The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-23
100 YEARS AGO

A century ago Europe was convuIsed by war; the nations, fired by patriotic zeal. had risen in arms against the Corsican, who was entering upon the final stages of that struggle in which Chance and Fate conspired to wreck the fortunes of their former king;;'' Great Britain and. the United States were at war on land and sea, and the border country between the states and Canada was scene of bloody con- hict
 Down below the equator an almost important struggle was raging, and 1t was not unconnected with the con vulsions of the northern hemisphere. Argentina is preparing to celebrate, a year from Sunday. the centenary of its first great victory in the war for independence from spanish rule. In this battle of June p, 1874, as decisive as Waterloo. the Spanish troops were were forced to abandon the fort of 4Tontevideo. their last stronghold in La Plata Provinces.
 The centennial of the beginning of the Argentine war for independence was celebrated three years ago. .In 1sOe British troops captured the city of Buenos Ayres. The Argentines appealed to Spain for aid, and were told that they must protect them selves This they. did so successfully that the British were forced to capit- ulate The disturbances which ulti- mateIy. led to the war for freedom were initiated by the refusal of the Argentines to acknowledge Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain. The Span ish viceroy was deposed by the adher- ents of Ferdinand VIII Having thus learned their own power, the Argen- tines determined to throw off all Euro pean alliances, and in 1s1o was formed the Provisional Government of the Provinces of the Rio de Ia Plata. A century ago this year the republic was formed, with Posadas as dictator. On June g, 1914. the Spanish forces were decisfvely defeated. ands after a period of civil strife between monar- chists and republicans, independence was finally achieved in 1s16. and the Argentines turned their attention to freeing their neighbors, Chile and Peru
 A century ago Buenos Ayres. al- though founded in 15s6 was still a mere collection of rude huts and how els. Today the capital of the great republic which was fighting its way to freedom in ISIS is the most magnif- cent municipality of the New World. That North Americans are generally ignorant Of this fact was illustrated at a recent examination of school teach CTS Asked to name the five largest cities of the two Americas. not sim gle pedagogue included Buenos Ayres in the list Yet the luxurious and beautiful Argentine capital stands forth in population among Hhe cities of the New World. and is the home of 1,s6o. .406 people. Some idea of its size may be gained from the statement that 1t is larger than Montreal, San Francisco and New Orleans combined. equal in population to Boston and St. Louis together. and as large the seven greatest cities of Canada com bined. Among the cities of the world it stands twelfth. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that another South American city, Rio de Janeiro. stands fifth in population among the cities of the New wor1d-another fact that had escaped the attention of the peda- gogues referred to-
 It may be well to add that if any reader doubts the accuracy of these statements, and desires to make a personal investigation, 1t will be well % go to Buenos Ayres we'll supplied with cash, for the high cost of living is higher in the Argentine capital than in any other city in the world.