CHAPTER II
RAILWAYS
Rapid development of the railway system—Tabulation of its extension in each Province—Table showing the general results of its exploitation—List of the lines actually running.
List of railway companies, with the length of their roadways and their returns—The difficulty of obtaining exact figures—The tariffs of the railway companies—Form of concessions, and suppression of guarantees.
Comparison of the railway system of the Argentine with the railway systems of other countries—Proportion of mileage to area and population.
Extension of the system in the near future, owing to the numerous concessions granted—The mileage of these concessions—Insufficiency of plans and previous examinations—Examination of the most important concessions for which the capital is already guaranteed—The dimensions which the railway system will attain after the concessions are realised—Programme of narrow-gauge construction; its value.
Meeting of the Argentine with the Chilian railways crossing the range of the Andes—The aerial mining railway in the Province of La Rioja.
Railways in relation to agricultural development—Insufficiency of transport at the moment of harvest; its causes and remedies—Necessity of a better organisation which shall respond to the stress of production.
The same progressive spirit which the Argentine has manifested in the improvement of inland or maritime waterways is to be seen in the establishment of its network of railways. Here again development has been rapid, and results plainly effectual in making the wealth of the country available. To cite one example only, it is thanks to the railways that agriculture and stock-raising have been able to attain to such large dimensions in the Province of Buenos Ayres; a Province far less favoured than its northern neighbours in the matter of waterways. All the lines running south have greatly contributed to the transformation of the Pampa and the increase of the cultivated area over an immense radius where before there was nothing but untilled soil, which was hardly suited even for stock-raising.
The railway has thus played a great part in civilising
the Argentine; raising new wealth from soil as yet unexploited, joining up the chief agricultural centres, and affording them an outlet to the rivers or the sea. The railway has also been auxiliary to the colonising movement, stimulating the creation of new settlements along its track by concessions of soil.
This latter work is not yet terminated, if we are to judge by the great number of concessions now under consideration, in which the initiative is due to the State or to private individuals. On the other hand, there is a great tendency to build cheap narrow-gauge railways, in order to save expense either in building or in working, so as to obtain a final reduction of the freight tariff. In short, we find, in the case of railways as well as in the case of waterways, that while the continuation of good harvests is counted on, there is also an effort to keep up, by multiplying the means of transport, with the economic expansion of the country.
It was in 1854 that the Government of the Province of Buenos Ayres granted the first railway concession, for a line 24,000 vares[22] in length, running west from Buenos Ayres. In 1857 a first section, some 6 miles long, was opened for traffic.
[22] The vare is equivalent to 886 millimetres, so the length of the line was about 13 miles. At that period, in the region of the concession, the vare of land had only a trifling value.
After these humble beginnings the railway system of the Argentine developed with great rapidity; on the 1st of November 1908, its total length was 13,700 miles, representing an average development of nearly 273 miles per annum. All the Provinces are represented in these figures, but of course in very unequal proportions; as the opportunities of construction have not been everywhere the same. Their installation has gone hand in hand with agricultural development; and the Provinces most adapted to agriculture have also been favoured with the most plentiful means of transit, as the following table will show.
Among these Provinces we must note Buenos Ayres, Santa Fé and Córdoba as the three which have made most agricultural progress; for they alone furnish more than 80 per cent.
of the total exports. Among the Territories La Pampa has the greatest mileage of railways; a mileage which will very shortly be doubled, to judge by the number of new lines projected, which in the near future will cross it in every direction, thus facilitating the outlet of its abundant produce.
It is in the last ten years that the network of Argentine railways has reached its full expansion, as is shown by the second table; which also gives the amounts of capital invested in these undertakings.
Mileage of Railways on the 1st of November 1908.
| Column Headings: | |
| A: | Provinces and Territories. |
| B: | Mileage. |
| C: | Ratio of Mileage to Area. |
| D: | In kilometres per 100 sq. kilometres. |
| E: | In miles per 100 sq. miles. |
| F: | Miles per 1000 inhabitants. |
| C | ||||
| A | B | D | E | F |
| Province of Buenos Ayres | 4583·4 | 2·42 | 3·89 | 3·06 |
| Province of Santa Fé | 2254·1 | 2·75 | 4·42 | 3·03 |
| Province of Córdoba | 1857·1 | 1·86 | 3·00 | 3·66 |
| Province of Santiago do l’Estero | 810·9 | 1·27 | 2·04 | 4·24 |
| Province of Entre Rios | 610·5 | 1·32 | 2·12 | 1·58 |
| Territory of Pampa Centrale | 556·9 | ·61 | ·98 | 9·15 |
| Province of Corrientès | 451·9 | ·86 | 1·38 | 1·42 |
| Province of Mendoza | 410·0 | ·54 | ·72 | 2·25 |
| Province of Tucuman | 384·3 | 2·68 | 4·31 | 1·41 |
| Province of La Rioja | 319·2 | ·57 | ·92 | 3·77 |
| Province of San Luis | 303·8 | ·66 | 1·06 | 2·97 |
| Territory of Rio Negro | 239·4 | ·20 | ·32 | 11·25 |
| Province of Salta | 228·0 | ·23 | ·37 | 1·63 |
| Province of Catamarca | 226·3 | ·30 | ·48 | 2·15 |
| Province of Jujuy | 218·1 | ·71 | 1·14 | 3·81 |
| Territory of Chaco | 97·2 | ·11 | ·17 | 4·54 |
| Province of San Juan | 85·7 | ·16 | ·26 | ·81 |
| Federal Capital | 55·3 | 47·90 | 77·12 | ·05 |
| Territory of Chubut | 43·5 | ·03 | ·05 | 3·96 |
| Territory of Neuquen | 2·6 | ·004 | ·006 | ·10 |
| ———— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Total and Averages | 13,708·2 | ·77 | 1·24 | 4·97 |
General Statistics of the Argentine Railways up to 1908 inclusive.
