The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

COAT-OF-ARMS OF PERU.

ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL STREETS OF LIMA, DECORATED ON A NATIONAL HOLIDAY.

CHAPTER X
THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT JOSÉ PARDO

POST OFFICE, LIMA.

The inauguration of Dr. José Pardo took place amid the enthusiastic demonstrations of a people who recognized in their chosen leader a statesman of upright character and worthy principles, well equipped to maintain the authority of a just, liberal, and progressive government. There was more than the jubilant celebration of a victorious party in the festivities of that day, the nation exhibiting an affectionate pride in the accession of their young president, who followed in the path opened up by his illustrious father and illuminated by President Candamo, and who thus represented the highest hopes of civil government.

Although only forty years of age at the time of his election, President Pardo was an experienced statesman and diplomatist, having been Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Council of Ministers during the administration of President Candamo, as well as diplomatic representative of the government on a special mission to the Court of Spain in a previous administration. His education, which began in the Lima Institute, a college founded by President Manuel Pardo, was directed in accordance with the liberal ideas that governed his father’s principles, and from the beginning it became evident that the student would develop into the statesman. When he was graduated from the University of San Marcos at the age of twenty-five, he held the degrees of Doctor of Jurisprudence and Doctor of Political and Social Science. During President Candamo’s term, Dr. Pardo successfully advocated the settlement by arbitration of difficult questions between his country and Bolivia, Ecuador, and Brazil; and, as president of the ministerial council, he was the principal leader in framing important laws for the building of railroads and for fiscal reform which were afterward sanctioned by Congress.

When President Pardo assumed office, he proceeded, with energy and decision, though without any ostentatious display of reform, to carry into effect the policy which he had adopted, and which was declared in his inaugural message. The keynote of his administration is industrial and educational progress, and at no time in the history of Peru have its public institutions and private enterprises been in a more advanced and promising condition. Toleration in religion, justice in legislation, and an earnest endeavor to promote the well-being of the country, morally and materially, have been exemplified in the attitude of President Pardo’s government throughout the four years that he has guided the destinies of the nation. In foreign relations, Peru has attained a more honored position than ever before. The nation was represented with distinction in the Pan-American Conference at Rio de Janeiro in 1906, and at the International Conference of the Hague in 1907. In home government, in military matters, in the departments of justice and public instruction, in finance, and in the development of public works of enormous benefit to the country, the results of a wise and careful direction of executive authority are to be seen. Education has been reformed and established on a uniform and democratic basis, the annual appropriation of funds for this purpose having been increased under the present government to three times the amount formerly set aside for its maintenance; it now amounts to nearly one-tenth of the budget. The postal service has received especial attention, and improvements have been made which render it one of the most efficient branches of public administration. The reconstruction of the national navy has been effected during the present term, the new cruisers, Grau and Bolognesi, which arrived in 1907 from the European shipyards, being handsome modern battleships.

Industrial progress has been fostered and encouraged by the extension of railways, and new lines are under construction in every part of the republic. Commerce has increased every year and the fiscal receipts have nearly doubled within the past four years. Foreign capitalists are constantly making new investments in the country, the statistics showing that twenty-nine mining and agricultural enterprises were established in Peru in 1907, of which a great many were of foreign ownership. The sources of national wealth have increased, partly owing to the discovery of valuable mines of coal and petroleum and to the revival of Peru’s guano industry, which promises to be richer in production than ever before. The interests of agriculture have been promoted by a careful study of its needs in the various regions; hydrographic experts have been employed to solve the problem of irrigation in the dry sections of the coast and artesian wells have been sunk at various points in the northern district. The importation of thoroughbred stock, the employment of foreign specialists in the various branches of husbandry to give lectures on the subject, and the free and liberal distribution of pamphlets, reports, and maps throughout the farming communities have been among the activities of the government in behalf of agricultural reform.