The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-20

and Boston boats.
There are several mail steamers a week
from here to Europe. There are others
which go south through the Strait Of Magel-
Ian and about the west coast There are
ships which win take you two thousand
miles on the rivers into the heart Of interior
Brazil and twice a week you may ride up
the Parana to the capital Of Paraguay.
ARGENTINE TRADE.
Four thousand vessels engaged in foreign
trade go in and out of the ports of the Ar
gentine every year, and the volume OF i'm
ports and exports in 1896 amounted 10 more
than 227 millions OF hard American gold dol
lars. One-fourth of this commerce was with
Great Britain, the country that does more
than half OF the whole ocean-carrying trade
of the Argentine. She sent 40 per cent. of
the imports, Germany coming next and Italy
next After these came France and Bel
GUM. and then the United States. In things
bought of the Argentine France comes first,
Belgium second, England third. Germany
fourth and the United States fifth. Our
purchases amount to about six million dol
lars a year, and our foreign trade is just
about per cent. Of the whole. Nearly all
of the business is in foreign hands. The
capital of the business houses and COM
panles amounts to hundreds Of millions Of
dollars, and their establishments are run on
business principles. The foreign banks alone
have a capital Of $50 OO,000 and am told
that nearly all of them pay big dividends
The Argentine people are up to date in
an intellectual way. The government spends
ten million dollars q year on its schools.
1t employs eight thousand teachers, and it
has over a quarter Of a million SCHOOLGIRL
dren. There are number of high schools,
three universities, two schools of agricul-
ture, a school of mines and thirty-five
normal schools. Both girls and boys attend
these schools. There are women teachers,
some Of whom came out from the United
States years since to inaugurate the normal
school. When Sarmiento was President of
the Argentine Republic, decade or so ago,
he made a study of the public school sys-
TENS of the world, and decided that that
used in Michigan was the best. He imported
a number of high-bred Yankee schoolmarms,
and now the Argentine is raising first-class
school marms Of it's own. It's normal schools
are producing more of the native VARIETY
than can be used, so there is no opening
here for additional Yankees.
The language used in the school is Span
ish. 1t is the language of the country.
Every one who has been here for year or
more speaks it, and the children, what
ever their parents may be, lisp in Spanish.
There are private schools here where not
a word of Spanish is taught, but it is the
language of the playground, nevertheless,
and many a son Of an English father and
an Argentine mother can speak nothing
else Spanish is the language of the gov
ern1aent, of business and of society. Most
Argentines can speak French, and not
e.. in TfaIi nd
lish as well.
POSTOFFICE AND THE PRESS.
The chief literature sold here is French
and Spanish. There are also Italian, Ger
man and English book stores. The country
reads the newspapers. Remember, it's pop
ulation all told is now not greater than that
of the combined cities of New York and
Philadelphia Still, it has twenty-four dali
lies and lag weeklies. Fifteen of the dailies
are published in Buenos Ayres, the leading
one, La Prensa, having circulation of re-
600 copies and another, the Diario, an even
ing paper, $1,000. There are three dailies
published in English, and one of these, the
Buenos Ayres Herald, is edited and owned
by Warren Lowe, an American The other
twelve are in Spanish. Italian. French and
German.
The Argentines are letter writer's. They
use the mails. One hundred and seventy
seven million letters passed through their
fourteen hundred and odd postoffices last
year, and their postal revenue was $50, 000,-
600. There is a fair telegraph service under
the government The telegraph lines. if tied
together would reach around the world.
They have a length of $1,000 miles, and,
with the exception Of the railroad lines,
all are in the national system.
There are plenty of telephones, too, and
the same trouble exists here as with US
that is. the telephone rates are too high. On
this account there was founded in Buenos
Ayres about ten years ago what is known
as the Cooperative Telephone Company.
In 1889 it had 1,200 subscribers; it now has
5000 It's capital has more than doubled,
and its profits last year were about $780, coo.
1t has 5000 miles of wires, most of which
are in underground conduits. This company
gives a reduction of 80 1-3 per cent. to all
business firms who are among it's stock
holders. 1t is necessary to buy about $40
worth Of the stock to get the reduction, and
the rates per telephone are $3.50 a month
in American gold Private residences and
doctors can have the same rates without
stock. Business firms not holding stock
must pay IS a month, and as the company
is now paying dividends of about per cent.
it is far cheaper to be a stakeholder.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.