Education has not made remarkable strides in Argentina, for exactly half of the people over six years of age are illiterate. In 1885 some 25 per cent. of the children of school-going age attended school, and in 1904 the percentage had only risen to 45, and of these only a fraction could read or write. The defects of primary education[84] are comparatively unimportant, for the country needs agriculturists rather than clerks, and when the peasants really desire instruction they will not be long in obtaining it. But indifferent University and secondary education are the curse of Latin America. Beyond anything else Argentina requires a real aristocracy—a large, cultivated, and public-spirited upper class—and this class, owing chiefly to defective education, is now very small. There are at Cordoba and Buenos Aires national Universities, and provincial Universities at La Plata, Santa Fé, and Parana. But the unfortunate materialism is not eradicated by these institutions, which, in Latin America, are too often merely bread-winning concerns, which neglect humane studies because they are "useless." If the Holy See would encourage the foundation of a religious University, the country would benefit in every way.
Secondary education (it is difficult to obtain up-to-date figures) does not appear to have been particularly flourishing in 1905. There were 16 lyceums, 450 professors, and 4,103 pupils. There were also 35 normal schools with 2,011 pupils. It is, of course, a common practice for wealthy parents to send their children to Europe to be educated, and perhaps, under the circumstances, that is the best course. But with a sound and liberal course of studies and good moral and religious discipline, the young might be kept in the country till they had completed their University career, and then sent for a short residence abroad. There is a temptation that besets cultivated Argentines, who are the most necessary to the welfare of their country, to seek diplomatic posts or some duties that will take them abroad. Most of the distinguished authors publish in Madrid or Paris, and thus there is an intellectual and moral drain which would be checked if the system of education were improved.
As regards primary education, there were in 1905, 5,250 schools, 14,118 teachers, and 543,881 pupils. The average attendance was 408,069. Considering that in 1899 about one million sterling was spent upon education, and that for a generation Argentina has spent probably more per head upon each school-child than any other country except Australia, the results are by no means satisfactory, and, like all new nations, the Argentines require to learn the lesson that learning and enlightenment cannot be obtained by money or bricks and mortar.[85]
As regards the journalism of Argentina, it would be difficult to speak too highly of the two principal daily newspapers, La Nacion and La Prensa. La Nacion may perhaps claim the front place. It is the oldest daily journal in Buenos Aires, dating from 1852, and it was long under the influence of General Bartolome Mitre, for, as a French writer[86] remarks, no politician can succeed without a newspaper, and no newspaper can hope to obtain much influence without the support of a politician. It has a circulation of about ninety thousand. The paper is on a very large scale and full of matter; its tone is admirable, the ability of the leading articles is remarkable, and the literary pages, which are lavishly provided, reach a very high standard indeed. Hardly second to La Nacion is La Prensa, which has offices, situated in the Avenida de Mayo, said to be more splendid than anything of the kind in existence. It is not as old as its rival, dating from about 1872, and it may be described as being of much the same size and scope as the Daily Telegraph, but rather more attention is given to literary style. Sobriety and moderation, as well as great ability, are its characteristics. It is the property of Dr. José C. Paz, who is said to have made a large fortune by it.
El Diario is an enterprising evening paper, and has a very large circulation. The journal possessed of the largest circulation of all (said to approach two hundred thousand) is La Argentina, which appeals more to the man in the street. Other Spanish dailies are El Pais, El Tiempo, La Razon, El Diario de Comercio, and El Correo Español.
There is a French daily, Le Courier de la Plata, and several German and Italian. At the same office as La Argentina is printed the Standard, an old English newspaper of high repute. This was founded in 1861 by the Mulhalls—an honoured name in Buenos Aires—and besides being extensively read by English residents, it has considerable influence with the authorities. Very similar in appearance and scope, but less influential, is the Buenos Aires Herald, another English daily paper, the property of Mr. Thomas Bell.
The provincial towns have also meritorious journals, but they are, of course, overshadowed by those of the capital. The daily press of Argentina is perhaps the most elevating influence in the country. It is a really useful daily help, containing a splendid assortment of foreign telegrams, and news and dissertations to suit the most varying tastes. While conducted with unflagging enterprise and commercially very valuable, as is shown by the interminable columns of closely printed advertisements, it is honourably free from the sensation-mongering and vulgarity which is rampant in the United States and which has, to some extent, infected our own daily newspapers.
Among weekly periodicals the Review of London and the River Plate, which deals principally with industrial and economic subjects, is a high-class publication, and the Standard has a weekly edition. There are several other weekly and monthly journals, and there are numerous comic papers,[87] but few periodicals deal exclusively with literature or special subjects. These matters, however, are treated so generously in the daily organs that it may be supposed that there is little opening for one-subject journals. After all, the circulation of the dailies is very large when we consider the limited population. It is curious to notice how entirely cut off each South American Republic is from the other. In Buenos Aires it is difficult to procure a Brazilian, Uruguayan, or Chilian newspaper, and the commercial intercourse is astonishingly small. For example, the trade of Argentina with Holland is more than twice as large as her trade with Chile.
As is frequently the case with periodical literature, some of its most valuable instances are to be found among the defunct publications. Prominent among these is the Nueva Revista de Buenos Aires, which only lived from 1881-1885. It was edited by Señor V. G. Quesada and Dr. Ernesto Quesada, and, as a monthly review, chiefly literary, but also dealing with politics, history, and philosophy, it was a work of the highest excellence. Nearly all the articles are signed, and most of the eminent Argentine men of letters of those days have either written or been reviewed in its pages. Another good magazine, which lived from 1871-1874 was the Revista del Rio de La Plata. This dealt with the same subjects, but was more historical than literary. In Buenos Aires 189 newspapers are published. Of Spanish there are 154, Italian 14, German 8, English 6, and the others are Scandinavian, French, Basque, and Russian.
The excellent journalism of Argentina has not, as yet, developed into literature of a class correspondingly high. Those who deal with the literature of a new country usually strike an apologetic note, and their main stumbling-block is the absence of originality, for it has to be admitted that the poets and romancers of the young nations are too often mere craftsmen imitating old European models. This admission has to be made in the case of Argentina, but in other respects her literature may well stand forth on its own merits; the artists are not imported but American-born, and though they may not have produced an indigenous literature, yet their creations are European with a difference. They are Spanish American, not Spanish, and those of Argentina are quite distinct in tone from those of their kinsmen on the same continent.