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654 tween Sr. Arturo Alessandri, the candidate of the so-called Liberal Alliance, comprising the Radical and Democratic parties and a portion of the Liberals, and Sr. Luis Barros-Borgono, the candidate of the so-called National Union, made up partly of Liberals and largely of Conservatives. Sr. Alessandri was distinctly the exponent of the labour and middle classes. Sr. Barros-Borgono belonged, as had virtually all former presidents of Chile, to the dominant political aristocracy, comprising the long-established families closely affiliated with the landowners and the clergy. The election was held June 25 and the announced electoral vote was 179 for Sr. Alessandri, and 175 for Sr. Barros-Borgono. Under the constitution of Chile, as in the case of the United States, the electoral vote for president is to be canvassed by both Houses of Congress sitting jointly, and in case no candidate receives an absolute majority the power of election rests with Congress. Now with the electoral vote so close and the validity of various electoral votes questioned, a situation arose almost identical with that which occurred in the United States in the famous Hayes-Tilden contest in 1877. The Senate was openly in favour of the candidacy of Sr. Barros-Borgono, and public opinion, which had been raised to the highest pitch, demanded that the counting of the electoral vote should be delayed until the matter could be passed upon by a special court of honour, a proposal put forth by Sr. Suarez- Mujica, a former minister of Chile to the United States. Here again was a reproduction of the extra-legal election com- mission in the settlement of the Hayes-Tilden dispute. This court of honour, after a strenuous period of activity, finally decided on Oct. 4 in favour of Sr. Alessandri by a vote of five to two, as having received a majority of one electoral vote, 177 valid votes against 176. Congress accepted this finding two days later and declared Sr. Alessandri elected. For a brief period popular excitement ran at fever heat and a general strike was even instituted. The election was remarkable, alike in the manner of its final settlement and in the character of the man elected to the chief magistracy. It was remarkable also, because of the general participation of the labour and middle- class elements and a relatively greater freedom from the practice of buying votes than had ever been experienced before. It was looked upon, therefore, as a distinct triumph of democratic principles.

One further development at the close of this period is worthy of mention, namely, the relation of Chile to the League o Nations. Chile, not being a belligerent, in the World War and having adhered to her policy of neutrality, was of course not represented at the peace table. Nor was she, for the same reason, among the original members of the League. She was, however, among those specifically invited by the Covenant to accede thereto, and in his message of June 1919 President Sanfuentes approved the League. This suggestion prevailed, and Chile joined the membership of the League Nov. 4 1919. She was represented at the first meeting of the assembly of the League of Nations in Geneva Nov. 15 1920 by a delegation headed by Sr. Antonio Huneus, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was honoured with the chairmanship of the commission on the admission of new states.

Population. In the period between the census of 1895 and that of 1907 (the last official census), the pop. of Chile had increased from 2,712,145 to 3,249,279 showing an annual in- crease of 1-52%. The estimated pop. on Jan. i 1918 was 4,038,050. The greatest absolute increase was shown by the province of Santiago in which is located the capital. An increase of more than 100,000 inhabitants was recorded for that province in the interval between the last two censuses. Other provinces that showed a large actual increase were Anto- fagasta, Valparaiso, Concepcion, and Valdivia, while the prov- ince of Maule showed a decrease. The provinces of Atacama and Talca showed an estimated decrease in the to-year period from 1907 to 1917. The great bulk of the population was still comprised within the 12 provinces in the Vale of Chile from Coquimbo to Concepci6n inclusive, although Antofagasta, Valdivia, and Llanquihue showed a larger actual increase than

did any of these 12 favoured provinces except Valparaiso and Santiago and a much larger proportionate increase than any of them. The territory of Magallanes showed an increase of more than 300% between 1895 and 1907 and a further estimated in- crease of nearly 100% in the succeeding decade. The percentage of urban pop. rose from 38-6% in 1895 to 43-3% in 1907 and as the estimated population for the 47 largest towns in 1918 showed a greater percentage of increase than for the country as a whole, the process of urbanization apparently continued. According to the census of 1907 there were 134,524 foreigners in the country, representing 4% of the population. The chief nationalities represented were Peruvians, Bolivians, Spaniards, Italians, Germans, English, French and Argentinians in the order named. In the lo-year period 1907-17 there was a decline in the marriage-rate and in the birth-rate, but an even greater decline in the death-rate, so that the excess of births over deaths continued. The total excess of births over deaths in this period amounted to more than 350,000.

Provinces Tacna. Tarapaca Antofagasta Atacama Coquimbo Aconcagua Valparaiso Santiago O'Higgins Colchagua Curico Talca Maule l.indres Ruble Concepcion Arauco Bio-Bio Malleco Cautin Valdivia Llanquihue Chiloe Magallanes (Ter.)

Capitals Tacna. Iquique Antofagasta Copiapo Serena. San Felipe. Valparaiso. Santiago Kancagua. San Fernando Curico. Talca. Cauquencs. Linares Chilian Concepcion. Lebu

Los Angeles Angol. Temuco Valdivia Puerto Montt Ancud. Punta Arenas

Communications. By the end of the year 1918 there were in all 8,512 km. of railway in Chile of which the Government controlled 4,567 km. and private lines the other 3,945 km. The private lines were almost altogether in the three provinces of Tarapaca, Anto- fagasta and Atacama, in the two former of which (containing 97% of the total mileage of private railways) there were no Government- owned lines at all. Every one of the provinces had some railway mileage within it, varying from 9 km. in the territory of Magal- lanes to 1 ,840 in Antofagasta. One effect of the World War was virtually to suspend construction of all kinds of railways. In the six years 190914 the Government lines showed a loss of from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 pesos (i peso nominally is. 6d.) each year; during 1915-7 they made profits of 4,738,423, 3,687,340, and 1,061,502 pesos respectively; but in 1918 they lost 9,124,365. Dur- ing the 10 years 1909-18 the private railways showed profits from 9,000,000 to 20,000,000 pesos a year. As no explanation of

Pop.

Pop. Est.

Census 1907

Jan. I 1918

28,748

39,357

110,936

134,935

113,323

220,049

63,968

63,950

175.021

191,117

128,486

131,750

281,385

347,757

5i5,78o

627,491

93-429

125,847

159,030

163,407

107,095

"5,563

131-957

131,071

110,316

110,368

109,363

127,818

166,245

198,908

216,094

271,497

61,538

74,974

97,968

106,510

109,775

136,153

139,553

164,463

118,277

187,202

105,043

150,621

88,619

99,044

17-330

32,623

Pop.

Pop. Est.

Census 1907

Jan. i 1918

9,176

12,073

40,171

46,941

32,496

64-584

10,287

11,147

15,996

16,170

10,426

10,426

162,447

212,659

332,724

415,641

10,380

16,633

9,241

1 1 ,067

17,573

23.071

38,040

42,563

9,683

10,717

11,122

15.722

34,269

39,691

55,330

72,785

2,687

2,687

11,691

16,254

7,391

10,537

16,037

21,635

15,229

26,091

5-408

7.807

12,199

22,964