A general wastefulness characterizes all classes, both urban and rural. In many cases this is probably due to ignorance. The very bountifulness of nature has no doubt accentuated a natural disinclination to attend to detail and small economies. If conservation would be studied much more profit could be realized by all. On the estancias this wastefulness is noted in the methods of taking care of the crops and vast herds of stock. In the city one will see it in the administration of municipal governments in the various departments. In private life one will discern it everywhere, and even the common labourer shows the same traits of improvidence and lack of thriftiness so characteristic of the German or French peasant, for example.
The railroads are wasteful oftentimes and are unprepared to handle the immense crops produced by a bountiful nature, so that thousands of tons of grain have been lost through sheer inability to get them to market, and the estanciero was unable to take care of his grain because he had no elevators or granaries to hold his crop. Thousands of cattle have been lost in a dry season because the owner trusted wholly to nature and had no food to keep them from starvation when the pasture failed. But then Argentina is not alone in these traits, and it is perhaps easier to find fault or give advice than to do the things ourselves if we were placed in the same position.
Like all Latin people, the Argentinian loves politics. The opera bouffe style of government, which can still be found in Central America, has disappeared, so that the melodramatic element no longer exists. With each year the people grow less inclined to indulge in revolution simply as a pastime. The risks of the revolutionists too are greater in a nation of nearly seven million people than formerly, when there were not one-fourth that number, and a country in which prosperity and education have made great strides. Furthermore, there is the feeling on the part of the Argentinians that their country is on its way to take its place as one of the great nations of the earth, and this idea has undoubtedly sobered them somewhat. There are, no doubt, many, even to-day, who enter politics with no other purpose than to enrich themselves. Their methods, however, are far more subtle than the revolutionists of old, and they hedge themselves about with an air of apparent honesty and patriotism that is difficult to penetrate. They have had good examples of genuine patriots in the not distant past, which has no doubt aided in clarifying the political atmosphere. It is in the question of government contracts where the test of honour comes. If the tales that are told are to be believed, then rich pickings often fall to officials. In some cases this has been done openly and yet caused little comment, because such a result seemed to be but natural and expected as a matter of course.
Argentina is a country that is purely pastoral and agricultural, for the proportion of those engaged in manufacturing is numerically very small. And yet one city contains nearly one-fifth of the total population. When you include the other cities, such as Rosario, Tucuman, Mendoza, etc., the proportion of city dwellers is still greater. The cities of Argentina have outgrown the rest of the country. With people of an excitable nature, such as the Latins are, it may bode serious trouble in the future. Strikes have become very common, and lawlessness in connection with them is very easy to stir up. Just before my visit the chief of police was killed in one of those disturbances. The method of the government in dealing with these exigencies is sensible but drastic. A state of siege and martial law is declared, and every suspicious character is deported as an undesirable. Following the killing of the chief of police, several hundred Italians and Spaniards were deported. It was only after several weeks of martial law that the ban was lifted and life moved along as before. Many of the Italians are, no doubt, anarchistic in their tendencies, and sometimes it might be wondered that disturbances are not more frequent and more general than they actually are. The police of the city usually show themselves competent to cope with the situation.
Notwithstanding the cosmopolitan character of the population, the republic is governed solely by the real Argentinians. No foreigner is permitted to sit in Congress or take any hand in the legislation of the country. The character of elections has undoubtedly progressed, but they are still far from being perfect or free from criticism. It is very easy to tell beforehand who will be elected by observing the forces and influences behind the various candidates. How it is accomplished might be difficult to explain, but it is done, and the man with the proper support will almost invariably win out in some way. Absolute freedom of expression is allowed the individual and press; one may listen to or read political addresses full of flowery eloquence and fire, or hear the most bitter denunciation, with no police interference whatever. The government does not worry itself about such trifles, which are merely abstract questions and do no one harm. The chances are that if the opponents of the government are allowed to work off their pent-up emotions in this way, their opposition on election day will not be very active. Hence they always treat the “not-ins” with a sort of good-natured forbearance that would be irritating to a North American.
There are perhaps fifty thousand or more persons in Argentina who might be classed as British. It would be difficult to find a community where a few of these Anglo-Saxons do not dwell. Of this number a large proportion are of Hibernian extraction. As a rule they may easily be spotted. In Buenos Aires and Rosario this colony remains entirely distinct and mingles very little in social relations with the natives. They are engaged in commerce and the other business enterprises. The Britisher is self-satisfied and the Argentinian would call him boorish, although he is welcomed, as is any one who will contribute to the development and material progress of the country. In the Camp it is sometimes different. There one will find former citizens of the British Isles who have almost forgotten their native tongue. Their children will speak Spanish in preference to English, and they have imbibed many of the characteristics of the Spaniards. If this British estanciero speaks English his conversation will be interspersed with Spanish phrases. The Camp seems to have a fascination for him, and he will prefer the blue and white banner of his adopted land to the British Jack. The rich land of Argentina, which can produce such abundant crops, has wielded a spell over him. This process of welding and consolidation has, in numerous instances, been at work for several generations.
The Englishman is a born sportsman. He loves horseflesh and all games, and has initiated the Argentinian into the mysteries of many. Football is now played all over the republic by thousands of the darker-hued Argentinians, side by side with the fair-haired Anglo-Saxon. Football has to all intents and purposes become the national game of Argentina. It is really astonishing what a hold this game has upon the people. The love of sport in the Camp has no doubt had an influence in leading to a closer understanding and better feeling between the two races in the rural districts; it has been a good influence and the result has been for the best interest of the nation. If the two races are to live side by side it is well for a good fellowship to exist between them.
The seal of Spain is upon everything that she has touched. The Spaniard has left his religion, language, and social creed all over the New World south of the Rio Grande, and his mark can be traced upon face, laws and landscape. Wherever he appeared the Spaniard has written his racial autograph in a hand that neither time nor political change has sufficed to efface. The Anglo-Saxon has never succeeded in accomplishing the same results except by colonization. One who is proficient can detect from what part the Spanish-American woman comes, for each national face has an individuality. The Mexicana, the Chilena, the Uruguayana and the Argentina all differ—and yet there is a kinship that can easily be traced. The olive-brown tint is there, but in different shades. The perfect morena (Spanish-Moorish) is a rarity, but it is as near perfection as complexion can be—so fine, so soft and so richly warmed. This type can frequently be found in the Argentina.
ONE OF ARGENTINA’S DAUGHTERS