The docks and facilities for handling goods in Buenos Aires are second to none in the world and are modeled after the famous Liverpool system, having cost over $50,000,000. Steamers unload cargoes directly into the government custom warehouses, on the other side of which are networks of railway tracks from which they can be forwarded to the interior. Each of the large cement-sided canals or basins for the ship traffic is provided with locks or water gates, while the masonry warehouses, buildings and grain elevators extend for miles along the city water front. Yet the business of the port has grown so that there is much congestion, especially at certain seasons of the year and plans are being considered for doubling its present facilities.
By permission of the editor of The Americas
Grain Elevators, Buenos Aires
Much of the impetus in trade circles in this land is due to the presence of the English, Germans and Italians who control the banking, transportation and commercial life of the country. Both the Briton and the Teuton have large sums invested in all kinds of enterprises, the total being estimated at $2,000,000,000. The Italian has developed into the small shopkeeper and farmer. In Buenos Aires alone there are two daily papers printed in English, which serves to give some idea of the extent of the English speaking population in this city. There are also daily papers published in Italian, German, French and Arabic.
Practically all the nations of Europe are represented in the banking business, the United States being the last to enter the field. The English are the strongest and the Germans next.
Argentine is supposed to be on a gold exchange basis, the gold peso being worth one hundred centavos, or in our money 96.5 cents. The gold peso is designated by the sign $C/L, the symbol C/L meaning curso legal, or legal tender. This is practically an imaginary coin, and the money one sees is paper currency, the paper peso being worth 44 per cent. of its face value, or 42.46 cents in United States gold. This is represented in the following manner $M/N, meaning moneda nacional or national money. This paper currency fluctuates slightly each day, being governed by the market conditions. The abbreviations O/S, C/L, and M/N are placed before the dollar or peso mark, as for example O/S $500 or may follow it, as, for instance, $500 M/N.
The Argentine has long been noted for its unfavorable fees charged travellers, each province having a separate tariff, varying according to the commodity one may be selling. They are subject to such changes on short notice that it is useless to give them here, besides the subject has been dealt with elsewhere in this book. Before doing business it is wise to give this matter careful consideration. No duty is charged on samples.
The following cities should be visited:
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Buenos Aires | 1,700,000 |
| Rosario | 300,000 |
| Cordoba | 120,000 |
| La Plata | 100,000 |
| Tucuman | 80,000 |
| Bahia Blanca | 75,000 |
| Mendoza | 65,000 |
| Santa Fe | 50,000 |
| Salta | 40,000 |
| Parana | 37,000 |
| Corrientes | 30,000 |
| San Juan | 16,000 |
| San Luis | 15,000 |
The Argentine exported goods to the value of $468,999,410 in 1913, and during the same time imported goods to the extent of $408,711,966, of which amount less than 8 per cent. came from the United States. England controlled the bulk of the trade with Germany second and France third.