst other things it may be understood x that they represent the antithesis of extreme * athleticism. If one of these should chance to attempt golf she will succeed in footling her strokes in quite a pretty manner, indulging in many little protests concerning her complexion the while. She has suffered in the past, of course, restrictions similar to those imposed upon the sex in Spain. She is, nevertheless, commencing to regard the Northern methods of camaraderie between men and women with less amazement than before. Indeed, that strictness of etiquette which has applied to herself is being insensibly relaxed. Boating excursions upon the River Tigre, the sands at Mar del Plata, and other occupations of a nature tending to modify the more adamantine conventionalities are commencing to show evidence of their work. That these ladies are charming goes almost without saying. It has been reproached them that the neighbourhood of mid-day is a late one at which to rise, that a couple of hours spent on the toilet is too much, and that the rouge and powder puff which come into occasional use are unfair aids to beauty. Be that as it may, it must be admitted on the part of those who are free from prejudice that the end achieved justifies as a rule the means io MODERN ARGENTINA employed. The Argentine lady is a connoisseur both in beauty and in her own relation to the phase. She has made a study of herself and of her own points, from a feminine point of view very rightly. She is perfectly acquainted with what may be termed her leading feature, and arranges herself so that this is brought into the greatest prominence. The lineaments of many of these ladies would seem to have been cast from one mould. To all appearances, moreover, intermarriage has, if any- thing, accentuated the almost perfect features and exuberant beauty of the traditional Spaniard. Her carriage is altogether graceful ; she will glide through life in the manner of a swan until the ponderousness of a somewhat early maturity intervenes. If there is one thing which may be alleged against her it is the quality of her voice; this frequently falls far behind her other attractions in grace. The delivery is of the sing-song order, and, when excited, the timbre is inclined to be both raucous and nasal. But such a condition of affairs, if unfortunate, interferes not in the least with the metaphor of the swan. She is a little prone to look upon the English girls with whom she comes into contact as fast if for no other reason than for the greater freedom of speech accorded the latter. But in this she is inconsistent, forgetful of the eloquence of her own eye, for this is the weapon of her choice. An Argentine girl can express in a couple of its flashes as much as many a northerner could articulate in a quarter of an hour. Once married, however, she becomes intensely THE MODERN ARGENTINE 11 domesticated, and worships her children with a whole-heartedness that is occasionally detrimental to the modesty of the younger generation. These youngsters, as a general rule, are somewhat precocious and spoiled. It is the boast of an Argentine mother that the manners of her children even at the tenderest age befit them rather for the drawing-room than for the nursery. As a result, they are permitted to mingle at will in the amuse- ments of their elders. The sight of a child of seven or eight years old perching his little body late at night in the midst of a dinner party at a restaurant is no uncommon one. Moreover, the youngster, fully appreciating the right, permits little con- versation on any subject whatever without the ex- pression of some more or less matured opinion of his own. Indeed, this comradeship between infancy and middle age is occasionally carried to strange lengths. One may occasionally see Argentines even of the most advanced type playing baccarat for high stakes with the assistance of small boys in knicker- bockers, who follow their fathers' luck with intense interest, and are by no means backward in offering suggestions concerning the play. But, with increas- ing years, and a course of European training, the youngster is wont to shape far better than might have been anticipated, until he is ripe for the assumption of his legitimate place in society. CHAPTER II. POLITICS AND STRIKES IN ARGENTINA. Some Ethics of Government Integrity, past and present Some Methods of Contracting The Raison d'etre of Revolution Strikes and their Political Aspect The Relationship of Buenos Aires to the Land Argentine Officials Conscription Growing solidity. There are doubtless many Europeans who are con- vinced that the Argentine method of government is by revolution alone. It is true that within the last twenty years there have been three serious internal struggles and a number of minor attempts to readjust power and the existing situation. But, to put the case mildly, it must be remembered that the occasions when the Republic enjoys peace are at least mo-re numerous than those when strife is raging. On the other hand, it may be said that during many of these periods of supposed calm a furnace of discon- tent has been raging directly beneath the thin surface of tranquility. So far as revolutions are concerned, those who favour them assert that the system is fairer and more expeditious than that of the general election as carried on in Argentina. Staider folk retort that they interrupt business, are a nuisance in general, and that, moreover, it is nearly always the harmless spectators who get shot during the scuffles. As a matter of fact the government of the Republic has undergone of late a greater improvement than has been generally realised. It is now free from 12 PALERMO, BUENOS AIRES. THE RIVER TIGRE, PART OF REGATTA COURSE, Facing Page 12, POLITICS AND STRIKES 13 those opera-bouffe and financial-pirate taints which formerly clung to it. Its constitution is admirable, and tfie majority of its laws are well framed. Whether they are carried out to the letter or not is a matter which concerns the personnel of the officials. Broadly speaking, it may be said that these are administered In the larger centres far more impar- tially than in the less populated and more remote districts of the Camp. In former times and the barrier