Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-07-29
CENTENNIAL OF ARGENTINA.
Natural Features CT the country-the
People-5uenos Ayres-PoIltics and Ed
ucation.

BY observing its centennial this year,
Argentina evidently dates it's independ-
ence from the year 1910, in the early sum-
mer OF which a patriotic uprising under
Gen. Saint Martin led TO the expulsion Of
the Spanish Yiceroy and the enthusiastic
assumption of freedom from Castilian
rule. II was some time before the revo-
luton issued in the new nation, but 1910
was really Argentina's birth-year. Its
independence was not recognized by the
United states until 1923, nor by England
until 1925.
II was Magellan, the great Spanish ex-
plOrer who discovered the region of the
Rio de la Plata in 1920. but no perma-
nent settlement was made on the site Of
Buenos Ayres until 1850. It was not I'M
I'll 1900 that the Spanish king created a
high court there and appointed a cap
tain general for the provinces Of La
Plata From that time and FOR $50 years
there followed the customary system OF
Spanish misrule, which was fated to
meet its overthrow when popular pa
tience should be exhausted. And this
came in 1910. when the calling yoke was
resolutely thrown of, and a self-respect-
ing people faced their new future.
Not always with wisdom. sometimes
with disastrous and sanguiuary revolu-
tions, the new nation moved forward
Whatever refluent waves there have been
in her century Of political experience, Ar
gentina has gradually developed until to-
day she is the brightest, the wealthiest,
and the most promising Of all the Latin
republics of South America. Highly ia
vored by nature, guided largely in her
governmental affairs by the example of
the United states, with a commerce adj
vancing by leaps and bounds, and with
ungrudgng provision for popular educa-
tion Argentina has a present of which
she may we'll be proud and a future that
she may well face with fondest eXpecta-
ton.
Argentina extends through some % de-
grees of latitude, with every climatic
zone between the torrid and frigid Her
total area is about 1900 900 square miles.
In her northern provinces are great for
ests with many kinds of valuable hard
woods and numberless mines of precious
metals. Then to the south of these and
stretching between the great Andean
mountain range and the Atlantic lies the
seemingly interminable alluvial plain
known as the Pampas, embracing nearly
100000 square miles in its area.
This prairie region is fiat and feature
less. the charming diversity of many an
earthly landscape being nowhere found
in it except as 1t approaches the foot
hills OF the western mountains. Some
faint idea OF the monotony of this ex-
panse may be gained from the province
extent, as large as England, Scotland,
and Ireland combined, and with not
single hill in all the province. The mo-
notony grows depressing to the Euro
pean or North American tourist as he
looks out upon 1t hour by hour from the
car window.
But here among the succulent pampas
grasses is the natural feeding ground OF
millions Of cattle and sheep. Argentina
has more sheep than Australia. though
the Australian. Belgium takes most OF
the wool from Argentina, using It in the
manufacture of carpets.
In 1900, about 81, OO0. 900 sheep %, O00, 900
cattle, and 5000. 900 horses were roaming
the Pampas, making It one of the largest
livestock areas of the world Gradually
however. the Pampas is being broken up
into farms, some of these "estancias" en-
bracing several thousand acres. The day
OF the barbwire fence has surely come
for the Pampas. as we'll as for our great
western prairies.
These great pasture stretches are la
BILE to suffer greatly from frealSy rain
fall. Some seasons thousands Of cattle
and sheep perish from drouth. The nu-
tritious grasses are all sunburnt; the
water courses are all dry. But then
comes the "pampero"- a wild gale from
regions Antarctic, and everything is
changed. The intense heat is dispersed.
and the air is simply delightful The
streams are full to their banks, and the
grasses grow as II by maggie
1t is an easy task TO build railways over
these level reaches, and Argentina has a