PASEO AL BOSQUE, LA PLATA (PROVINCIAL CAPITAL).
The President is the outstanding feature of the Constitution. Important as the head of the State is in the North American Republic, in Argentina the President might almost say "L'État c'est moi," for the well-being of Argentina has practically been conditioned by the character of the Presidents. The wickedness of a Rosas or the folly of a Celman formerly made her a byword among nations, while the sagacity and patriotism of a Rivadavia or a Roca have turned imminent disaster into prosperity. The President and Vice-President are elected by Presidential electors who are chosen in each Province by the direct vote of the people, and who, as in the United States, are chosen for that purpose alone. The office of President is held for six years, and the holder of it is Commander-in-Chief and has all the State patronage, including the ecclesiastical. In him, of course, the executive power is embodied. He is assisted by eight Secretaries of State—the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, War, Justice, Agriculture, Marine, and Public Works—but they are appointed by him and may be dismissed at pleasure, so it will be easily understood that his power is enormous.
The Legislature is of the familiar type. The upper house is the Senate with thirty members, two for each of the fourteen Provinces and two for the city of Buenos Aires, and their term of office is for nine years, but one third of them is renewed every three years. The provincial senators are elected by the Legislatures of the Provinces, the two for Buenos Aires by a special body of electors. The House of Deputies, which is the lower branch of the National Congress, consists of 120 members, elected by the people, and there is supposed to be one deputy for every 33,000 inhabitants. Each member of Congress receives the somewhat extravagant allowance of 12,000 dollars, or about £1,060. The Vice-President is Chairman of the Senate—and here it will be noticed how very closely the Argentines follow the northern practice—and it has also sometimes happened that the apparent sinecure of the Vice-Presidency has been the step to the great office. The President now in power, Dr. José Figueroa Alcorta,[60] was Vice-President till March, 1906, when he succeeded on the death of President Quintana. Like our House of Commons, the House of Deputies is the money chamber, and it has the right of impeaching guilty officials before the Senate.
The various Provinces have their own Constitution and in theory have complete local self-government, even to the right of framing their own fiscal policy, but, as hinted above, they have not in practice very great power. There are also a number of Gobernaciones, thinly populated and governed in more or less absolute fashion. For convenience of reference, the list of Provinces and Gobernaciones, with their areas and estimated population, may be given.
The Supreme Federal Court with its five judges administers justice and is also the Court of Appeal. Trial by jury appears in the Constitution but it is never practised. The administration of justice has long been acknowledged to be in an unsatisfactory state and attempts to improve it have not borne much fruit. Cases are known in which Englishmen have been kept twelve months in prison awaiting trial, and if this is the case with foreigners it may be supposed that natives have much cause for complaint. In his last Message to Congress (May, 1909) the President, while paying a tribute to "the patriotic diligence of our magistrates," remarked that the ordinary Courts of Justice of the capital still leave something to be desired as regards rapidity of action, and he attributes the delay to the fact that the population has outgrown the system, which, he said, "is too cramped to cope with the demands on it, and I think there is urgent and imperious need for reform if we desire to avert a permanent cause for complaint and discredit." Undoubtedly the foreign man of business, whose capital and enterprise is essential to the development of Argentina, will be more deterred by defects in the administration of justice than any other circumstance, for if there is the probability of pecuniary loss in civil cases and discomfort and persecution for his subordinates in the criminal Courts, the advantages of the country as a field for capital must be seriously discounted. It is, however, in far-away, scantily populated districts where the hard cases occur, but it is generally acknowledged that there is considerable room for improvement in the administration of justice.
The position in the world of a great State depends upon the courage and endurance of its people, and these qualities are typified by the efficiency which they demand in the army and navy. Argentina is advancing on the road to greatness, and therefore her military position is a matter of increasing importance. It may be hoped that conditions are now no longer favourable to the unprofitable wars which in the past have been perpetually waged between South American States, for foreign capital has a steadying influence and the sense of kinship between Latin Americans is becoming stronger. However, it must be remembered that the fraternal spirit of the Greeks did not preserve them from internecine wars, and Argentina, flanked by each of the other two powerful South American Republics, cannot afford to neglect her armaments. It may be that the wars nullos habitura triumphos are at an end; it is almost certain that they will be less frequent; but there is now the question of foreign interference, and every Republic, however small and weak, jealously guards its own independence and wishes to be safe from the possibility of dictation from either the United States or Japan. None of the Republics as yet are World States, but South America is a World Power, though not a political entity, and as time goes on it is safe to predict that Pan-Americanism will become a powerful force. Accordingly, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, at least, are busily strengthening their defences.