between modern and ancient history in Argentina is extremely slender it is a matter of common knowledge that bribery was rampant in its most outrageous forms. Moreover, the briber was wont to receive much real, if illicit, benefit from the transactions. That such customs still obtain in a modified degree in out-of-the-way districts is undeniable. To tamper with the legal and official machinery of Buenos Aires and other large centres is altogether a different matter. There are still a number of Argentines who enter the political field with the sole object of enriching their pockets, but the methods adopted savour little of the melodramatic villainy of the past. The procedure is modern, subtle, and hedged about with an apparent honesty worthy of the occasional European who slides from the grace of high places. To retire from politics with a purse as slender as it was at the commencement of the career is an act that is still regarded with admiration. But it no longer evokes that stupor of amazement with which the Argentines were once wont to greet such a feat. Two great men of the land, President Quintana and 14 MODERN ARGENTINA General Bartolome' Mitre, who died recently within a couple of months of each other, bore reputations for financial integrity that were spotless to the point of austerity. Indeed, honesty has already become more general, less of a fad. It is such matters as govern- ment contracts and the like that put the commercial standard of honour to the test. There are yet upon occasions pickings to be derived from these, sufficient to satisfy the most voracious of plunderers. The tales told concerning the methods of the con- tractors themselves are innumerable. Perhaps one of the most amusing of these is that which deals with some dredging operations which, as a matter of fact, took place, or were supposed to take place, just without the Argentine limits. Each day for months the barges laden with the dredged soil would put out to sea and return ostensibly for the carriage of more. But on the return of these craft it was patent to all that they were as deeply laden as when they set forth. As a matter of fact, the first mud dredged was never permitted to leave the interior of the barges. Thus the solemn farce was continued day by day. The procession of boats bearing the same soil came and went with unexpected energy and rapidity, while the contractor was credited in cash for each journey. All that was deepened, of course, was the extent of his pockets; but this sort of thing, after all, is not solely confined to South America. 'With each year that passes the inhabitants of the Republic grow less inclined to indulge in revolution merely pour passer le temps. The chances, more- over, on the part of revolutionists, of position and POLITICS AND STRIKES 15 emoluments are far more risky than formerly. It was one thing, forty years or so ago, to play with the destiny of a country that contained a total population of a million and a half, the majority of whom, untaught and unthinking, would follow a chosen leader in sheep-like fashion. It is quite another matter to attempt the upheaval of a nation of over five million inhabitants, more especially when the land is one which abounds in prosperity, where education has secured a firm hold, and amongst whose people the dictates of common sense are com- mencing to battle against the worship of mere brilliancy although it must be admitted that the latter asset still possesses a slight ascendancy over the former. The fact is at last becoming clear to the Argentine that his nation is on its way to take its place amongst the great ones of the earth, and the comprehension of this has sobered him to a sense of his responsibilities. But, curiously enough, it is the very rapidity with which this prosperity has overtaken the land that has led, and is still leading, to disturbed and troublous times. Until Argentina attained to her present financial position the revolutions which occurred within her were the w r ork of fiery politicians Don Quixotes eager to win a name, glory, power, and incidentally cash. The thing was effected with a rattle of drums and a fanfare. Nothing was fu-rther removed from its ethics than the spirit of commerce pure and simple. And now from the heights of this lofty, adventurous mood the storm area has shifted to 16 MODERN ARGENTINA another and more homely pole industrial discon- tent, and, in consequence, strikes. As is usual in the case of these eloquent protests of labour, there is one section of the community which denies their raison d'etre, another which asserts that they should have occurred long before. Opinions on the subject would seem fairly equally divided. In order to review the actual situation it is necessary to go into matters which might seem to have no bearing upon it. Although at first it may be a little difficult to realise the reason, one of the chief causes of this industrial discontent lies in the manner in which the population of the country is distributed. It must be remembered that the total population of the Republic amounts to a little over five millions. Of this number the town of Buenos Aires alone claims over one million inhabitants. Indeed, at such a rate has this city developed that it has gone ahead out of proportion even to the Camp, notwithstanding the tremendous pace which this latter has set it. Now it must be understood that it is upon the produce, animal and vegetable, of the Camp that Argentina depends for her very existence, to say nothing of her wealth. In comparison with this, the few urban manufacturies and industries that exist are insignificant, and of those which bring in wealth from without, there are none at all. Beyond those items which rank first^-wtieat, alfalfa, maize and live stock wine, butter, and the timber of the far South and North are all products, direct or indirect, of the Camp. Buenos Aires, from its commercial point of view, exists alone for the handling of these. A poor THE RIVER TIGRE. Facing Page 16. THE RIVER TIGRE. POLITICS AND STRIKES 17 harvest will leave none of its inhabitants unaffected. Bankers, brewers, solicitors, hotel-keepers the very cabmen and paper boys will know it to their cost. A succession of a dozen crop