Chapter VII: Finance and Commerce

Susceptibility of South America to conditions of the European
money markets; early fear of Balkan complications—Relatively bad
times—Transient “crises”—August, 1914—Protective measures—“It’s
an ill wind that blows no one any good”—Still further insistence
on the need of agricultural population—Currencies—The Argentine
“Conversion” Law—Former gold speculation and banks of
issue—Golden opportunity for British trade—A South American view
of the Monroe doctrine—The “Hustler”—British manufacturers and
the South American trade—How to lose it—How to keep it—Uruguay’s
creditable reputation—General commercial conditions in Argentina
and Uruguay—The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange—Gambling—Sound
securities: the Argentine Hypothecary Bank, and National,
Provincial, and Municipal Debenture Bonds—The new and the old
Buenos Aires corn exchanges—More about the “Bolza”—Fictitious
booms—A great bear—The death of public speculation—Cedulas _and_
Cedulas—Credito Argentino 93

CHAPTER VIII

RAILWAYS, PORTS AND IMMIGRATION

An _Imperium in Imperio_—Foreign capital in River Plate
railways—Gauges—The “Mitre” Law—Luxurious travelling—An U.S.
Syndicate—Argentine national railways—The Transandine and Entre
Rios lines—The projected southern transandine line—Maritime
accessibility of the River Plate Republics—Chief ports—Spanish
immigration 122

CHAPTER IX

GENERAL STATISTICS

Increase of trade during past two decades—United Kingdom imports
of grain and meat—U.K. exports, showing importance of Argentina
and Uruguay—British capital invested in Argentina during first
half of 1914—Trade of the U.S. with S. America—U.S. exports,
showing importance of Argentina—Argentine imports from Europe in
1913—The rich productiveness of Uruguay—Increase of Argentine and
Uruguayan exports—Public works and small budget surpluses—Buenos
Aires commercial and industrial census, 1914; bread and
smoke(!)—Italian and Spanish retail traders—Russians and Jews 127