r=
SUNSET AT RIO HARBOR
UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
BY
CLAYTON SEDGWICK COOPER
Author of "The Man of Egypt," "The Brazilians and
Their Country" "American Ideals"
etc.
ILLUSTRATED
NEW XBJr YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
Copyright, 1918, By George H. Dorm Company
Printed in the United States of America
TO ROBERT SCOTT
ONE OF THE MOST THOUGHTFUL OF FRIENDS
385040
PREFACE
EDITH WHARTON, speaking of the French nation, has given, to my thinking, a most excel- lent rule for those who attempt to write of nations other than their own :
There are only two ways of judging the character, of a people: either, if one is of them, by finding the clue to their idiosyncrasies in one's self and one's ante- cedents; or, if one is a stranger, by seeking it in the contrasts between the aspirations and the results of the race one is studying and those of one's own people.
He who writes about foreign people, saves himself from ineptitude, if not from downright impertinence, by the use of sympathetic imagination. Dogmatism, provincial opinion and sweeping generalisations are ruled out on the start for him who brings eyes for really seeing alien nationalities. Convictions of course are possible and necessary; providing the observer has acquainted himself with the historical background of a country, and stayed long enough, and not too long, in the land to meet a wide circle of diverse populations, bringing to his experience some knowledge of men and a trained observation.
Yet there are various ways of expressing personal convictions relative to a foreign people. The Ger- man who styled the Latin Americans in general as "thinly veiled Indians," and the man who visited the
vii
viii PREFACE
West Coast hurriedly during the South American win- ter and returned to his homeland to write of his ex- periences under the title, "To Hell and Back," were not in either case exactly fitting examples of the way to express conclusions about our neighbours to the south.
On the other hand, it is a mistake to believe that foreign peoples are averse to being written about, pro- viding they are not ridiculed or held up to caricature. It is quite generally recognised that the observation of a foreigner fixes upon certain facts and traits unre- garded or seemingly insignificant to the native inhabi- tants. These trifling details to which the dweller in a country has become too accustomed to note, often throw the needed light upon a nation's characteristics. The unfamiliarity of the alien observer with the people and section studied, fits him for his task.
In these times, furthermore, it is not only the his- torian and trade expert who are impelled to study the character and acts of other nationals. The war has dissolved territorial and geographical barriers and stirred social and national conditions so deeply that the average reader is startled out of his isolation and localism. He is made to realise the world at large in which every man with any pretension to citizenship or patriotism forms an integral, vital part. A nation is coming to be considered something more than an ani- mated business machine. When millions of men are laying down their lives for an ideal, there is necessarily a growing necessity to understand the underlying nature of the nations with whom we are fighting or having relationships — their traits, their traditions, their history, their institutions, and even their prejudices
PREFACE ix
begin to loom larger and larger. National idealism becomes the fountain head of national industrialism. The dreams of a people secure a place alongside of their accomplishments; the soul becomes the measure of national manhood and the index to national action. At Chicago in 191 6 President Wilson said:
America has no reason for being unless her destiny and duty be ideal. It is her incumbent privilege to de- clare and stand for the rights of men. Nothing else is worth fighting for and nothing else is worth sacri- ficing for.
It has been in order to reveal certain of the prin- ciples actuating the men of South America, as well as to describe the tendencies and conditions of their lives and country that this book has been written. It is still too literally true that Americans in general are blissfully ignorant of the real motives that actuate our southern neighbours. We have been too accustomed to think of South Americans from what we have been pleased to consider a higher plane. As a rule we have not realised that in many respects South Americans are superior to North Americans, both as to their ideals and the manner of life in general. One meets fre- quently with foreigners, who know well these people, from whom the opinion is gained that the educated classes are better educated and are sounder in their whole view of life than are our own inhabitants.
It has been too common also to judge foreign na- tions according to our own standard and to consider that our standards, both ethical and commercial, are absolute ones. It is easy to overlook the fact that each nation has its own standards of morality, as well
X PREFACE
as its own rule of commercial ethics, possessing a form of wit and culture, and general estimate of life, as dis- tinct as is its language and its history. It is impossible to begin to understand foreign people until we have made some progress in learning their historical back- ground, the things that seem good in their eyes, their language and their modes of doing business.