| Column Headings: |
| A: YEAR. |
| B: Total Mileage of Lines in Operation. |
| C: Travellers Carried. |
| D: Merchandise Carried (in tons). |
| E: Gross Receipts. |
| F: Total Expenditure. |
| G: Net Profits. |
| H: Capital Employed. |
| I: Interest on Capital. |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
| 1886 | 3623 | 6,458,674 | 2,948,000 | £3,231,793 | £1,842,928 | £1,388,865 | £29,678,182 | 4·68 |
| 1887 | 4138 | 8,199,051 | 3,844,000 | 3,903,317 | 2,193,874 | 1,709,443 | 35,515,525 | 4·81 |
| 1888 | 4702 | 10,106,342 | 4,410,000 | 4,485,511 | 2,501,160 | 1,984,351 | 39,429,794 | 5·03 |
| 1889 | 5071 | 11,103,986 | 6,542,000 | 3,916,766 | 2,713,349 | 1,203,417 | 50,991,159 | 2·36 |
| 1890 | 5857 | 10,069,606 | 5,420,000 | 5,209,808 | 3,517,081 | 1,692,727 | 64,368,563 | 2·63 |
| 1891 | 8746 | 10,820,003 | 4,620,000 | 4,192,320 | 2,865,739 | 1,326,581 | 76,068,790 | 1·74 |
| 1892 | 8506 | 11,788,398 | 6,037,000 | 3,907,794 | 2,341,532 | 1,566,262 | 88,389,466 | 1·77 |
| 1893 | 8602 | 12,843,404 | 7,169,000 | 4,364,243 | 2,562,921 | 1,801,322 | 94,814,475 | 1·90 |
| 1894 | 8712 | 13,928,061 | 8,143,000 | 4,580,898 | 2,616,386 | 1,964,512 | 96,575,886 | 2·03 |
| 1895 | 8766 | 14,573,037 | 9,650,000 | 5,278,861 | 2,769,293 | 2,509,568 | 97,071,866 | 2·59 |
| 1896 | 8981 | 17,248,485 | 10,914,000 | 6,230,273 | 3,216,166 | 3,034,107 | 99,565,261 | 3·05 |
| 1897 | 9162 | 16,410,945 | 8,981,000 | 5,658,616 | 3,311,680 | 2,346,936 | 101,643,263 | 2·31 |
| 1898 | 9595 | 16,478,085 | 9,429,110 | 6,648,302 | 3,820,624 | 2,827,678 | 104,703,419 | 2·70 |
| 1899 | 10,194 | 18,014,503 | 11,819,000 | 8,261,291 | 4,486,453 | 3,774,838 | 105,323,332 | 3·58 |
| 1900 | 10,286 | 18,296,422 | 12,659,000 | 8,280,269 | 4,746,551 | 3,533,718 | 108,315,125 | 3·26 |
| 1901 | 10,499 | 19,689,115 | 13,988,000 | 8,773,217 | 4,825,720 | 3,947,497 | 107,667,700 | 3·67 |
| 1902 | 10,790 | 19,815,439 | 14,030,000 | 8,654,517 | 5,995,089 | 2,659,428 | 112,189,241 | 3·62 |
| 1903 | 11,429 | 21,025,456 | 17,024,617 | 10,279,703 | 5,248,045 | 5,031,638 | 114,617,917 | 4·50 |
| 1904 | 11,552 | 23,120,095 | 19,727,000 | 12,380,409 | 6,542,222 | 5,834,187 | 123,822,366 | 4·70 |
| 1905 | 12,581 | 26,636,211 | 22,410,000 | 14,318,982 | 7,879,218 | 6,439,764 | 125,426,123 | 5·13 |
| 1906 | 13,073 | 34,198,565 | 26,716,000 | 16,403,819 | 9,749,739 | 6,654,080 | 134,337,775 | 4·95 |
| 1907 | 13,988 | 41,784,238 | 27,929,000 | 17,594,069 | 10,843,087 | 6,750,982 | 157,875,089 | 4·27 |
| 1908 | 14,994 | 47,150,384 | 32,211,000 | 20,279,560 | 12,407,320 | 7,872,240 | 169,000,000 | 4·66 |
The number of railways at present in operation is thirty, this figure including the railways and cable tramways or mechanical traction lines in the country districts, both public and private, as in either case they serve for the transport of produce. Of these thirty lines twenty-seven are worked by private companies and three by the State. The latter are lines of no great value, which the Government has itself constructed, or which it has had to take over, either in the general interest or to redeem their heavy guarantees.
In the matter of comfort the great Argentine railways leave nothing to be desired, and many Europeans, out of touch with the rapid changes of this progressive country, would certainly be much astonished to learn that one may cross the Pampa or reach the foot-hills of the Andes in trains equipped with sleeping-cars and restaurant-cars of the latest type. Perhaps there is rather less ornament and fewer carpets than in the European sleeping-cars, but the same cleanliness will be found, the same service, the same conveniences.
