The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-19

along about 1890, as did the Argentine
1t had one bank whose capital was $12,-
OO0,OO0. and whose stock after its failure
at that time dropped down 80 per cent
below par. At present there are num-
Der of good banks. some Of the largest
being branches Of the foreign banks Of
Buenos Ayres. Money brings good rates
of interest, and as far as I can learn all
of the banks pay dividends.
AMERICAN GOLD AT A DISCOUNT.
Speaking of money matters in Uruguay
this Is the only. country i have visited
which is on solid gold basis. In Peru.
Chile, Bolivia and the Argentine 1 got
about three dollars for. one when I pre-
sented my letter of credit at the bank
and in Paraguay when I made a draft
for 500 gold l usually received about 500
in Paraguayan money. This was very
pleasing indeed, for although the money
was not worth so much 1T went a great
deal further than the same amount when
reduced to gold. In Montevideo an
American dollar is only worth 96 cents
and for an English pound you only get
$472
Cab fares here cost fifty cents trip or
dollar an hour. In Buenos Ayres
paid only a dollar an hour in Argentine
money, and this would have been less
than thirty-three cents Uruguayan. The
result is that everything is dear and
money does not go half so far. At the
hotel I pay $3.50 day. which is almost
a gold dollar a day more than I paid at
Buenos Ayres. where the rate was So in
Argentine money. A bottle of ST. Julien
which I had the other day cost me 81,
and everything Is proportionately high.
NEW NATIONAL BANK.
There is now talk of establishing
bank with capital of $1O.0OO0oO, which
shall be under the control of the govern
ment and which will have the right TO
issue bank notes to half the value of the
capital subscribed. This bank will be
called the Bank of the Republic. 1t Will
have the right to pay its notes in gold
or silver at its own discretion, and the
president and directors are to be appoint
ed by the government. This bank will in
all probability reduce Uruguay to a silver
basis, for any such financial institution
| under South American government cam
not be trusted. The officers in power to-
day may be all right. but those who may
possibly come in by the revolution of
tomorrow all wrong A national bank
like this would always be at the mercy
of the president and there is no telling
when an executive may arise who will
not embezzle the funds. Borda, the last
president. had nothing when he was
elected. When he was assassinated his
estate was worth 50, 100000 and his widow
today has villas, farms and gold galore
Another president, I am told, stole about
S5,0O0,000 from the national bank during
his administration. He had the appoint
ment of the directors of this bank and
would send down for $4,000 at one time
AS a result of such extravaganza and
thieving running through a series Of
years, Uruguay has now an enormous
national debt. Its foreign debts amount
to more than $11S,000,000, and 1t pays upon
these in interest alone about $4,0O0OOO a
year. The debt if divided up would re-
quire the payment of s14O by every man.
woman and child in the country, or of
about $500 per family. The debt, in fact
is almost half the estimated value of
the real estate of the republic, which in
round numbers in 1895 was $275 600, 900, of
which almost half was located in the
department of Montevideo.
IS IT A PIOUS CITY?
And still Montevideo rather prides itself
upon it's thrift and its piety. 1t has
churches. a cathedral converts and hos
pitals. The cathedral is now about hun
dred years old. and 1t is as solid as when
it was built. The Church of the Immacu-
late Conception, which is forty years DID,
was constructed by the milk men and
market gardeners, and there are forty
charitable institutions, with 200 mem
bers, who spend quarter of million
dollars year Tor the poor and sick.
There is founding asylum, which
takes in $50 babies annually, and which, I
am told, burfes more than half Of them
before they get into their short clothes
The percentage Of the illegitimacy is
large, fully one-fourth of the children of
the country not being wise enough to
know their own fathers" This is largely
due to the costly marriage fees.
The state religion Is the Roman Cath
nli nd TxOt
in the bucket of Uruguayan life In Mon
tevideo alone there are 179.0O0 Catholics to
about 10000 Protestants and $4,000 others
who are of no special religion. under
stand that Protestants are well treated
and that such a thing as religious intoler-
ance is not known anywhere in the cities
NEWSPAPERS, LIBRARIES. SCHOOLS.
Montevideo is noted for it's intelligence