The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-05-25

Whoever wishes To have something
by which to distinguish Uruguay from
its many sister republics. the size and
character Of each of which are I'M
familiar - mnny OF US In Europe,
may learn 70 remember THAI II is the
smallest OF the South American
States and that II has neither noun
ta!ns nor deserts, nor antiquities. nor
aboriginal Indians Nevertheless, II is
by no means Il country TO Ia descI bed
by negatives, hut has, rs we shall
presently seq a marked character OF
Its own.
Having belonged TO the viceroyaity
Of Buenos Aires. and being peopled by
men of the same pure Spanish stock
as those who dwelt in Argentina *
would probably have continued TO be
part OF that country but for the fact
that as il Law close TO NraZil, X was
from time to time occupied and held
by the Portuguese Of that country,
sometimes by conquest, sometimes by
formal cessiou from the crown Of
Spain.
How Uruguay Got Its Nationality.
Thus its people, who had, when
part of the Spanish dominions, ~ gov
ernor Of their own under the viceroy
consciousness AS n community distinct
from their fellow -countrymen on the
opposite shore f. the Rio do Ia Plata
and the Uruguay river. They got the
name Of the Banda Oriental East
Eidel as opposed to the rest of Ar
gentina on the west side of the Uru-
quay.
When the colonists began, from
1910 EDWARDS, TO assert their indie
pendence of the crown of Spain, the
orfentales, as the Uruguayans were
then usually called. had TO fight their
own battle and fought IL valiantly.
The Portuguese of Brazil. now ally
ing themselves with Spain IN defense
OF monarchy invaded the country.
and It was their expulsion I'm 1914, IA
teh outcome of Il long struggle under
the fam GUS patriot leader Artigas, that
finally set Uruguay free
After The Argeutirles had tried more
than once to force her into their fed
GRAFTON. and the Portuguese had
again invaded and occupied the dew
astated land, Uruguay was ultimately
recognized az q sovereign State in 1928
by both Argentina and Brazil. the lat
ter now independent of Portugal. By
this time tncessallt wars and suffer
:ngs had formed n distinctive type of
character and LIT up n f1ane OF ma
stonal feeling" which has burnt strong
~ ever since.
A.Cuuntry That is a VeritabIe Garden.
with an area Of only 1900 square
miles. as against $500 in Argentina
and 8. 20s,o00 IN Brazil, Uruguay seems
Hike garden plot between two vast
estates. Bute'she ~ a 'veritablesgar-
den.
There~sss hardfysaYf. acre aof useless
ground wtthingber borders Except n
few bare hill tops md a ffew@sandy
n all SsS-x yoi la hi a
either for -cattievand eheepeor~for TIL
iage.~or for forest growth.
No~0ountry ts more favored ehy ma
fure. Tho eurface is~sently undu1at-
.ng along the sea and rises inland
sneo- swelling downs tntersected here
and there by ranges OF hills. The
abundant grass IL deerned the best1fo
cattle in all South America so for
many years rasrching was practically
the only industry Latterly. however,
"a great deal OF land has been brought
under cultivation. Wheat and maize
are the principal crops. and there are
now many vineyards.
AS the climate, whilo generally re-
seuhiing that of Central Argentina. is
tempered by the neighborhood OF the
Atlantic. the winters are less cold and
the summers cooler in Montevfdeo
chan they are on the other side of
the Plate estuary. Further north,
where Uruguay adtoins Brazil. the
midsummer heats are greater and*the
vegetation becomes subtropical.
Tt ia q cheerful country. with-scen-
cry constructed. so to speak, on a
small scale, as BELTS n small republic.
BROAD uplands Of waving grass. with
here and there tree clumps, and in
the center and north of the country
hosky elens winding through rocky
hills. make the landscape always
pleasing and sometimes romantic.
There are no great forests, no deserts,
no volcanoes, nothing half so grand
as the peaks OF the Argentine Andes
bnt nothing half so nonotonous as the
fats OF the Argentine Pampa-
A Great and Prosperous Capital.
Mont evideo. the capital, has tho
same air of freshness and cheerful
ness which belong to Uruguayan land
ecape and the Uruguayan climate II
fas grown to be "a great and prosper
ous city in respect 10 its port. which
makes IL the chief seat of tho repub-
lies commerce.
The estuary Of the River Plate is
much deeper ON this northern side
than on the southern, SO large ships
have always been Ablo TO approach
rcarer Ia this shore than they. could
do "a the Argentine. by deepening
the entrance and running out break
water, q good harbor has now been
created. accessible 70 Vessels Of ex-
ceptionHily deep draught which could
not come up to the docks in Buenos
Aires.
The city is also more fortunate IN
us size, for the ground, a dead fiat
on the Argentine side, here rises from
the shore in a slope steep enough
TO AFFORD fine views over the seas and
r. enable the church towers and
other tall buildings to present an eff
feCtive skyline
Montevideo. with It's 900. GOO inhabi-
tanfs against the 1900 of Buenos
Aires, has streets by no means SO
thronged as are those Of the Argentine
capital. Neither are the houses quite
SO high. nor is there the same sense
Of a vast country behind. pouring its
products out by this water-gate that
leads 70 Europe. But here. Just as
In Blenos Aires, everything is mod
ern. Only one public building, the
old Town hall in the chief plaza. dates
from colonial times and has, or seems
by lis qnaintness TO have. sort OF ar
fistic quality which IL absent from
the work, all French rather than