The rolling-stock is also the object of incessant improvements. To give only one example, the Southern Railways Company has placed in service a new type of locomotive, with two pairs of double-expansion cylinders. These engines have ten wheels, of which six are coupled and four mounted in the front on bogies; their maximum power enables them to draw an effective load of 2160 tons up an incline of 1 in 500. As for the goods wagons, their capacity is 40 tons in the broad-gauge lines and 25 tons on the narrow gauge.
According to statistics, on the 1st November 1908, the various railways had in service 2992 locomotives, 2031 passenger-cars, and 33,800 goods wagons or trucks.
The companies are enabled to import free of tariff, during the first ten and sometimes the first twenty years of their tariff, all their fixed and rolling stock; it is thus to their advantage to obtain from abroad the most effective equipment, in order to obtain the greatest possible profit from the governmental favour.
The table given below contains various data as to the various concessions; it gives the gauge of the lines, their mileage, and the profits of the principal companies.
Railways and Steam Tramways of the Argentine Republic
on the 1st of January 1909.
Railways in Operation.
(Length includes branch lines but not auxiliary lines or loop lines.)
I. State Railways.
| Gauge. | Mileage. | Interest on Capital. | |
| Andean | 1·676 metres (5 ft. 6 in.) | 299 | 5·42% |
| Central North | ” | 1066 | ·80 |
| Northern Argentine | ” | 470 | ·46 |
| —— | |||
| 1835 |
II. Private Companies (Concessionaires).
| Buenos Ayres, Southern | 1·676 metres (5 ft. 6 in.) | 2574 | 4·93 |
| Buenos Ayres, Western | ” | 1181 | 5·93 |
| Buenos Ayres and Rosario | ” | 1202 | 4·73 |
| Central Argentine | ” | 1141 | 8·31 |
| Buenos Ayres and Pacific | ” | 1013 | 3·83 |
| Argentine, Great Western | ” | 483 | 4·40 |
| Bahia Blanca and North-Western | ” | 543 | 2·46 |
| North-Eastern Argentine | 1·435 metres (4 ft. 81⁄2 in.) | 194 | 1·19 |
| Entre Rios, Central | ” | 534 | 2·50 |
| Buenos Ayres, Central | ” | 135 | 3·33 |
| Province of Santa Fé | ” | 1054 | 3·0 |
| Central Córdoba (Northern Section) | ” | 533 | 2·62 |
| Central Córdoba (Eastern Section) | ” | 126 | 7·37 |
| Córdoba and Rosario | ” | 174 | 3·01 |
| North-Western Argentine | ” | 118 | 4·32 |
| Córdoba and North-Western | ” | 92 | ·93 |
| Trans-Andean Argentine | ” | 105 | (loss) ·63 |
| Chubut, Central | ” | 42 | 5·95 |
| ——— | |||
| 11,245 |
Railways of the Second Class, Steam Tramways, Cable Lines, etc.
I. For Public Service.
| Gauge. | Mileage. | Interest on Capital. | |
| Steam Tramway, Rafaela | 1 metre (3 ft. 3·4 in.) | 53·40 | ·79% |
| Malagueno (connecting with the Central Argentine) | — | — | — |
| Municipal Tramway of the La Plata Abattoirs | 1·435 metres (4 ft. 81⁄2 in.) | 14·30 | ·36 |
| Ocampo Colony | 1 metre (3 ft. 31⁄4 in.) | 21·11 | — |
| Florencia to Piracus | 1·067 metres (3 ft. 6 in.) | 12·42 | — |
| Railways of the Entreprise de Las Catalinas | 1·676 metres (5 ft. 6 in.) | 4·97 | 3·38 |
| Barranqueras to Resistencia | ·75 metres (2 ft. 5·3 in.) | 16·76 | 3·40 |
| ——— | |||
| Total, | 122·96 |
II. Private.
| Gauge. | Mileage. | Interest on Capital. | |
| Tyrol Harbour to Lucinda Colony | ·6 metres (23·6 in.) | 22·36 | — |
| Steam Tramway from Piragnacito to Guillermina | ·75 metres (2 ft. 5·5 in.) | 53·40 | — |
| Colony of Las Palmas | ·6 metres (23·6 in.) | 29·20 | — |
| Valdez Peninsula | ·76 metres (2 ft. 5·9 in.) | 19·87 | ·58 |
| ——— | |||
| Total, | 124·83 |
Summary.
| Mileage. | ||
| I. | State railways | 1765 |
| II. | Private railways (concessions) | 11,245 |
| III. | Railways of the second class and steam tramways— | |
| A. Public | 119 | |
| B. Private | 121 | |
| ——— | ||
| General total, mileage of lines in operation | 13,250 | |
| General total on September 1st | 14,994 |
These lines are of very unequal value from the shareholders’ point of view; but it must be recognised that the majority, after various vicissitudes, have of late years shown an increase of revenue that proves their vitality. We may
cite, as example, one of the Southern lines, such as that running to Bahia Blanca via Tornquist; a line built almost at a loss by the Southern Railway Company of Buenos Ayres, but which to-day is yielding over 4 per cent., thanks to the agricultural development which has followed its course. According to figures of reliable origin, the traffic of this line between the stations of General La Madrid and Bahia Blanca, has increased from 63,580 tons in 1888 to 458,750 tons in 1908, or an increase of 620 per cent, in twenty years, and even so these figures do not include the through-goods traffic between these points.