In our trade relations, also, with the South Amer- icans we have been too inclined at times simply to sell goods to them, and as one South American put it, "to forget that we must sell goods and service together" if permanent trade is to be maintained. After the war we shall have the greatest opportunity ever afforded us to prove our ability to compete with Euro- peans in South American trade. Unless we are most alert and reveal, not only by the price and quality of our goods, but also by our mental attitude to Latin Americans that we really wish to do business with them, our capable European competitors will take away from us even that which we have gained. Undoubtedly the chief and underlying commercial needs at present are American banking facilities in South America and bet- ter transportation arrangements between the two sec- tions. However, unless we as a people can show ourselves capable of securing the point of view, so different from our own, of our southern neighbours, we shall find advance difficult.
A prominent Brazilian, writing recently concerning what he considered the fundamental necessity for se- curing better relationships of all kinds between North and South America, said:
"You people of the North must learn to trust Latin
PREFACE xi
Americans as you trust and have confidence in your brother Americans. You must learn to realise that we are worthy of your confidence, and that in point of honour we do not take second place to any other na- tion."
In the following pages I have tried to point out some of the leading characteristics and tendencies of the South Americans who represent many diverse types and sections. The German "penetration" has been studied; and the South American institutions and in- dustries. I have tried to give some inkling of the national background and the natural resources, of the methods of doing business, the place that Americans and other foreigners have gained in trade, as well as indicating certain results of study and contact with many representatives of the Southern Republics con- cerning present day requirements.
Clayton Sedgwick Cooper. New York City.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I GETTING ACQUAINTED 19
II THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 3 1
III THE GERMANS IN LATIN AMERICA 47
IV BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA .... 72
V TWO MOUNTAIN REPUBLICS — THE ECUADORIANS
AND BOLIVIANS 87
VI THE PERUVIANS 106
VII NATURAL RESOURCES OF PERU 117
VIII THE INDIAN OF PERU 1 24
IX CUZCO AND THE INCAS OF TO-DAY I35
X LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF THE ANCIENT INCAS . . 1 52
XI CHILEAN MEN 164
XII SANTIAGO, THE CITY OF ARISTOCRACY . . . 1 78
XIII BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST . l88
XIV PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE . . . 208 XV THE ARGENTINES 227
XVI BUENOS AIRES — THE CITY DE LUXF .... 248
XVII THE SOUTH AMERICAN COWBOY 261
XVIII URUGUAY AND THE URUGUAYANS 269
XIX THE MEN OF BRAZIL 284
XX BRAZIL — AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 298
XXI AUTOMOBILING IN BRAZIL . . . . . . . 3 12
xiii
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
XXII THE SEA THAT GUARDS RIO 323
XXIII SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN 328
XXIV THE RELIGION OF THE SOUTH AMERICANS . . 34I XXV SOUTH AMERICANS AT SCHOOL 366
XXVI THE AMERICAN CONSUL AND HIS WORK . . . 395
XXVII WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS 402
ILLUSTRATIONS
sunset at Rio harbour Frontispiece
PAGE
THE BULL RING, LIMA 38
THE JOCKEY CLUB STAND, HIPPODROME, BUENOS AIRES 38
"LAS BALSAS" REED BOATS, LAKE TITICACA .... 90
MASKED DANCERS AT CARMEN ALTO DURING CARNIVAL . I38
RUINS, PALACE OF THE INCA, CUZCO I38
A PATAGONIAN TRIBE OF SOUTHERN CHILE . . . . 170
ARICA, THE TERMINUS OF THE NEW CHILEAN RAILROAD
FROM LA PAZ I92
PRIMITIVE PLOUGHING IN CHILE 1 92
ALVAER AVENUE IN BUENOS AIRES 232
THE GAUCHO AS A WANDERING MINSTREL .... 264
A GROUP OF GAUCHOS AT A COUNTRY ESTATE . . . 264
AVENUE OF ROYAL PALMS IN RIO DE JANEIRO . . . 29O
AVENIDA RIO BRANCO — RIO JANEIRO 3 02
THE BAY OF BOTAFOGA AND THE CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO
BY NIGHT 302
CATHEDRAL FROM PLAZA, LIMA 35O
INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL, AREQUIPA 350
A CLASS IN AN AMERICAN GIRLS* SCHOOL IN SANTIAGO . 372
THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, SAO PAULO . . . -372
xv
m
m
•
UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
CHAPTER I
GETTING ACQUAINTED
The happiness of the world, as well as its peace, will be pros moted when men learn to look at world problems not from the viewpoint of their own nation alone, but from that of other nations as well. — Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler.
