New-York tribune., 1901-07-29
MONTEVIDEO'S HARBOR.
MILLIONS BEING SPENT IN RIVALRY OF
BUENOS AYRES
From Ainslee's Magazine.

From Ainslee's Magazine.
When President Cuestas was inaugurated his
first work to call FOR designs by which the
harbor of Montevideo might be transformed
from a windswept roadstead into a safe anchor
age. He knew this to be possible, for the water
is shallow and its area is ample to furnish shell
ter for innumerable ships If protection could he
arranged. With the designs in hand Cuestas
proceeded TO find way for the financiering Of
this important project. He called for bill
alterably setting aside a portion of the coun-
trys customs duties for the purpose. The bill
became a law. and already there is upward of
S2,oO0,0O0 in gold ready for the beginning of the
work Cuestas will see its commencement, and
for Uruguays benefit it is to be hoped that his
successor will carry on the Improvement.
For who has never visited the city by the
mouth of the Rio de la Plata it is hard to realize
the Importance of the move which President
Cuestes has fnaugurated in connection with the
Improvement of Montevideo's harbor. Time was
when this embarcadero was the most important
Of any port south of the BraZils. Behind the
bay, which is formed by the peninsula upon
which the capital is located. stretch the millions
upon millions Of acres which form Uruguay and
the Argentine, to say nothing Of the lands in
closed within the boundaries of Paraguay In
the old days all the commerce which came and
went between the outside world and these broad
pampas passed through Uruguay's port Ship
masters ended their voyages there because there
was no other place TO disembark their cargoes
And when the bowling pamperos lashed the
shallow waters of Montevideo's anchorage into
q foam rendering communication with the shore
impossible for days. these same shippers swore
great oaths and vowed never to come again to
drop their ground tackle in such a desperate
anchorage. over and over again were the
people OF Montevideo warned that sooner or
later their supremacy would be Jeopardized by
the construction of a safe harbor from which
the broad areas of the southern republics might
send out their products and exchange them for
the output of manufacturing nations But the
Uruguayan authorities only smiled. and IN their
present prosperity forgot the future. What
use" said they. "of improving the harbor when
the commerce must come here, perforce?" Then,
too, an appropriation for the Improvement meant
certainly that much less money would be left
for the greedy politicians.
while
miles up the Rio de Ia Plata, a city growing.
destined to overshadow the old capital by the
she equaled Montevideo in population.
Then she determined to have the commerce
which for generations had been stopping at the
Plata's mouth. The river at the Argentine cap
ital was shallow. but modern ideas furnished by
modern engineers solved the problem of making
deep water for a new and great port on the Rio
de la Plata. Still the UruguayanS doubted, and
when told of the work being done and the com
mercial intentions of their neighbors. they
puffed their "cigaros" and replied, "Es pos
sible, senor." Then the lawmakers went into
executive session, and with laugh at the Ar
gentine's audacity. passed a new army bill by
means Of which sundry political pichings might
be established.
Montevideo's repose was not, however. for
long. Presently her people saw the great At
lantic steamers which had formerly discharged
their goods at the citys wharves steam UP the
Plata toward where the Argentinas had spent
mllllons upon their port and system of WharVes
large enough to handle the commerce of the en-
tire southern continent.
but even this loss of trade and power did not
serve to awaken the Uruguayans to the neces-
sity of action They dreamed and figured, while
their Argentine neighbor climbed up to thrice
the population of Montevideo First they had
asserted the impossbty of constructing port
at Buenos Ayres. Then when the port was a
fact they placed their faith in a doubt about its
maintenance. II the people of Uruguay
rather than the authorities who first reached a
sense of their country's weakness, and demanded
that some Of the millions which being spent
In useless ways should go to the partial If not
thorough. restoration of Montevideo's CONNER
cial supremacy Presidents came and Presidents
which the result might be accomplished. Then
came Cuestas He asked no advice or assist
ance. For years he had studied the question
and knew that the protection OF Montevideo's
harbor was matter of good engineering His
first move was to establish the fund for the
harbors improvement. This fund was founded
by system which he himself suggested and was
rendered certainty by the passage of a meas
ure drawn and originated by the President him
self At the same time he called for plans and
now he has before him at least half a dozen any
one Of which, faithfully carried out would rem
der Montevideo an ideal port Cuestas will see
TO the beginning of the work, and the appro-
prlatlons which his laws have rendered certain
VIII furnish the means for its completion Mon
teVideo Will spend less than one-half the amount
spent by her rival in perfecting her harbor but
she Is spending a generation later. Every man
whose ideas are for the Improvement OF the
Uruguayan Republic regrets that no Cuestas
arose until the century its end. Had
the republic possessed such ruler score OF
years ago her prosperity would never have been
endangered by the operations of her enterprisng
neighbors.