Generally speaking, we may say that the revenues of the Argentine railways more often than otherwise exceed expectation, even in the case of new lines. On the other hand, it is difficult to reduce the expenses of working, on account of the special conditions of the traffic, which is only heavy at the time of harvest, instead of being distributed throughout the year.
We must warn the reader that the summary just given is of only approximate value. To avoid wounding the susceptibilities of the State, or in order not to justify demands on the part of the State for lower tariffs, certain of the railroad companies publish far lower profits than they really make, by means of transforming a portion of their profits to the reserve or redemption accounts. With the same object, they sink considerable sums in land purchase or in permanent-construction work.
Other companies, on the contrary, hoping that the State will eventually take over certain of their lines, seek to augment their returns temporarily, in order to obtain a better sale price.
We may safely say, however, the administrative methods of the greater companies being what they are, that on the whole the average revenues are above rather than below the figures we have given. Accounts are conducted on a basis of very cautious evaluation, in order to lessen the shock of a bad harvest.
As for the tariffs of the various companies, they are still very high, as always happens when there is no competition.
Here are some of the prices of freight per ton, according to the articles and the distance they are carried:[23]
[23] The Argentine “tonne” weighs 35 lbs. less than the English ton being 1000 kilogrammes, or 2205 lbs. in weight.
| Up to 50 kilometres | 300 kilometres or | 700 kilometres or | |
| or 30 miles. | 180 miles. | 421 miles. | |
| Wheat | 4s. 9·4d. to 5s. 6·5d. | 10s. 11d. to 14s. 9·6d. | 14s. 9d. to 17s. 2d. |
| Wool in bale | 5s. 8d. to 12s. 9d. | 26s. 3d. to 39s. 11d. | 39s. 2d. to 58s. 1d. |
| Wool in sacks | 14s. 11d. to 18s. 3·6d. | 47s. 6d. to 58s. 9d. | 72s. 3d. to 93s. 3d. |
A factor that makes these freights seem even higher is a comparison with the maritime freights, which fell in 1908 to a very low figure. The transport of a ton of cereals to a port of embarkation 3000 miles distant would cost a farmer four or five times as much as the freight from that port to Europe.
In a country like the Argentine, presenting an immense level surface to the eye, which can hardly distinguish the slightest landmark or difference of level, it would seem as though the building of railways should have been particularly inexpensive, especially as for ten to twenty years all materials could be imported free of duty. As a matter of fact, however, the cost of construction has been very high in the case of certain lines; either on account of the land speculation which has followed their establishment, or because the estimates were exceeded having been established without any serious control on the part of the State. This explains how it is that these companies, having an enormous capital to redeem, cannot at the present moment lower their rates.
In the Argentine the railway companies are not established as in France, by right of a concession limited to a certain number of years.[24] The concession is granted without conditions, excepting the reserve that it may be redeemed by the State; and this reserve may be applied at any time
whatever, conformably with the expropriation law. The conditions of redemption are in most cases established on the basis of the revenues of the last five years, increased by 20 per cent., so that the clause can scarcely be carried into effect to the profit of the State in the case of lines yielding good profits.
[24] A clause fixing the term of the concession—that is, the date upon which the line, with all its buildings, etc., will pass into the hands of the Government without any payment on the part of the latter, was inserted in the case of two railways only, and for a term of fifty-five years. These two lines are the railway from Villa Mercedes to La Toma (the old North-Western Argentine), to-day a section of the Andean National, and that from San Cristobal to Tucuman, to-day the Southern Section of the Central Northern. Both are guaranteed by the nation; but the nation having become the proprietor, the above clause has of course not taken effect.
The State and the Provinces have guaranteed dividends in various ways. These guarantees were granted very liberally when the Argentine was seeking to create and develop its railway system, but the Governments have not shown the same readiness to honour their signatures in times of crisis. We shall see in the financial section of this book that the State has had to contract loans in order to redeem its obligations, and to liberate itself from engagements it had been unable to keep.[25]
[25] The French company of the Santa Fé Railways, which had a guarantee from the Province, which guarantee was never paid, obtained in exchange, by arrangement, the complete ownership of its lines.
At present the Government no longer gives guarantees—not even to encourage the construction of lines in regions which offer little attraction from the point of view of traffic. It prefers to build them itself, in order to increase the extent if not the value, of the systems it already owns; or has recourse to companies or private individuals for the construction of new lines, but without guarantees of any sort.
Having given these details of the railway system, we have still to consider of what expansion it is still capable. In comparison to other American States—excepting the United States, whose colossal progress in this department permits no comparison with other countries—the Argentine is in the first rank in the matter of its railway mileage. With its 13,250 miles in operation on 1st January 1909, it surpasses both Mexico (with 8390 miles) and Brazil (with 10,080), the two American States which, being the wealthiest and having the largest populations, possess very extensive railway systems. If from the same standpoint we then compare the Argentine with France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, England, Germany, and Austria-Hungary, we find that it occupies the fourth rank. But it goes without saying that these figures do not mean anything very precise, except in conjunction with
those denoting the area and the population of the Argentine. They are indications rather than exact comparisons.