failures, humanly speaking, an impossibility, would see the stately city of Buenos Aires ruined, crumbling, and as forsaken as a town of the dead. Thus in a country that is purely pastoral and agricultural we have the spectacle of one townsman in every five of its population. Strictly speaking, the proportion of city dwellers is a little greater even than this when the populations of Rosario with its 130,000 inhabitants, Mendoza, Cordoba, and other towns are taken into consideration. There can be no doubt that the head of Argentina has outgrown its body, and of the two it is the head which is the more likely to fare worse. For taxation upon the land is benevolently light. Buenos Aires, on the other hand, pays dearly for its magnificence. The cost of the Boulevards, the imposing electric-lighting and waterworks, the palatial public buildings, and the rest of the adornments and paraphernalia of a great city in this case upon a superb scale rests upon its own inhabitants, and perhaps in an unfair measure upon the poorer classes of its denizens* So far as these latter are concerned, it is true that wages have risen considerably of late years. At the same time the necessities of life have grown ever dearer in proportion, and the dissatisfaction of the workers increases rather than diminishes. Em- ployers, moreover, state their inability to accord further rises in wages in view of the fact that in the c i8 MODERN ARGENTINA majority of cases they are paying all and more than the labour is worth to them. The issue, it would seem, does not lie in their hands ; it rests rather with those who are responsible for an excess of ostentation, and the consequent increase of taxation, direct or indirect, which has more than kept pace with the heightening of wages. Owing to this condition of affairs there is a certain element of danger in Argentine strikes, for they are bound in the long run to attain a political rather than an industrial significance. Indeed, signs of this have already made their appearance. From its own point of view the Government has a firm and admirable method of dealing with such ebullitions of discontent. The method is simple the proclama- tion of a state of siege in the City. The phase is unnoticed by the ordinary citizen, although the penalties of truculence which attach to it are well enough understood and appreciated by the strikers. But just beneath the surface the turmoil has remained as fierce as ever for all its repression. Sufficient evidence of this was forthcoming when on the first of January, 1906, the time was considered ripe by the authorities for the raising of the state of siege. Hardly was the ink dry upon the signature of freedom when the strikes broke out afresh with a virulence that had never before been experienced. Railway operatives, tramway officials, cabmen, market porters and the humbler representatives of nearly every branch of industry came out with a rush to clamour fiercely for the betterment of their lot. Indeed, so deeply had the delirium of the strike POLITICS AND STRIKES ig entered into the minds of the populace, that the very coachmen in private employment deserted their occupation to join the malcontents. Those who succeeded in attracting the greatest share of attention to themselves were undoubtedly the cabmen. It is always a little difficult to know how far to extend one's sympathy to these, whatever may be their nationality. One has grown so accustomed to regard them as habitual plunderers of "fares'"' that it is not easy to realise these hardened drivers in the role of the oppressed in turn. The cabmen's strike in Buenos Aires, more- over, was conducted in a manner typical of fertile minds. Amongst the bourgeoisie of the town Sunday is the favourite day in which to drive out. This was wont, in fact, to be looked upon as the period of the cabman's harvest. But the cab- owners, it appears, had been in the habit of making an extra charge for the hiring of the vehicle upon that day which, the drivers asserted, swallowed up the additional earnings and more besides. In order to accentuate this point the drivers decided to elect the seventh a day of strike, consequently although the " coches " were in evidence as usual upon week days, no conveyance was obtainable for love or money on a Sunday. The result was all that the drivers could have desired utter chaos. Travellers with luggage arriving by steamer or train on that day underwent a bitter experience. Perfectly dressed Argentine ladies to whom the carriage of a handkerchief was a sufficient burden hovered on the verge of tears in the neighbourhood of a luggage 20 MODERN ARGENTINA pile. Enterprising men who had attempted feats beyond their powers sat in exhausted attitudes upon trunks at street corners. It was a coup d'etat. No move, it appeared, could have appealed more strongly to the sentiments of the Argentine public. Nevertheless after the first surprise the cabmen did not have matters all their own way. For one thing, the tramway officials, perceiving a chance of substantial gratuities, grasped it. One might see cars with piles of luggage stacked behind the driver, and passengers within them who seldom condescended to travel by so public a conveyance. The resourceful police official, moreover, decided to take a hand in the game. It was announced that the stricter traffic regulations, many of which had been allowed entirely to lapse, would be sternly enforced once again. The result was evident in the long strings of empty cabs which waited without the police stations while the drivers were suffering the penalties of fines within. It is unfortunate that Argentine strikers do not invariably restrict themselves to such legitimate means of expressing dissatisfaction. Amongst certain branches of industry a regrettable amount of violence is brought into play. Many of the Italian immigrants possess tendencies that are anarchistic rather than socialistic. The numbers of killed and wounded in the ranks of both " blacklegs " and policemen attest in a lamentable fashion to this* Nevertheless, the Argentine legal arm is sufficiently strong and far- reaching to cope with these, and it is seldom that any such outrage is committed with impunity. ARGENTINE LABOURERS. Facing P