The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-09

accept both or none, no matter how small the family or light the chores.
 Argentina's business is raising food for Europe, but in Buenos Ayres the prices even of the country's own products are kept up to a standard substantially equivalent to that in New York city. Argentina is the greatest exporter of meat in the world, but North Americans living in Buenos Ayres seem tos think that it costs them as much at retail as in the United States. It Is hard to make exact comparisons, because the method of cutting is different, and it is common to buy not by weight, but by the piece Bread costs as much as in the United States and twice as much as in England although it is from Argentina that Eng land buys a third of her total supply or wheat and more than half of her corn
 When one hears of Buenos Ayres prices he usually asks: Are salaries ana wages in comparison? Salaries are wages are not. That is, using the worcs in their usual sense, salaries meaning payments to men who wear collars at their work and wages the returns of those who labor in overalls. Ihere are only two classes in Buenos Ayres-uprer and lower. The self-respecting middle class-the backbone of the United States does not exist Persons who would constitute such a body in one of o IT communities expend their efforts in Buenos Ayres hanging on by the eJe lids to the upper fringe, or else give Up the struggle and sink down into tre submerged other half.
 That the business and professional classes of Buenos Ayres have money 10 spend, and occupy themselves in spend ing it. one has every evidence. Ten
 ..."t L v,.,l, -n marked to me, when we spoke of wealthy people, it was of the North Americans, the English and the Rus sans. Now we include the Argentines.
 There is no other nation In the world with a population of 6,00O,000 persons which is supporting a metropolis of one and a quarter million inhabitants, and perhaps nowhere else in the world In SO small a compass are there so, many stores filled witho costly merchandise as on the Calle Florida for the six squares from Rivadavia to Tucuman.
 Study in Froth
 Buenos Ayres Is study in froth. It Is the apotheosis of get-rich-quick sue cess-the rapidly matured fruit of pe- riod of unprecedented commercial de- velopment, accompanied by soaring land values. It is as far removed from the
  1t as the Rio de la Plata from the Tegus, There is little Spanish about it except language. Italy has supplied the most numerous element in the population, England the capital and France ;he architecture. The business section of Buenos Ayres is more crowded, almost as noisy, equally torn up and just as much pervaded with nervous, futile haste as that of New York. Racially the Ar genuine capital Is a Latin city. but in the mingling of peoples and the rush to get rich, Italian, Spaniard and French man seem to have forgotten or been afraid to assert, those national charae- terstics which make them most inter- esting at home. Nor have they evolved anything as whole to take the place. Euenos Ayres is still too young, too driv- en by strident. insistent commerciahsin to have achieved an individuality or m atmosphere.
 The dominant commercial spirit is sometimes trying even to one who has been brought up in our cities. In seeking to explain or laud their home to the stranger. the Bonaerenses always dwell on the money side. Prosperity with bis r is the burden of their remarks.
 Have you been to the races yet?' asks your Argentine friend at dinner. Go out Sunday afternoon. You will see many wel-dressed people there" It does not occur to him that a vistor coming from coco miles away might hope or wish to see something besides ''well-dressed peo- ple.''
 Like many of our own cities Bnenos Ayres' rapid growth and absorption in getting has led her Into tan5ie of municipal difficulties It would take A rash person to assert that there was any where more uncomfortable and inade- quate transportation than in New York, Yet there are at least two places in the world where 1t may he said to be as pad. One is Rome and the other is Bushos Ayres. Tn Rome the street cars don't go