Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/915

ARGENTINA. a tenth to private companies, and the rest to the railways. There were 27,584 niiU-s of tcU'graph lines in Argentina in 1900 as against 20,415 miles in 1891. A "snow cal)le" connects Buenos Ayres with ^'alparaiso. whence a submarine cable con- nects with San Francisco, C'al. Buenos Ayres is connected with Montevideo by submarine cable, and also with Europe by way of Rio de .Janeiro and the Cape Verde Islands; and in this indirect way with the United States also. There is be- sides a cable between Buenos Ayres and Lisbon.

Banking. The first bank established in Argen- tina was the Banco de la Provincia Buenos Ayres, opened in 1822. It was followed by a number of other banks, but none of them managed to exist long, as the insignificant commerce of the country was not sufficient to maintain such in- stitutions. The real banking history of the country dates from 1872, when the Banco Na- cional, with a capital of 50.090.0(10 ])esos, was founded. In 1882 the first foreign bank, the Banco Italiano del Eib de la Plata, was estab- lished, and the growing commerce of the country soon led to the establishment of French, German, and Spanish banks, which the respective nations established in the interests of their own com- merce. By law of November 3, 1887, national banks, resembling those of the United States, were established. The creation of these banks without projjer safeguards thrown around them, followed by great abuse of the inadequate law by Government officials, soon resulted in Hooding the country with worthless pa])er money. Specula- tion on a scale that left far behind the worst features of the German flriinder fever in the early seventies, and resembling much the excesses of the days of -John Law ( q.v. ) in France, gave the country for a time the appearance of genuine prosperity; the 'boom' was skillfully utilized through the medium of the Paris Exposition of 1889 to attract still more foreign capital, and the scramble for wealth went on, imtil it culmi- nated in a financial panic. The panic swept away the numerous national banks, most of which had nothing but paper and a political "pull" with the directors of the National Bank at Buenos Ayres as their chief assets. The Na- tional Bank itself, robbed of its capital by its directors and by politicians, was declared in- solvent, and was reorganized in 1891, under the name of the Banco de la Nacion Argentina, with a capital of .$.50,000,000. In addition, there are 14 State banks. In 1899 the paper peso was fixed by the Congress of -Argentina at .44 of the gold peso, thus contributing to the stability of the currency.

Government. The constitution of Argentina, adopted in 1853, and modified in ISfiO and in 1898, is modeled closely upon that of the United States; and the entire system of government, both federal and provincial, is almost identical in its chief features with our own. The legisla- tive power is vested in a Congress consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 30 members, elected 2 each by the legislatures of the 14 provinces, and 2 by the city of Buenos Ayres. They serve for nine years, but one-third of the Chamber passes out every three years. The Lower House consisted in 1901 of 133 members, elected directly by the people for a term of four years, one-half of the House being renewed every two years. To the House of Representatives is reserved the right of initiating bills dealing with taxation and military conscription, and of impeaching the national executive and judiciary. The executive ]jower is vested in a President, elected for a ])eriod of six years by the same method as that pursued in the United States, except that the luuu- ber of electors chosen by each Province is twice (he number of its representatives in Congress. The President acts through his ministers, eight in number, who preside over the Departments of the Interior, Foreign Affairs and 'orshi]). Fi- nance (Hacienda), Justice and Pulilic Instruc- tion, War, Navy, Agriculture and I'ldilic Works. The ministers niaj' appear and s])eak in Congress, though they have no vote, and are responsible for the acts of the chief executive, whose decrees they must countersign separately or jointly. Tlirough the ministers, the President may initiate legislation in cither house. The Supreme Court of the Republic consists of five judges and an attorney-general, appointed by the President, with the approval of the Senate. It exercises similar jurisdiction to that of the United States Supreme Court.

The Provinces, fourteen in luunber, have each their own constitution, and exercise complete con- trol over their own afiairs. They possess even greater powerthan the Statesof ourUnion,in that they may conclude treaties (with the consent of Congress), for the fostering of industr', immi- gration, colonization, railways, and canals. The governor is elected directly by the people for a period of three or four years. The national do- main is divided into nine I'erritories, controlled by Congress, and ruled by governors appointed by the President. When a territory acquires a population of 30,000 it is granted the power of choosing a legislature, and when its inhabitants number (iO.OOO. it must of right be admitted as a Province with boundaries determined b_v Con- gress. For purposes of administration and police, the Republic is divided into 424 depart- ments and 1750 districts. The national capital is Buenos Ayres.

Local Government. Every community of more than 1000 inhabitants may be erected into a municipal corjun-ation. In the Provinces of Buenos .yres, Santa F(Entre Rios, San Juan, and Corrientes. the numicipalities are supreme- in the sphere of local government, and are amen- able to the Province or court only in case of a violation of a general law. The municipal presi- dents and councils are elected by the people, except the iiiteiidentc (governor) of Buenos .yres, which comprises the Federal District, who is appointed by the President of the Republic. In the other provinces the numicipalities are subject to ins|)cction and regulation liy the Government officials and judicial authorities. Foreigners are eligible to any municipal office.

Immigration and Emigration. Since 1857, when the statistics of incoming foreigners were first taken, there has been a growing stream of immigration, which swelled the country's population in the period from 1857-99 by 2,504,000 people. Immigration received a great setback in 1890, and although it has been recovering since that year it has not yet reached the liigli-water mark of the year preceding the crisis. In 1SS9 the total immigration into the country was 201,000, of whom 219,000 came by sea and 42,000 by