IT has been said with good reason that the portrait that one nation paints of another is likely to appear a libel or a caricature to the sitter. This applies with peculiar force to the two Americas.
Neither of the Americas have had a square deal, the one from the other. Far too much ignorance, ridicule and national prejudice have been mixed with the col- ours to get a clear picture.
We have never really known each other. I once knew an Englishman who took a peculiar and inveter- ate dislike to another Englishman. A friend of the two men contrived to bring them to the same club in London one day, and taking my English acquaintance
aside said, "I want you to meet Mr. whom you
dislike."
19 ,
20 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA!
My friend replied, "I absolutely refuse to know him, — Why, how do you suppose I can hate him if I get acquainted with him?"
It has struck me as significant that the North Amer- icans who really know best our neighbours to the south usually like them. They are often enthusiastic in their praise of the Latin Americans, and even when they point out their faults, it is with something of the attitude with which your real friend knows all about you and still loves you.
During a recent year south of the Rio Grande, I noted repeatedly a similar tendency among the South Americans who had visited or lived for some time in the United States. I have never heard the natural- born "boomer" of our great West rhapsodise over his particular state as some Latin Americans now glorify everything made in North America. I even met a Chilean of an old family in Valparaiso, who on re- turning recently from New York, brought along an entire steam-heating plant which he installed in his house I This fact impressed me as most promising toward better inter-American relationships, since this was the only house on the whole West Coast in which I was able to keep warm enough to really enjoy life. The gentle reader may think this is a joke. It is not. I never was so continuously cold in all my life as dur- ing the months spent travelling about this particular sec- tion during the Peruvian and Chilean winter. Even though it has taken several centuries, more or less, for one open minded and sensible Chilean to have been raised up by a divine Providence to visit the United States and get his hands and feet warm, and determine
GETTING ACQUAINTED 21
to pass on this comfortable sensation to generations yet unborn, no one has the right to lose confidence in the influence of international contact.
Yet, important as it may seen to be to the man from the "States" that he duplicate as far as possible the living conditions he left behind him in a steam-heated apartment, it's not the house, the furnace, the stucco work on the front of the building, or the existence or absence of the patio in the middle of it, that is primal and vital to mutual understanding. It is the man who lives in the house that counts. What he is and why he is it, what he thinks and why, what are his ideals and ambitions and how he is forging toward them in his particular environment — these are of first moment — these were the things I tried to find out in my visit to the South Americans.
This kind of knowledge is harder to get than statis- tics of birth rates and trade balances; the men who have succeeded best in doing business with Latin Amer- icans tell me that these are also more important for any permanent progress in commercial dealing. To study the characteristics of the kind of men who inhabit South America is also of quite as much consequence as to study the country itself. In fact a traveller who may be able to tell you the length of every river, the height of every mountain and every climatic and geo- graphical detail from Para to Patagonia, may still be as ignorant of the inner motives and springs of action of this diverse people, as he was before he set his foot on South American soil.
And this for the simple reason that, through the working of forces over which humanity seems to have
22 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
slight control, the Latin Americans do not seem to belong logically to the country in which fate has placed them. In Japan the land and the sky and water seem to be at once the suitable setting for a race of men such as we find there. The country appears to be made to order for them. The one is reflected in the other; if you found any people about Miajima, Nikko, or anywhere in the long graceful shadows of Fuji who were not artistic, romantic, beauty-loving and patriotic, you would feel the anachronism.