If we compare the number of miles of railway in operation to that of the area in square miles of each country, we shall find that among the nations of South America the first place is no longer held by the Argentine, but by the little Eastern Republic of Uruguay, for in the former country the ratio is only 1.25, while in the second it is 1.67, Mexico ties with the Argentine, with 1.25. Here is an example of the strange conclusions to which statistical inquiry sometimes leads us, since it follows from the preceding figures that Uruguay, with only 1207 miles of railway, and 71,990 square miles of territory, holds apparently, from this standpoint, a higher rank than the Argentine.
The comparison of the mileage of the railways of each country to the number of its inhabitants is an exacter method. We find that for every 10,000 inhabitants the Argentine has 23.59 miles of railway, while Brazil has only 6.49, Uruguay 10.96, Chili 3.98, Mexico 7.12, and Venezuela 3 miles.
All this is explained in the following table, whence interesting deductions may be drawn.
The mileage of railway given for the Argentine should be regarded as provisional, for, unlike those European nations which have almost attained their uttermost expansion and equipment, there is still much to be done in the Argentine before the whole of its territory can be served. Certainly the principal lines are already constructed, but others will assuredly be built, which, apart from their immediate utility, will ultimately pay, owing to the manner in which they will increase the value of the soil which they will traverse.
The constant expansion of its network of railways is for that matter a necessity to the Argentine, as for all new countries, in which there are no roads fit for wheeled traffic. Rather than go to the expense of opening up such roads, which would be an unproductive investment, the Government prefers to favour the creation of lines of railroad which may in time become instruments of production.
Mileage of Railways in the Argentine Republic as compared with other Countries.
| Column Headings: | |||||||
| A: COUNTRY. | |||||||
| B: Area in Square Miles. | |||||||
| C: Total Number of Inhabitants. | |||||||
| D: Mileage of Railways in Operation. | |||||||
| E: Mileage of Railways. | |||||||
| F: Per 100 Square Miles. | |||||||
| G: Per 10,000 Inhabitants. | |||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | |||
| F | G | ||||||
| Argentine Republic | 1,080,460 | 5,792,807 | 1908 | 13,740 | 1·268 | 23·73 | |
| Brazil | 3,283,360 | 16,000,000 | 1904 | 10,390 | ·315 | 6·49 | |
| Uruguay | 71,960 | 1,103,040 | 1904 | 1,207 | 1·674 | 10·97 | |
| Chili | 294,800 | 3,399,928 | 1903 | 1,354 | ·464 | 3·98 | |
| Peru | 681,370 | 4,539,550 | 1904 | 1,184 | ·232 | 2·59 | |
| Mexico | 749,070 | 13,607,259 | 1903 | 9,698 | 1·263 | 7·12 | |
| Venezuela | 362,780 | 2,619,218 | 1903 | 523 | ·143 | 1·99 | |
| Bolivia | 482,240 | 2,180,710 | 1903 | 701 | ·148 | 3·20 | |
| Columbia | 437,180 | 4,501,000 | 1901 | 410 | ·093 | ·91 | |
| United States | 3,726,960 | 91,794,102 | 1904 | 213,770 | 5·882 | 23·28 | |
| France | 206,540 | 39,961,945 | 1904 | 27,365 | 13·735 | 7·12 | |
| Italy | 104,060 | 33,640,710 | 1903 | 10,016 | 9·058 | 2·97 | |
| Spain | 194,250 | 19,027,855 | 1904 | 8,601 | 4·219 | 4·51 | |
| Belgium | 11,330 | 7,238,622 | 1905 | 2,853 | 25·116 | 3·94 | |
| England | 121,020 | 44,587,106 | 1906 | 23,048 | 19·009 | 5·17 | |
| Germany | 208,180 | 60,641,278 | 1905 | 34,103 | 16·349 | 5·62 | |
| Austria-Hungary | 242,820 | 49,931,906 | 1905 | 24,288 | 10·074 | 4·87 | |
It is true, as we stated in the first edition of this book, that numerous demands for concessions permitting new lines to be built have been presented to and granted by the National Congress. But it is also true that only a very small number of these projects have been realised, as many of these undertakings were unable to find the capital necessary to flotation in the foreign markets; this has been true particularly of the English market.
At the same time, there are among these concessions a few projects which seem to be capable of immediate realisation; these are concessions granted to already existing companies, for the extension of their systems, which have the necessary capital at their disposal.
Among new lines in active construction we must cite that for which the concession was granted to MM. de Bruyn and Otamendi: a narrow-gauge railway in the Province of Buenos Ayres. This concession has been taken over by a French company, and may require a maximum capital of £8,000,000.
This undertaking, which is really the extension into the Province of Buenos Ayres of the network of narrow-gauge lines, exploited by the French company of the Santa Fé Railroads, includes several long lines starting from Rosario, crossing the most productive and thickly-peopled regions of the West, and terminating at the three great centres of export: Buenos Ayres, Bahia Blanca, and La Plata.
This undertaking, which has been well thought out by its promoter and present director, the engineer Girodias, is based upon two ideas; one being to build cross lines connecting the principal railways of the south and the west in agricultural districts where these two lines hold an absolute monopoly; the other is to extend to Buenos Ayres the narrow-gauge system of the north and north-west. This system consists at present of 3444 miles of railways, having their terminus at Rosario; it is therefore most desirable that these lines should be prolonged towards the south, and especially as far as the capital, in order to avoid troublesome transhipments. This will be a great advantage, for example, to the sugar-growing districts of Tucuman.
