Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/526

LEFT CHILE 462 CHILE ture is remarkably jven and pleasant, and always cool at night. The S. wind blows fiercely during many days of sum- mer, dry and cold; the N. wind brings heat, tempest, and rain; other winds are unknown. Central Chile, between lat. 32° and 36°, is fertile. In southern Chile generally the land is poor, and on account of excessive rain jf hardly any value for agriculture, which, indeed, is carried on in a very primitive fashion, but the soil of the valleys, where large herds of cattle graze, is very fertile. Vines, also, grow well on the Maipu and Mapocho plains and on the hillsides, and the wines of the country are superseding in Chile the French red wines. Wheat and vine- yard products are the chief staples, but maize, hemp, barley, beans, and various root edibles are extensively cultivated. There are 95,000,000 acres of arable land and 39,362,100 acres of forest land. The farms under cultivation were 91,309 in 1916. Large irrigation canals now in process of construction will have a marked effect on agricultural production. The pi'incipal source of Chilean prosper- ity is the nitrate industry. Vast depos- its of sodium nitrate exist in the desert of Atacama. The zone has an area oJ" 200,000 square kilometers, of which only about 3 per cent, has been surveyed and the contents estimated. But in this frac- tion of the entire area 290,300,000 tons exist, of which about 50,000,000 tons have been extracted. The exports of nitrate in 1917 were 60,800,000 quintals (a quin- tal being 104.4 pounds). According to the industrial census taken in 1916 there were 21,306 indus- trial establishments in the republic, whose completed product was valued at 1,407,137,140 gold pesos (gold peso = 36V^ cents). Commerce. — The imports in 1918 were valued at £42,705,554 and the exports at £57,271,688. The chief imports were mineral products, chemical products, met- als, and machinery. The chief exports were mineral products, live stock, foods, and textiles. Finances. — The monetary unit is the peso, which has a value of 36.5 cents in United States mon'>y. The external debt of Chile, Jan. 1, 1918, was 31,035,820 pesos; the internal debt amounted to 42,- 708,193 pesos, currency. The expendi- tures in 1919 were £16,621,210 and the revenues £18,743,250. The currency in circulation in 1917 was 117,980,119 pesos. Transpot-tatiov and Commnnication. — There are 4,521 miles of railway in op- eration, and other lines under construc- tion will increase the total to 5,684 miles. Of this amount 3,541 miles is gov«rn- ment-owned. Forty-four thousand miles of telephone wire are in operation and 22,500 miles of telegraph wire. There are 21,000 miles of public roads, 660 miles of navigable lakes, and 528 miles of navigable rivers. The wireless tele- graph system includes stations at Co- quimbo, Arica, Antofagasta, Talcahuano, Valparaiso, Valdivia, Punta Arenas, Pu- erto Montt, and the Juan Fernandez Is- lands. There are 1,114 post offices that annually handle 65,000,000 pieces of mail matter. Education. — Education in Chile is in a backward state and fully 75 per cent, of the population are illiterate. The schools, which are confined chiefly to the towns, are free, but attendance is not compul- sory. The total appropriation for school purposes in 1915 was less than $3,000,- 000. In 1913 there were 3,151 public schools with an attendance of 318,000; 16 public normal schools with a registry of 2,650 pupils; 86 public secondary schools vdth 25,500 students; 11 public commercial schools with an attendance of 3,660. Besides these there are a num- ber of private schools in all the grades mentioned. Higher education is provided by the University of Chile, which has 1,300 students, and the National Insti- tute, with an enrollment of 1,200. There are also commercial and technical schools, lyceums, schools of fine arts and agricul- ture, and musical conservatories. Much of the education of the upper and middle classes is gained in private schools. The country contains 41 public libraries, with 240,000 volumes. In the large cities there are museums of natural history, and of the fine arts. There are special schools for the army and navy. Defense. — Military service is compul- sory on all males between the ages of 18 and 45. The recruits receive one year's training, then have a first reserve service of nine years, and after that remain m the second reserve until they are 45. The average strength of the army is about 18,000, and of the navy 6,000. There is an air force, equipped with 14 seaplanes and 50 airplanes. This came into being at the close of the World War, the planes being purchased from Great Britain. The navy has three battleships of about 7,500 tons each, 11 destroyers, 5_ torpedo boats and 2 training ships, be- sides colliers and auxiliary vessels. Government. — The government is that of a republic, the chief magistrate being a president, elected for five years, who is thereafter ineligible to immediate re-elec- tion. The president has a cabinet con- sisting of six member. and a Council of State of 11, six of whom are named by Congress. Legislation is conducted by a