How unlike is the condition in Latin America ! Here are seventy millions or more of people, in whose veins flows the original mixed blood of Latin and Moor, naturally a race of thinkers, poets, politicians, theorists, inapt for scientific or agricultural or indus- trial pursuits, set down in a vast unconquered continent of physical opportunity. With an early settlement made by a promiscuous lot of adventurers, freebooters, and spendthrifts, who never did any work at home and came to South America to loot and to kill, carry- ing away everything they could transport, these young republics had no inheritance of colonisation or self government worth mentioning. Yet they were called upon suddenly to control and govern unfused and diverse populations, whose inheritance had been bureaucracy, office-seeking and living as easily as pos- sible on favouritism.
With huge mountains to tunnel and thick forests and jungles to subdue, with arid lands to irrigate, and pesti- lential and fever-stricken tropical areas to cleanse, with a country of natural resources second to none on the planet, requiring miners, and manufacturers, foresters
GETTING ACQUAINTED 23
and farmers of the first grade, here is a fateful anomaly of residents who inherited the strong feeling that manual work was for slaves and coolies only, that a polite profession, like law and literature or politics, was the only vocation for a gentleman. These people regarded commerce, industry and agriculture, while necessary, as undesirable as they were distasteful to temperaments, in which the practical, the utilitarian, and the scientific had received little or no attention for generations.
It is a wonder that with a country, seemingly as un- fitted as it well could be, in its needs, to the traits and faculties of the people who were responsible for its subjugation and development, the Latin Americans have been able as quickly as they have, to make such beginning of governments and institutions.
It is fair to state that among the means which have been pre-eminent in acquainting the two Americas with each other has been the Pan American Union in Wash- ington. It has not been an easy task nor has it been altogether a popular one that Mr. John Barrett and his excellent staff have had before them in their en- deavour to bring together in knowledge and co-opera- tion the United States and Latin America; yet since the first Pan-American, conference held in Washington in the winter of 1889 and 1890, when Secretary of State James G. Blaine presided, there has been a con- tinuous and ever enlarging service rendered by this Union having the comprehensive purpose of "develop- ing commerce, intercourse, friendship and peace,', among the republics of the Western Continent.
The Pan American Union with its official organisa-
24 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
tion of twenty-one American republics, maintained by their joint quotas based upon population, is controlled by a Governing Board which is composed of the Secretary of State of the United States, who is Chair- man ex-officio, and the Diplomatic Representatives of Latin America in Washington. The Union is ad- ministered by a Director General elected by that Board, who, in turn, is assisted by a staff of experts in Pan American matters and subjects. The value of the service which it renders is signified by the fact that the daily list of visitors averages between 500 and 1000, and its yearly correspondence of letters, period- icals and circulars reaches the total of 100,000 to 500,000. All those desiring information and seeking a better acquaintance with these people would do well to keep in mind this Union which is devoted so thor- oughly to the cause of more perfect relationship be- tween the United States and the States in the Southern hemisphere.
When we inquire as to the kind of people South Americans are, their success at making nations, their place in trade and commerce, and their future, we are brought to consider the racial history and present re- lationships of varied nationalities in South America. No doubt in the southern half of this continent there is being attempted at present a melting together of races such as is not found in any other part of the civilised world. At the bottom of this melting pot we find the pure Indian, constituting approximately nine millions of the forty-five millions of the inhabitants of the South American republics. In Brazil and espe- cially in the republics bordering on the Caribbean
GETTING ACQUAINTED 25
Sea, the negro may be placed also alongside the Indian. These are the workers of the soil, the diggers in the mines, the "hewers of wood and the drawers of water" in this vast southern continental area.
While there are exceptions, of course, it may be said in general that these races in the substratum of society, by reason of lack of education or personal initiative, are without a voice either in the making of laws or the formation of opinion. To be sure, civil rights are theirs, on the statute books, but they have not as yet claimed their rights. In some cases tropic- ally indolent, in others crushed in spirit by the domina- tion and practices of their conquerors, the Indian and Negro of these regions may be eliminated from the body of intelligent nationmakers. Economically they are at present indispensable, in countries like Peru, Bo- livia and Brazil, but education and training in respon- sible citizenship has not reached them as yet to any appreciable extent. In certain places the Indians are less advanced than in the days before the Spanish con- querors wrested from their hands the great Andean plateaus. Like the populations generally, their re- ligion is nominally Catholic, but their forms of worship are tinged highly with the magic and the superstitious rites and ceremonies handed down from their distant ancestry.
