The advice I would give to all those thinking of trying Argentina as a field for agricultural work is to remember that to be successful one must begin at the bottom, the harder the school the better will be the result: you cannot detect and correct the faults which militate against success unless you have been through the mill. Not long ago I sent a boy out to Argentina and painted the first two years of learning in the new country in rather lurid colours. I explained and dwelt on the hardships—indeed, I described it as "a dog's life." Within a year, the lad wrote home to his parents and mentioned all that I had told him, but finished up by saying, "There's plenty of 'life' about it, but not much 'dog.'" The truth is that the boy had accepted things as they came along and had adapted himself to his surroundings, and, I predict, he will never regret having left his home, where opportunities were cramped by small surroundings, for the wider field of Argentina.
A great many Englishmen resident in Argentina, whose sons are looking forward to finding their life's work in that country, send their boys home to England to be educated. Far be it from me to deprecate the training acquired by English public school life, but it might well be worth while to consider the other phase. The boy who has had his schooling in Argentina and goes through his training and passes into one of their Universities will have to his credit something which cannot be bought by money or influence by boys straight out from home. He will have been a fellow student, and worked shoulder to shoulder with men who will in due time occupy positions of power and influence, and it is just as well to weigh out these things before deciding where to educate your boy. A boy born in Argentina, whatever the nationality of his parents may be, is by Argentine law an Argentine subject, and should be brought up to appreciate that he is liable to be called upon to go through a military course: the Argentine boy, who has had just as gentle an upbringing as the English boy, is compelled to serve his time in the army if called upon, and generally the discipline engendered by this training has not only been good for him, but is a distinctly valuable asset to the country, and the English boy, as well as a boy of any other parentage born in the country, will be obliged to go through this military training if required.
I venture to think that were England to adopt compulsory military service in some shape or form, we should hear a great deal less of the unemployed and "don't-want-work" demonstrations.
To attempt to give a picture of Argentine life is impossible in the short time at my disposal. Imagine to yourself, if you can, a country of 1,212,600 square miles whose borders extend from well within the Tropics to away down south to the everlasting snows, embracing all kinds of lands, from the very richest of soils to ice-capped and rocky peaks, and you must admit that to attempt to describe the various conditions of life therein is wellnigh impossible. Life is much what the surrounding conditions make it—on the extreme edge of cultivation it is distinctly rough, on the inner camps refinement steps in, and in the cities you will find just what society you wish. Amongst the cosmopolitan population of Buenos Aires there are many men and women of the highest culture and education.
There are many Argentines, who stand out prominently from the throng of busy pleasure-seekers, who are devoting their lives to improving the surroundings of those less fortunate fellow-creatures who have fallen upon the thorny path, and whose portion is often the cup of bitterness. Indeed, I have ever found the Argentine desirous of helping those who seek advice and assistance; but he spurns the foreigner who degrades himself and his country by acts of folly which would not be permitted in his native land.
Englishmen often fall into the great error of keeping themselves to themselves. Possibly this trait is engendered from birth and training by our insular position, but it is a great pity to carry it too far, for the Argentine people do appreciate the thoroughness of our countrymen, and are ready to welcome the right sort. We have taught the Argentines many of our national sports and games, and they have entered into them with such thoroughness that the teachers have often had to admit that the pupil has proved better than the master.
Travelling has become an integral part of the education of the Argentine family to-day, and it is quite general to find young children speaking fluently four or five languages.
I could wish that those who have Argentine friends would insist upon their seeing, when in this country, some of the Englishman's home surroundings, for hotel life, theatres, dinners, and music-halls are all very well in their way, but to see the real inwardness of English life you must follow the Englishman to his country home. My experience is that the Argentine will always refuse an invitation to your home at first, because of the trouble which he believes you will be put to, but don't take "no" for an answer; simply make him come, and he will thank you afterwards for his experience of English home life.
Just a word or two, for fear I have left an impression that Argentina is the El Dorado which lies beyond the seas. There are such things as locusts, floods, droughts, and frosts in that country.
The first of these—locusts—are indeed a plague which to-day it seems almost impossible to annihilate, for I have little faith in man's attempts effectually to stop or decrease this pestilence; on the other hand, Nature always seems to be on the alert to prevent an overthrow of the balance of things. Those who have spent their lives in the River Plate district have seen this appalling plague crushed by means which Nature, in her own good time, has thought fit to use.