New-York tribune., 1890-04-03

pooN-A WONDERFUL RIVER sfs-
rEN-AMERIcAN STEAMSHIPS
., =.
URGENTLY NEEDED.
s-.vr CORRESPONDENT or THE TRBrxEI
Rosario A. r.. January %.
have bccn in South America COM
-. ,a hor made of the superficial character
P ,,oo,s written hy English and American
.a,,orr " The fight of these birds of passage
-, 49,. o1orc the coast. They have gone ashore
80 ,,,. mr. two at Rio. and have considered then-
,.o ualifed TO write exhaustive chapters on
49, socia1 and political tendencies OF Brazil Ihcy
bove nassed day and nlgh' Ill '"' hR'"'iic
caa;.a1 and have undertaken TO sum up the
ros,,,s If the material progress OF South American
yorLec-land during the last twenty years lhc
;s,oLes of some of these b0okmaKcrs nave "eeh
,,o;rted ont 10 me as have visited various coast
.wns-bluuders which have sometimes oeen rem
dered Iudicrous by the economy oi puphshefs Ill
r.nroducinp antiquated plates, by the care
lossness of proof readers in introducing illustra-
TONS in the wrong places. have been repeatedly
orred against current works of reference now i'll
mint and advised to make use of my own eyes,
ard above all things, TO leave the coast and to
vnlore tho interior This counsel impressed me
os nne-emincntly wise with reference to the
ARGENTINE Republic. When has been ten
davs in Buenos Ayres and witnessed the eXtraor-
dnary commercial activity of the metropolis
of the Southern hemisphere he finds 1t easy 10
believe anything that he may heas respecting
tho industrial resources and development of the
country that lies behind it, An overland Journey
from the Plate 10 the Pacific is almost an essential
safeguard against overwhelming cfeuuii'N'
Such a journey can be made IN week WIN
preciptatc rush, but more deliberately ana 10
better advantage in three weeks, five or six days
beinr occupied with the passage of the Andes
The hour for departure from a South American
hotel is ordinarily an anxious one, since II involves
the presentation of the landlords account, an
arrumentative tilt over extras. and struggle
more or less desperate. against rapaclty. In
Epenos Ayrcs one is prepared for a rate OF 80 d
dav with extras which bring ii up to - In
d.nreciated currency. Gold fuctuated twenty
nonts during my stay in the city. the last quota
tion beinc 2l7 Before serious measures were
adopted in the direction of the contraction OF the
inflated currency gold ran up TO 235 Money is
cheap and everything else is dear: ho'el rates
beinr markedly in sympathy with flush prices
Coke costs $40 a ton. and coal for range OF fire
place from S3S to $40. The water tax lor
moderate-sized house is Sl4 month. ana the
gas bill Sl9 in December and S2s in July.
single floor of an UNFINISHED house In an uhpre-
tentious quarter rents for $3.50 month Market
ing for family of ordinary size costs from ~ 10
&c q day. meats being cheap. but vegetables very
high chop brings eight cents, but GOOD
turkey is worth IS. Potatoes are sold by the
mound at or cents. and am told that as much
as So so has been paid for bunch of onions.
Entrance fees TO clubs range from 5000 TO 500.
A box at the opera for a season OF sixty nights
commands 81 OOO and an orchestra char for a
SINGLE performance from $50 TO $50. EVen d
ticket 10 the circus costs s. 90 pair OF shoes Is
worth from to Sl2, but clothing is cheaper thah
one would expect to find il, dress-sult costing
from $50 10 81 90 and an ordinary business sun
$50 Wines are not unreasonably high. put
s,ood cirnr costs 40 or even so cents The
cheapest thing one can DO in Buenos Ayrs IS to
have his boots backcd for , cents: and men OF
an economical turn Of mind have it done half
dozen times a day. apparently with vague
idea that they are saving money while sitting
in the bootblacks chair Ii it. be expensive to
live. it is absolutely runouS 10 die Inc eN-
pense of buTying an American sailor lew
weeks ago. in the planest possible way. was
$3.50 A frst-class funeral costs THOUSANDS oi
dollars.
Travelling expenses range with the hotel bilIs
under these initiation conditions. An exception
checked without extra charge to ones dcstina-
ton In Brazil and Chill the transfer Of bag
GAGE bv train costs third or al least n quarter
OF the ordinary passenger fare but on the Arscn-
tine railways the American system Is adopted,
with limitations of weight. The cars are not
luxurious but fairly comfortable. and he tram
service is good Coffee is served on the night
trains and early in the morning. and al thc res
taurant stations breakfasts and dinners oI seven
or eight courses are provided, wine pcihg IN
cuded One has 10 pay roundly for these prlNi-
leccs of wayside refrcshment, but he cannot com
plain Of being hurried. There is an ample al
lowance for time for breakfast or dinner, and
the most deliberate traveller finish his coffee
and smoke a cigarette before there are any signs
of commotion on the platform.
The railway to Rosario leads up the Parana,
which with the Plate forms tie Hverlne
boundary Of the Province of Bucnos Ayrcs-a
State as large as the United KINGDOM OF Great
Britain In territorial extent. population,
wealth and agricultural resources this is the
Empire State of the Argentine: Yet il seems an
unoccupied and undcyclopcd lard as one APP
proaches its northern frontier. Villages are III
frequent farm houses are small and unpre-
tentous: and there are few signs Of agricultural
activity. The province is a vasi, unbrokcn plain,
nearly 12l 900 English square miles in extent
Rapid as the movement Of immigration has bech
during the last decade even the most popuous
State has vast tracts Of unoccupied land and us
cultivated sections appear untenantcd. Inc
Argentine can support population 4 hundred
times as great as IL now has, and then II Will
not seem crowded In 1919 there were s25,492
acres cultivated and now there are 5,s99.301
acres. mainly in wheat; but amazing as the ratio
oi increase is, there is only per cent Of the en-
tire area under tillage. The number of Euro
pean Immigrants may be doubled and then
quadruped, and there will be still be an i'm
mense amount of work in reserve for subsequent
generations of agricultural laborcrs. The trav-
ellcr who passes afternoon on the road be-
tween Buenos Ayres and Rosario finds