The next layer in the melting pot is that of the mestizo, or the mixture of European blood with the South American Indian or the African Negro. This mixture is of many degrees, and it may be roughly estimated as composing thirteen or fourteen millions of the total population, though it is of all things difficult
26 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
here in these countries to say precisely where the de- marcation lies between the mestizo and the pure white populations. In this middle layer of racial society, much of the national evolution and racial characteristic of the inhabitants is now in process of development. It is here that the old Spanish and Portuguese strain of blood, mingled with the Aborigines particularly, is revealing the distinctive traits of a new race evolving under peculiar historical, racial and geographical con- ditions. This class of population cannot be considered in the category of the half-caste or Eurasian of the East, for many of the enlightened and cultured leaders of South America point with pride to the racial link binding them to Indian ancestry.
One of the most honoured of Brazilian judges said to me with no evidence of aught but pride, "I am a caboclo!" This tincture of Indian blood flowing in his veins is held by him as by many another, a sign of strength and not of weakness.
The upper layer of white racial stock may be said to comprise about fifteen millions of the inhabitants, though if we estimate the racial conditions by separate countries, the results would be quite different. Uru- guay and Argentina, for example, show almost an entire white population save for the Argentine Indians in the North of the big republic, while the sturdy Araucanian Indians of Chile have ceased largely from being a factor in the racial intermixture of the country, being isolated somewhat as were the Indians of the United States. In Bolivia and Peru, on the other hand, there are at least three and a half million Indians,
GETTING ACQUAINTED 27
and one and a half million of mestizos, out of a popu- lation of six millions.
Paraguay is even more an Indian republic. The Guarani Indian language is the most common tongue, and throughout the long stretch of the Andean table- lands and lofty altitudes from Ecuador to Chile and Argentina, it is stated that less than one fifth of the Indians are able to speak Spanish, but retain their mother tongues of Quichua, Aymara or local Indian dialects.
It is only as one holds in mind these racial facts that any worth while judgments and analysis of South Americans can be attempted. It is apparent that a civilisation that possesses at the top peoples of the highest culture and standards of life, bearing compari- son with those of any other part of the world, and at the bottom so large a population still sunk in ignorance, and in some cases for considerable areas in abject savagery, is difficult of generalisation. There is far more dissimilarity between populations in various South American republics, and in some cases between the peoples of the same republic^ than is found between many European countries; there is far more of differ- ence than between the most diverse of the population of North American states.
Yet there are several lines of characteristic running through all of the social and political life of these southern republics, marking off the section as a whole from other parts of the world.
One of these is the virtual absence of prejudice against colour. The distinctions among South Ameri- cans are those of rank or class, not of the colour of a
28 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
man's skin. A South American of the upper classes who might marry an Indian, would probably lose something of his standing, very much as an American might by intermarrying, making a mesalliance, with his serving woman. But his case in no wise would be aggravated by reason of marrying a woman of colour other than his own. South America is particularly free of racial antagonisms because of the colour ques- tion. Indians and negroes are treated differently so- cially than almost anywhere else in the civilised world to-day. The man of half blood, or even the full- blooded Indian or the Negro, is given rank according to his accomplishments or degree of intelligence. I have met negroes in the Academy of Letters among the Forty Immortals of Brazil, and I have seen in many other countries men in public life highly honoured and revered, whose facial lines bore the distinct marks of their Indian ancestry. Another sign of the absence of colour distinctions, as we feel these here in the north, is the tendency in South America to count all persons usually denominated as mestizos among the white populations.
It is furthermore a mixed Latin and Oriental culture, one finds in these regions. The attitude of the Latin American to the saving or use of time, for example, could be amply illustrated by any observant business traveller or visitor in these southern republics. We have met many Latin Americans who have reminded us of Stevenson's wish that heaven would be a place where he would not have to keep any hours. The North American's time-saving habits are a puzzle to many people residing in Eastern or South American
GETTING ACQUAINTED 29
latitudes. The President of a certain South American republic visited a large industrial plant not long ago, which enterprise was being carried on by an American. During his inspection he had reason to call attention to a matter needing attention in order to comply with the country's laws.