At the present moment, this new narrow-gauge system is
already working from Rosario to Buenos Ayres, the equipment being excellent, and westward as far as Nuevo de Julio. The first results have confirmed the forecasts as to the development of traffic in this region.
Another concession for a line on the same basis is that obtained by Mr Duncan Munroe, for the establishment of a narrow-gauge railway between Rosario and Buenos Ayres, to be a prolongation of the “Central Córdoba”, of which he is the Director. This scheme, thanks to the support given by the “Central Córdoba and the Córdoba and Rosario,” has been put into execution, and is on the eve of being opened to the public.
The proposal to unite Rosario and Bahia Blanca—the two chief Argentine ports—by a line crossing the Province of Buenos Ayres in its most fertile region, is also on the way to completion. The construction of this line is being actively pushed, so that it is hoped that the line may be open for service in the course of 1910.
This important line is being built by French capital, the executive being known as the Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railways Company.
The National Congress has also granted to existing companies, which can offer all requisite guarantees, the authorisation to construct new branch lines, which will attain a total length of 3370 miles, and will absorb a capital of £25,000,000. Of this total, 797 miles will be built by the Western Railways Company, 874 by the Southern Railway Company, 328 by the Pacific Company, 192 by the Central Córdoba, 427 by the Rosario and Puerto Belgrano Railway, 190 by the Province of Buenos Ayres Railways, 87 by the French Company of the Province of Santa Fé Railways, and 476 by the Central Argentine Railway.
Apart from the capital of companies already established in the Argentine, one may already detect a new stream of foreign capital destined to build new railways. It is announced, indeed, that a new railway system, 223 miles in length, will shortly be built in Entre Rios by German capital, which has hitherto been shy of this kind of undertaking.
The Province of Buenos Ayres also proposes to construct and exploit on its own account a narrow-gauge line running
from La Plata in the direction of the fifth meridian. For this undertaking French capital will also be solicited.
Finally, the National Government, not wishing to remain inactive in the midst of these civilising activities, has just obtained the approval of Congress for a vast scheme of populating the southern territories of the Republic; a scheme initiated by an ex-Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ramos Mexia, the basis of which is the construction of over 1200 miles of railway, along which new centres of colonisation will gradually be formed.
This is the great object of the present Government. It has taken shape in the form of a law, having as its especial object the development of the national Territories, and having regard both to the creation of new railways and the progress of colonisation; problems closely connected where the opening up of a new country is concerned, and value is given to its soil.
The plan adopted by the Government is first of all to build the railway, which is the great instrument of civilisation; then to profit by the increased value which the land will immediately take on along its course, by dividing and selling it with a view to colonisation. The most immediate result of this policy is that the soil, which has hitherto been uncultivated or abandoned, rapidly attains a double or treble value. The same thing happens when irrigation works are carried out, as they may be in certain districts, rendering productive soil that has hitherto been uncultivable for want of water. We may cite the Rio Negro among those Territories in which recent attempts have been made to realise the value of the soil, and towards which the attention of capitalists as well as colonists has lately been directed.
To ensure the carrying-out of these schemes, the State usually has recourse to contractors who accept payment in Government bonds, with a margin of profit sufficient to pay them for their enterprise. We may therefore say that the affair is good for every one, and that it is as much to the advantage of the State as to the profit of the capitalists who take up these proposals.
Finally, if we wish to estimate the probable development of the Argentine railways, basing our figures not on the
concessions granted, which already amount to a length of more than 9000 miles, but on the possibilities of obtaining capital, we may reasonably give 4500 miles as a probable figure of growth. To this figure we must also add that of the lines now under construction, either on behalf of the State or by existing companies, which on the 1st of January 1908 amounted to a total of 4800 miles, of which 973 belonged to the State railways and 3827 to private companies.
We may thus legitimately estimate that in the coming years the Argentine railway system will be increased by some 6200 miles, making a total of nearly 19,000 miles. But to keep to solid fact, we must add that such development depends on continued agricultural prosperity, the rapid increase of ploughed lands, and, above all, on a brisk immigration; for these conditions are indispensable to all fresh progress in the Argentine.
In this large increase of railroad construction we may perceive at the same time the application of a new programme. The State to-day especially favours the construction of a second network of economical railways, running between the broad-gauge lines or even crossing them diagonally—completing them, in fact, and duplicating them. The aim of this policy is not only to respond to the development of traffic caused by abundant harvests, but also to lower freights by the establishment of competition.
As an element of the future railway system of the Argentine, we may also include the lines of communication with Chili, across the Cordillera, so soon as they are open to through traffic. At the present time the Trans-Andean railway on the Argentine side of the range has reached the frontier of Chili at Las Cuevas, 10,000 feet above sea-level; and on the further side the Chilian Government is hastening the work of construction on its own Territory, so that it only remains to complete the two miles of tunnel in order to open the whole line to traffic.[26] Once in operation, the journey between Valparaiso or Santiago and Buenos Ayres will occupy less than forty hours, while at present, by the sea route, it takes twelve to fifteen days, and involves the difficulties of navigating the Strait of Magellan.
