The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-20
Effect of Argentina
Boundary Row.
BUSINESS AT A STANDSTILL
A. j. BIDSTRUP TALKS OF AT
FAIRS IN SOUTH AMERICA.
Big Issue of Paper Money by the
Chilean Government Puts Big
Premium on Gold and
Silver.

A. ]. Bidstrup, who has been located in
Guayaquil, Ecuador, for some time, ar
rived here by way Of Valparaiso yester-
day the City of Para accompanied by
his wife and engaged apartments at the
Occidental. Mr.. Bidstrup was in bust
ness in Guayaquil and is on his way to
Chicago, but intends to return to South
America in the course of a few months.
He says that Chile is commercially dead
and that affairs in that country are in q
bad condition.
This bad condition." says Mr.. Bid
strip. has been brought about by vari-
Gus causes. Principal among these is the
dispute between Chile and the Argentine
Republic over the boundary. This has
been a bone of contention between the
two countries for forty years, but last
May 1t assumed a critical aspect, and
caused good-sized war scare. The prop
osition was referred to commission,
which surveyed the Cordilleras and prac-
tically established the boundary line, but
there were other questions on which the
opposing interests could not agree, and
Queen Victoria was at last appealed to TO
arbitrate the differences. The two coun-
tries say they will abide by the decision.
but Chile is very much afraid that the
Argentine Republic is not sincere in its
promise. Business interests have been
crippled by this hull-headedness over
strip of land which is really valueless 1t
is a barren tract extending from Tacne
on the north down toward the Straits of
Magellan, to a point east of Punta Are
mas, and is about twenty leagues wide,
with no habitation or vegetation, yet both
sides lay claim to 1T:
Another cause of the depressed condl-
tons is the manipulation of the money
market by a combination Of bankers. who
prevailed on the Chilean Congress to is
sue fifty million pesos in paper currency,
and the result has been that gold went up
to a per cent premium. and silver Is per
cent over the paper money. The Govern
ment established the gold standard in 1882.
and a coin of eighteen pennlques, or thir-
ty-ive cents in American money, was
was possible to buy twenty-one pesos for
IS in gold. OF course it is impossible to
carry on an importing business under
that high rate of exchange. The customs
duties are payable in gold and the Gov
eminent holds an auction every Monday
and sells the yellow metal to the highest
ity of gold. Capital is disinelined to make
investments under the existing conditions,
though there is considerable dndeVeloped
mining property.
and her citizens will be glad to tide over
the trouble. Santiago the capital, with
it's 400, 600 people, is little better off. Ar
gentine Republic is more prosperous, ana
has more resources.
''The salvation of Chile is to settle for
all time the boundary question. She must
which is rapidly draining her resources.
She has but 5000 soldiers. while Argentina
has over 10000, and though her navy is
not so great, take 1t that she would
prove victorious in a struggle with Chile.
president Errazuriz of Chile is lib
eral, but has not much power and is not
well liked. The party of Balmaceda, who
was deposed some years ago, is growing
stronger every day and at the next eiec-
ton, two years hence. 1t may assume the
reins of government.