Military service is compulsory upon all citizens, and, it may be added, every person born in Argentina, whatever his parentage, is liable. At the age of twenty the young recruit has to serve for two years[61] and in some cases he prolongs his term for three years more. Thus the Republic is certain of having a tolerably large amount of disciplined material upon which to draw for an army. The peace strength of the army consists of sixteen thousand or seventeen thousand officers[62] and men, and is made up as follows: There are eighteen batteries of artillery and two mountain batteries, two battalions of chasseurs of the Andes, nine regiments of cavalry, two regiments of gendarmes, five batteries of field artillery, three mountain batteries, and five companies of engineers. For ten years after the first enlistment the Argentine soldier belongs to the active army, and is liable to frequent drill and must attend the annual rifle meeting of his district. Then, for ten years, he passes into the National Guard, and subsequently serves for another five years in the Territorial Guard. In these two forces the drilling is, of course, much less frequent. In war ten divisions of twelve thousand men would be available, but there might be a difficulty in obtaining them in full strength and satisfactory condition. Sir Thomas Holdich speaks of sixty thousand infantry, twenty-five thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand artillery. There is, however, little doubt that Argentina possesses a good army, sufficient for the defence of even her very vulnerable frontier. Upon the Argentine army, at least as regards the cavalry[63] and artillery, favourable judgments have been passed. The cavalry is, to a large extent, ready-made. In England two years of incessant training is required to make an efficient cavalry trooper, but the Gaucho is a horseman from his childhood; he and all his ancestors have passed all their life with horses, and horsemanship is part of his nature. Consequently, although Argentine soldiers, as a rule, have very little service to their credit, they learn their trade in an astonishingly short time. The troops are also well mounted—not on the common Criollo horse, which is grass-fed, and, except under Pampa conditions, not over-hardy. The artillery are armed with 75-millimetre Krupp guns; the infantry have Mauser rifles; the arms and stores are in a high state of efficiency. The infantry some years ago was condemned as untidy and undisciplined, and its officers as ignorant of their duties, but Sir Thomas Holdich considers that there is no ground for sweeping condemnation. It is, however, undoubtedly much inferior to the cavalry, and pains are being taken to improve it. Possibly the training of officers is too short, and there is reason to believe that military service is not popular among Argentines of the highest class. An excellent institution has been started in a technical school for warrant officers (we should call them non-commissioned), which has five hundred pupils, and has already provided 278 corporals to various regiments. At the same time the pay and condition of the sergeants have been improved. As the backbone of the army is the non-commissioned man, these steps will doubtless be most effective. Sir T. Holdich[64] remarks: "The fighting army of South America, generally will, however, never be infantry in the future, unless it be mounted infantry. In Argentina especially, where a horse can readily be found for every man, and where every man knows how to ride, and where there is a large population (diminishing, unfortunately, day by day) which habitually exists on the very scantiest of a meat supply which needs no special transport, caring nothing for those extras which make so large a demand on English commissariat, efficient mounted infantry is almost ready-made. The mobilisation of such a force would be as effective as that of the Boers, and its discipline far superior."
The Argentines are proud of their army, and with reason, for its history is more illustrious than that of any other Latin American people. They twice conquered the English under some of our best (and one of our worst) generals. The exploits of San Martin in Chile are among the most glorious in the history of the continent. The Argentine army also had a large share in the reduction of Paraguay, then the strongest military power in South America, and there seems to be every probability that it will maintain its reputation. It may, however, be reasonably doubted whether it is equal in military efficiency to the army of Chile, and it rests with wealthy and influential Argentines to make the choice of Hercules, and, preferring the national good to luxury and pleasure, encourage by their active example the military traditions of the race.