The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-06-20
~ ROGER W. BABsON.
- fRsT let me say that 1t Is fool
1 ishness for me or any m else
an i,,due N country ur even A

w I'u8t +" ''es'
city from information obtained
in q visit Of only a few days. BEFORE
] went to Argentina l had the coun-
try's statistics OF agricultural, indus
trial and commercial! growth. To these
statistics I have now added many
others. From such statistics II Ii pos
sible to Judge Argentina and Buenos
Ayres; but 1t Ia never wise to base
opinions on what one learns during a
short visit, even though one meets the
most prominent people. Hence ! urge
people to study a country's statistics
before Judging II, rather than to de-
pend upon what any one says,
whether that person has been there
ten days or ten years.
One day l talked with q Buenos
Ayres representative OF a certain con-
Germ well known in the United states.
He laughed at me n my business
friends for attempting to pass judy
Snent on Argentina after such a short
visit. Said he:
II have been down here several
months and have travelled many
thousand miles and yet ! know little
about Argentina. How can o ex-
pect to learn anything during such
Q short visit
Ny friend then turned to him IND
said:
by the way. Mr.. Blank. have you
seen the BoIctin Offcidl Resamen.
which gives each month the failure
statistics. bank clearings. unemploy-
msnt figures. &C. for Argentina
To this question Mr.. Blank replied:
mo, I have been so busy on special
---L k.r~ L. AruanXyna that I haya
not yet had time to read any dry
statistics. After I get acquainted and
thoroughly Informed "a TO conditions
then I may nav time TO study the
country's statistics"
Just think Of his mans i%gnorance!
And yet this is the attitude OF many
Of the North Americans, English and
Germans located in Buenos Ayres.
They think they know all there is to
know about this country because they
live here. / live in Boston. yet II
you were to spend one day In studying
the commercial and other statistics Of
Boston you could tell me far more
about II than ever ! knew.
Hence my first message Ia that you
give less attention to what people say
about Argentina and more to it's
statistics, which can be obtained In
English for the asking. Just write my
friend Senior Ricardo Pillado, Direc-
tor-0eneral OF Commerce n Indus
try, Buenos Ayres. My only request
n that you put a S cent stamp on
your letter instead OF letting II go with
only a 2 cent stamp. | don't want
Senior Pillado to be obliged to pay fines
for short postage such as were
assessed on me for letters received
from the United States.
Another thing: Don't depend upon
Americans. English. French or Ger
mans for your information about Ar
gentina. The Americans here have
worked hard to get a foothold and 10Y
do not want competition. Hence they
talk discouraginsly. The English are
very polite and sociable, but when It
m to our doing business In Argen-
tina they will knife any one OF us
In the back.
Certainly We should not expect en-
couragement from representatives OF
French. German. Spanish. Italian or
other races who are now well located
there. These people are not our
friends. They do not want us to butt
into the South American field. Hence
they talk pessimistically and discour-
asingly. Therefore In my investiga-
tons / have depended either on official
statistics or else upon information OBJ
tanned from Argentine friends. whom
] count among my best in the world.
In the old Biographies Argentina
was called Patagonia. and was de-
ocribed a. q barren desert, sparsely in
habited by wild s%borigines Of great
stature. The coast 10 still bleak and
unintePesting. the rivers still flow to
the sea nj the winds continue to
blow, but otherwise there is a great
change. Year by ear more and more
land has been cultivated, and now
bloodsd cattle roam the pastures.
After leaving Punta Arenas We did
not stop at m Argentine harbors,
such a. Puerto Madrin or Bahia
Blanca, but continued steadily north
ward. Travelling for three days and
nights along this shore and knowing
that when We come to the mouth OF
Ia Plata we are very nearly in the
middle Of Argentina, we began to real.
izs the size Of this South American
republic,
Tho mere figures Of area-1,l2s, 400
square miles-do not give M a very
definite idea of the extent OF this coun
try. but a comparison helps us TO real
ize 1t. II transferred to this northern
continent Argentina would cover the
Pacific coast territory from the Cana
dian line to the southern extremity OF
Mexico, including the States Of Wash
.ington, Oregon and California and all
the States Of Mexico. Or II placed In
the eastern part 1t would cover tina
section Of the United States east OF
tire Mississippi and the first tier Of
States beyond =.
l. would Uake twenty-five Pennsyl'
vanias. It's coast line is equal to a line
drawn from Key West, Fla, to Hall
FAX, Move Scotia, and It's wide range
az climatic conditions Is indicated by
thS fact that It's territory stretche!
over a many degrees OF latitude al
there are between the most southerl,
point OF Florida and the centre OF Hud
son Bay.
The climate therefore Is mostly tenn
perate with slight variations, but |
must he remembered that the northern
tip Of the republic IL within the tropic
M hat the southern extremity, a
istitude 80 degrees south, is swept b.
cold Antarctic winds. Busnos Ayre
IL In the same latitude az Cape Town
Africa. The region from the estuart
OF the Rio de Ia Plata to the outlyini
fnnthtua " tha AaIap Hamilton,