[26] This line is now open.—[Trans.]
The line is narrow-gauge, and some 81⁄2 miles of it is worked on the rack and pinion system. The highest point will be about 1480 feet above sea-level, in a tunnel 1·92 miles in length, of which 1·05 miles will be in Argentine and ·87 on Chilian territory.
The Southern Railway has also a line which at present runs as far as Neuquen. The Directors of the company have ordered the continuation of this line into Chili, going by way of Antuco, thus establishing a direct route between the south of Chili and the agricultural districts of the Argentine.
Despite the formidable barrier raised by the range of the Andes, the Argentine and Chili, two nations having the same origin, with a common frontier of 3000 miles, are destined, by means of their railways, to an increasing closeness of relation. Chili is a country poor in cereals, and in especial does not raise sufficient cattle for the needs of her population. On the other hand, she produces wines which are highly appreciated in the Argentine. There may thus spring up between the two countries an exchange of products, which the railways will certainly increase, and which will give the Argentine railroad system the benefit of international traffic.
To complete this sketch of the Argentine railways, and of the progress they have realised, we must not fail to speak of the construction of an industrial traffic-way which has established a remarkable record—not only in South America, but over the whole world. We refer to the suspended railway, constructed in the Province of La Rioja under the last Presidency of General Roca, in order to carry down to the plains the produce of the famous Famatina and Mexicana mines.
This suspended way, which is over 21 miles in length, and which cost £76,000, is, in the words of M. Civit, the Minister of Public Works, who inaugurated it, the longest traffic-way of this kind in the two worlds.[27]
[27] As for the probable profits of this line, the Minister makes the following statement: “In counting on a minimum traffic of 50 tons a day during nine months in the year—an amount based upon the present yield of the mines—and deducting 50 per cent. of the gross receipts for working expenses—which is a maximum—we find that to obtain 6 per cent, interest on the capital employed, it would be sufficient to receive 3·36 paper piastres, or 7·6 francs (6 shillings ·96 pence) per ton of ore, whereas the mining companies with the present resources pay 20 piastres.”
“It glides amid the snows and the tempests, crossing abysses thousands of feet in depth, and ending at a height of 15,000 feet. The highest of its towers is as high as the summit of Mont Blanc, and the mines, into whose bowels it enters, will take their place, like those of Rio Tinto and Bilbao, in the commerce of the world, as the agricultural products of the Argentine have already done; thus drawing all eyes to this privileged country, which is set apart for the most brilliant destiny.”
If we now consider the part played by the railways in the general development of the Argentine, we are forced to recognise that in a country so essentially agricultural, the railroad is an indispensable auxiliary of production.[28] The Argentine Republic is a large country, containing 1,155,000 square miles of territory, and is barely peopled by its 6,000,000 inhabitants; it will therefore be understood that instead of following the population, as in Europe, in the Argentine the railway precedes the population. In the Argentine the railway is like a magic talisman, for wherever it goes it entirely transforms the economic and productive conditions of the country.
[28] Among matters still under consideration in the Argentine, we may mention the concession for the port and railway of Samborombon, which would connect with a system of narrow-gauge railways leaving Samborombon, which would be a great Atlantic port, and running to the end of the Territory of Pampa Central, thus facilitating the export of its products.
We have seen that in the matter of transport agriculture will shortly enjoy improved conditions; there will be greater facilities for bringing its products to the ports of embarkation, and placing them in the centres of consumption. But what are these conditions at present? What is the precise relation between the railways and agriculture? Are they sufficient for the rapid transport of the harvests? This inquiry, which is of immediate interest, has been made by M. Emile Lahitte, Director of the Division of Statistics in the Ministry of Agriculture, with his usual competence and practical good sense. We will take certain useful data from this source, without prejudice to other data which we have collected, while profiting by the experience of other personalities equally well informed.
One of the most characteristic peculiarities of agricultural
production in the Argentine is the fact that, conversely to the production of the United States, about 80 per cent. of the harvest, and perhaps even more, goes to fill foreign markets, leaving only 20 per cent. for home consumption; and not only is it necessary to export this surplus, but it has to be exported with as little delay as possible. In the United States the annual cereal harvest amounts to about 4000 millions of bushels, of which scarcely 10 per cent, or 12 per cent. are destined for export. The rest remains in the granaries, and is manipulated, during the rest of the year, in response to the needs of a population of 80 million inhabitants. But in the Argentine, supposing the harvest of wheat, flax, and maize to amount to 400 million bushels, one might count upon the exportation of 320 millions, the 80 millions remaining for home consumption.
From the commercial point of view, agricultural production thus depends chiefly on the importing markets. This is so far the case that if we look into the monthly figures of exportation, remembering that threshing begins at the end of December and continues sometimes into March or April, we shall find that by June three-quarters of the year’s export has already been shipped. The exportation of wheat in 1907 amounted to 100 million bushels, and by the end of June 79 million bushels, or 79 per cent., had already been shipped. The quantity of maize exported during the same year was 48 million bushels, and in October, that is, five months after the harvest, 40 millions had already been shipped; that is, 84 per cent. The statistics of the carriage of cereals by railroad also clearly prove the pressure and congestion existing in the months following the harvest.
From this peculiarity it follows that there is always a struggle latent between the exporters of agricultural produce and the transport companies. In some cases, as in 1905, this struggle took the form of judicial protest; the chief export houses sued the “Great Southern of Buenos Ayres” for damages in respect of unjustifiable delay in the transport of cereals.