The industrial manager said he would attend to the business, but sometime afterwards the President called his secretary and inquired as to whether the required changes had been made. The secretary responded:
"Surely they have been made. Did not Senor say
he would do it? He is an American, and Americans always tell the truth."
The President was thoughtful for a few minutes, and then said, half to himself, "I have it now. The Americans tell the truth in order to save time. If you don't tell the truth you always, sooner or later, lose a lot of time in explaining things. Americans like most to save time, therefore they tell the truth."
One soon learns that, among Latin Americans, the more leisurely and courteously one does a thing the sooner and more pleasantly will it be accomplished. Save in the largest business centres, there is an absence of strain and stress such as characterise life in northern latitudes. Pleasure, friendship, family-life, and for- malities bulk larger. Business is more effective among the South Americans than we are led at times to sup- pose, but one does not receive the impression that it occupies the front of the stage, so politely and gra- ciously is it carried along. More than one northern trader who has tasted the free and happy hospitality of a South American home, or has learned here that
SO UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
quality of life and accomplishments as well as quantity, counts in the long run, has returned home with some regret to his usual strenuous routine,
"That vain low strife Which makes men mad, the tug for wealth and power, The passion and the cares that wither life And waste its little hour."
The South American, with his quieter and more leisured existence, doubtless has turned his attention too completely to politics, literature and the arts in the environment of culture, copying the flowering of Old World foundations, forgetting at times that the practical bases of his agricultural and industrial empire are not yet securely laid. It is to be hoped that in the present widespread awakening to commercial and economic matters, he will not inherit the slavery along with the efficiency.
CHAPTER II
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN
We have been misjudged, we have been misrepresented at all times. And all because our critics have failed to look into our early histories and ascertain the why and wherefore of the present state of affairs. — Senor Don Frederico A. Pezet, former Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States from Peru.
SOUTH AMERICANS are at heart as chivalrous as the Japanese. Their patriarchal customs, home life, gift-making, and treatment of the elder members of the family, remind one of China. Their love of colour and romance is quite East Indian, while the semi-seclusion of women, found especially on the West Coast, is evidently a vestige of those customs with which a Moorish culture marked the Iberian Peninsula for several centuries.
The climate of many portions of the southern Western hemisphere also suggests the East. One finds a pageantry of beauty and radiant warmth of sun and air germane only to tropical skies. The balmy nights beneath the Southern Cross may not be more wonder- ful than those under the more sombre, elevated northern skies; yet they belong to one's feeling more than to one's reason. To many a nature and tempera- ment, these lands of sunshine and palms speak directly
31
32 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
to the heart and to the emotions; they associate them- selves easily with subtle and remote things — age, mys- tery, imagination, and all things antipodal to the push- ing practical life of the North and West. The tropics are for dreams as other places are for work.
The mental endowments of the Latin Americans are also more in line with Oriental than with Occidental characteristics.
The South American is theoretical rather than prac- tical. In his indirect and round-about approach to a subject, he is like the Oriental, as he is unlike the man of the Occident. He seeks the prettiest road rather than the shortest one to a given point. He loves dis- play, and has a penchant for the literary and artistic, rather than the industrial and scientific. There is an ingrained love of politics throughout South America, and the men are talented in oratorical and rhetorical matters, while in literature and languages they easily surpass in their aptitudes the men of the business civili- sation of the United States.
As devotees to form and to the courteous at all times, the South American is proverbially correct. I knew of a large manufacturing house in the "States" which lost recently a very large order for goods because the agent, sent down to deliver the order, forgot the usual politeness of taking off his hat when he entered the Latin American's office, calling the dignified Latin American, "Old Man," and whacking him familiarly on the back, with true Middle West fervour.
