The Argentine has not entered the industrial age—She has no coal-mines in operation, no natural motive forces of any importance.
Mines.—Symptoms of the awakening of the mining industry—Numerous lodes in the Andes—The mines of La Rioja and Catamarca—Mines in other provinces and territories—Mining legislation.
Electric Industries.—Tramways; their development, their perfected equipment, and their profits—Progress of electric lighting—Telegraphs—Telephones.
Various Industries.—List of various industries established in Buenos Ayres, according to the last census, with the value of their products.
Comparison between the statistics of 1895 and those of 1904—Progress realised in 1908—Workshops and factories.
IV. Banks, the Bourse or Stock Exchange, and
Limited Companies [261]
Banks—International character of Argentine banking—Evolution of banking machinery—List of the principal banks, with amount of capital and business done—Conditions peculiar to Argentine banking; the lack of movable reserves—Rates of interest on account, on deposit, and on advances—Statistics of the deposit accounts of the principal banks—Exchange operations: their decrease since the determination of a fixed monetary ratio—The Clearing House; the importance of its operations.
The Bank of the Nation.—Its history—The formation of its capital—Political interference in the nomination of its Directors—Statistics of its accounts—Rapid increase of deposits—Difficulty of realising capital—The resumption of payments.
The Bank of the Province of Buenos Ayres—Its reorganisation—Its present prosperity.
Mortgage and Loan-Banks.—History of the Banque Hypothécaire of the Province of Buenos Ayres—Bankruptcy—Arrangement between the bank and its creditors—Proposal of reorganisation—Laws relating to mortgage in the Argentine—The National Mortgage Bank; statistics of business done—Joint-stock loan companies; their capital and amount of business done.