It must be admitted, however, that the railway companies are not always the cause of such delays in export; there are other factors also which we must take into account and consider in relation to the national production.
One of the elements which influence the regularity of transport is the amount of cargo-room available at the ports. When there are many steamers and sailing-ships in port the shipping rates fall; the exporters hurry to make contracts with the shipping lines, and in order to be in time to avoid surcharges, they demand a large number of goods wagons of the railways, which the latter naturally cannot always produce. The law states that the railway companies must maintain a goods service equal to the normal demands of the traffic; and the demands created by the accidental causes we have mentioned are not normal.
On the other hand, if the shipping contracts are high, or the prices in the consumers’ market low, the buyers will be unwilling to despatch their cereals to the ports of embarkation, and the railway companies can do nothing to clear their stations of large quantities of accumulated grain, which they cannot forward, since the buyers will not give the order for their despatch.
During a recent harvest both these phenomena were observed; on the Southern Railway the harvest was abundant in quantity and good in quality, but only a small number of steamers were lying in the terminal port (Engineer White Harbour); every exporter in the district wanted to ship at once, but the railway could carry only what it was capable of carrying in a normal period.
It was another affair in the districts served by the Central Argentine and the Buenos Ayres and Rosario Railways. Here the wheat was scanty and of poor quality, and the buyers had sent very little to their port of embarkation—Rosario. They preferred to send their purchases to the grain-elevators of Buenos Ayres, where, by means of blending the central with the southern wheat, a special grade of flour was produced, superior to that produced in the districts served by the above two companies.
The best solution of this question of the responsibility of the railway companies toward the despatchers would be a rule that the railways should be obliged to despatch in the course of a day only the amount of produce sent to the stations during the same lapse of time. But the exporters are generally Argentines, while the railways are usually in
foreign hands; so that this solution, though equitable, would not be regarded with much favour, and it is probable that the railway companies will be called upon to remedy this situation, so unfavourable to Argentine commerce, at their own cost.
Let us now see how far the railways have responded to the increase of agricultural productions.
According to the official statistics, in 1895 the Argentine Republic contained 8760 miles of railways, and the merchandise transported by the various railway companies during that year amounted to 9,811,100 tons. In 1907 the railway systems had increased to a total length of 14,000 miles, while the produce carried during the preceding year amounted to 28,394,500 tons. These figures represent an increase of rather more than 59 per cent, in railway mileage, while the transports had nearly trebled in twenty years.
According to the same authorities, between 1897 and the end of 1907 the rolling stock and the capacity of the goods cars increased in the following proportions:—
| Year. | Number of Cars. | Capacity in Tons. |
| 1899 | 32,897 | 369,764 |
| 1900 | 34,118 | 398,736 |
| 1901 | 35,503 | 432,342 |
| 1902 | 36,288 | 466,667 |
| 1903 | 36,334 | 480,498 |
| 1904 | 38,724 | 570,600 |
| 1905 | 42,623 | 688,308 |
| 1906 | 48,840 | 878,886 |
| 1907 | 52,405 | 1,029,122 |
From these figures we obtain the increase in the number of cars of produce and their contents in tons; but it is more to the point to know how their rolling-stock is utilised. According to M. Lahitte, the normal distance travelled by a goods car is 6210 miles in a year; but to judge by the statistics its actual record is always in excess of this figure, since in 1902 the distance travelled exceeded 8910 miles per car. It is evident, therefore, that the rolling-stock has been run to its utmost capacity; but it is also evident that in practice the cars have not been loaded to their utmost capacity, as the normal load is 4·37 tons per car, while the average load actually carried has been hardly 1·70 tons.
It follows accordingly that, in spite of the distance travelled per car, the companies have only profited to the extent of 39 per cent, of the capacity of their rolling-stock; but we must not forget that there is always a difference between theoretical capacity and effective capacity, which varies according to the nature of the load. This fact is further explained when we add, as we must, that out of a hundred cars sixty-nine make the journey loaded while thirty-one go or return as “empties.”
We see from these data that although the Argentine railways possess more than enough rolling-stock for the rapid transport of all agricultural products to their ports of embarkation or destination, yet in practice, on account of the abnormal character of the traffic, the railways only very imperfectly perform the services which they ought to perform, while the fault can hardly be imputed to them.
But this trouble will disappear as soon as the large buyers of cereals, in place of expecting everything from the railway companies in the matter of rapid transport, while they themselves wait to despatch their crops until the international prices are favourable, finally decide to build the granaries and warehouses which they now demand of the railway companies. To simplify the task of these companies, elevators should be erected at the stations which serve the important agricultural zones, so that the cereals could be graded before loading them on special cars, which would then transport them to the elevators of the principal ports, whence they would glide into the holds of vessels specially prepared for the trade. But all this would require materials and plant which the country does not so far possess; yet with the rapid agricultural progress of the Argentine, the plan should be easy of accomplishment.
As will be seen by the data we have given, the method of despatch is quite unlike that practised abroad. While in Europe the railway depots only receive goods for immediate transit, the Argentine grain-merchant expects the depôt to serve him for a warehouse until the moment he receives a telegram and requires the railway to transport to the port of embarkation, without delay, the large quantities of grain accumulated at the stations.