El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-10

WT As I D, G; !, Dec es,f 80
battIesbips of the al-big-
gun type. as formidable as any in ex-
istence-are now being built in the
United States (at Fore river) for the
Argentine Republic. When afioat they
will make her maritime supremacy
among South American countries un-
disputed AS a further evidence of her
friendship for US. sic sent us only the
other day. for a visit her training ship
for naval cadets, the Presidento Sarmi-
ento.
Already a formidable rival of ours
as a producer of meat and breadstuffs,
times called the United
States of South Americas advancing
in prosperity oy leaps and bounds She
has plenty Of money TO spend, and is
using it freely in the development OF
her gigantic resources. Her admlra-
ton of ourselves is intense and unjis
guised. and her ambition is to achieve
greatness by following our lead.
Facts We should Know.
Her people know all about us, but
we know surprisingly little about
them Among the facts we ought to
know is that the -Argsntine is one
third as big as the United States, with
an area OF 1000. 600 sarAre miles, and
is divided up into states which, while
subordinate to the central government,
are much more Independent than are
the states Of our own union What may
be called the heart OF the Argentine,
comprising the state of Buenos Aires
and adjacent Portions of the states Of
Santa Fe and Cordoba. is a good deal
like our own plains Of Kansas. That
is 20 say, in rlysic& aspect and eli
mate. the northeastern part of this
area resembles eastern Kansas and
western Missoari. while the southwest
ern part is comparable 70 western Kan
sas To the west and northwest Of
this region is an area resembling Ari-
iona. while. Still further to the west
ward, one reaches the foothills of the
Andes belt o. very rich agricul-
turzl land. where the rainfall is album
dsnt
Has sunny Cline.
In this belt. north of latitude IS, is
q region Especially IN the states Of
Mendoza, San Juan, Rioja, and Gaia
marea1. which y much like southern
California Grapes are grown there for
wine on a great scale. and the devel-
opment Of what Is destined before long
20 be an important fruit growing in
dustry has already begun. It is a
country most attrs ctive TO the settler.
Men are becoming TnIllionaires by buy
ing UP cattle in the dry region to the
east. fattening their on alfalfa IN the
valleys Of humid cstanarea, and driv-
ing them over the mountains of north
ern Chile, for sale
The government Is building national
railroads 70 develop these districts
Andes Great reziroad systems are
also being constructed. under conces-
sions 70 foreign capital through other
parts OF the repubEc-especia the
provinces OF Buenos Aires and Cor
doba, and Santa Fe- BY this means
vast areas Of land, hitherto worth
very little. are being wondered valu-
able. Indeed. the present prosperity
Of Argentina comes manly from the
development OF lines Of transportation,
across its own territory and TO Eu-
rope. by which II is able. TO place in
foreign markets its vast output OF
breadstuffs and meat This year it will
raise 10000. 600 bushels of wheat on
its plains. and will send to Europe
from its pampa ranches. 100000 sheep
and 100000 quarters Of beef. in the
form Of frozen or chilled meat-not to
mention 1000 tons of '.jerked" beef,
dried n the sun
The Valley of the Platte.
The River Platte valley has a pro-
euctiye area greater than that of the
Mississippi valley. and its natural
transportation facilities are so admir-
able that steamers loading for Europe
can literally enter its wheat fields and
ranches. The River Platte offers a
more extensive system Of unobstructed
navigation than any other stream in
the world. and, with the exception OF
the Amazon alone, II pours more water
into the ocean It affords a greater
number Of miles Of navigable water
than all the rivers OF Europe COM
bined. and more than does the Missis-
sippi. together with its tributaries. The
tides from the Atlantic reach $50 miles
up the stream. and the largest steam
ships can find sufficient water 1000
miles from its mouth, while vessels of
% feet draught can go 200 miles into
the interior.
The grain growers of the Argentine
can place wheat on Liverpool steam
ers at a lower price than it can be
loaded for upon the lake steamers at
Duluth. and they. can stow away car