[93] Literally, “at the basket.”—[Trans.]
[94] The brokerage in 1⁄4 per cent. on the sale or purchase of bonds, shares, debentures, etc., and is charged on the face (or nominal) value of the amount changing hands. A charge of 1⁄2 per cent. is also made on all operations on Exchange.
Such are the principal rules of the organic charter which regulates the operations of the Stock Exchange of Buenos Ayres, and such is its method of operation. Let us now examine the total amount of its operations during the period 1895-1908, and how they may be analysed:—
| Year. | Piastres (Paper). | Pounds (Sterling). |
| 1895 | 1,244,602,058 | — |
| 1896 | 1,383,472,329 | — |
| 1897 | 1,306,531,655 | — |
| 1898 | 1,219,304,846 | — |
| —————— | —————— | |
| Carry forward, | 5,153,910,888 |
| Year. | Piastres (Paper). | Pounds (Sterling). |
| Brought forward, | 5,153,910,888 | |
| 1899 | 1,295,304,846 | — |
| 1900 | 834,982,214 | £73,478,434[95] |
| 1901 | 1,003,709,984 | 88,326,476 |
| 1902 | 841,627,532 | 74,063,222 |
| 1903 | 383,905,622 | 33,783,694 |
| 1904 | 423,957,361 | 37,308,227 |
| 1905 | 515,607,316 | 45,373,454 |
| 1906 | 655,624,566 | 57,694,961 |
| 1907 | 192,130,565 | 16,907,489 |
| 1908 | 143,466,502 | 12,625,052 |
| —————— | ————— | |
| Total for 14 years | $11,444,377,390 | (9 Years), £439,561,009 |
| =========== | ========== |
[95] These values are given only from 1900, when the value of the piastre was fixed.
Of this total an amount of 8724 millions of piastres, or 76·2 per cent., applies to metallic operations, which kept speculation alive until the monetary law of 1899 once and for all arrested the varying values of paper money. If this law had had no other effect, this result alone would have justified it as wholly beneficial to the interests of the nation.
In the quotations of the above period mortgage bonds hold the second place; they represent about 5 per cent.
Being dominated by the spirit of speculation, which expended itself principally, indeed almost exclusively, upon monetary transactions, the Bourse had no time to devote itself to more legitimate business. Thus the public funds represented only some 3 per cent. of this total; then came shares and debentures of various companies; and last of all banking shares, the amount of these being insignificant.