The Oriental trait of saying the pleasant thing is very common. The South American believes and works on the principle stated by St. Francis de Sales :
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 33
"It is better to hold back a truth than to speak it ungraciously." It is a land of compliment, ofttimes of polite flattery, and handshaking, embracing, and inquiries as to your friend's health, family, and social matters are seldom forgotten as preludes to the most important and pressing business. In dealing with any one south of the Rio Grande, it is well to recall the old motto of William of Wyckham — "Manners maketh the man."
No East Indian or Egyptian is more eager to secure a position with the Government than is the South Amer- ican. The predominance of law schools over any other branch of training reveals the tendency. Poli- tics is a gentleman's vocation, and officialdom holds a place of eminence that North Americans have never given it. It is natural that favouritism should follow in the train of such inclinations. One of the foes to progress in South America to-day is the overloading of Government positions, and the abnormal place that friendship holds as a key to securing office, regardless often of suitable personal qualifications. When it comes to a knowledge of law, especially a thorough acquaintance with historical background and the theory of politics, the Latin American is noteworthy. Here, as in most other places, there is need of men of unselfish devotion to execute the laws, and even a greater need of unification and co-ordination of political measures, as between states and the federal governments. In Brazil, for instance, where the export duties vary widely in different states, and in Peru, where taxation of foreign business is inclined to follow somewhat capriciously the prosperity of the business, modern sta-
34 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
bility of trade is handicapped and frequently unsettled.
Apart from the certain influences of Oriental civili- sation that South America has inherited from Spain and Portugal, where the traces of the Moslem and the Moor are more generally evident than in any other part of Europe, there are scientists who trace the early settlements of this country by way of the Behring Straits from Far Eastern sources. There is historical evidence to prove a racial stream, with distinct Mon- golian and Malay features, from Eastern Asia, flowing down the Pacific coast and finding a habitat in the lofty Andean sections. The Cuzco Indians, as well as the native tribes found to-day in Brazil and Paraguay, re- mind the traveller of the facial types and habits of life found in many islands peopled by Malaysians, while one takes photographs of life, among the lower orders particularly, that might be duplicated in many parts of China or southern Asia.
If one is looking for Orientalism in South America, he will find it in the music in rural districts that bears the minor strain and rhythmic beat of the East. Bur- dens are carried on the head, as in many equatorial regions. The mantas of the women, the sandalled feet of the working classes, the highly coloured costumes of tropical sections in Brazil and Bolivia, the presence everywhere of much jewelry, the use of the mud hut, and primitive carts and bullocks, the farming utensils, the water-jars, the absence of privacy in the homes, and the ready volubility of all classes, are all indicative of inheritance and models absent from the northern parts of the Western continent.
In Bogota, Harry Franck tells of the customs of per-
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 35
ambulating students, studying as they walk about, as do the students in Ceylon and certain parts of India :
"We had only to glance out of our window/' says Mr. Franck, "to find . . . the plaza below always alive with students from the local institution of higher learning for males, marching slowly back and forth conning the day's lessons. The fireless houses are cold and dungeon-like, particularly in the morning, and the city long ago formed the habit of studying afoot. The racial dislike of solitude and the eagerness to be seen and recognised by their fellows as devotees of learn- ing may also have some part in a practice that many a Bogotano continues through life. It is a common- place to pass in almost any street men even past mid- dle age strolling along with an open book in one hand and the inevitable silver-headed cane in the other."
The South American is as easily a poet, a musician, a painter, a politician, or some kind of literary person, as the North American becomes without effort a me- chanical expert or a business man. The type of mind in the one case is spiritual and literary; in the other it is practical and scientific. The qualities are com- plementary and in their union there resides one of the richest possibilities of pan-Americanism.
Definite examples of Orientalism are strewn thickly along the path of the traveller through these southern republics.
Utility disappears before ornateness in many cases. I have visited high officials in certain parts of western South America, in homes that were scarcely surpassed in gorgeous appointments by palaces in Europe, and the rooms were so cold that everybody perforce had to wear their overcoats to keep from freezing.
$6 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
It is proverbial that no business or anything else can be done in these parts without buildings that are as big and dignified as they are pretentious. I visited a missionary school that the president said was doomed until they could secure a better building and situation, as the Latin American youth would not under any circumstances be caught either going in or coming out from a structure so common-place. The houses of business have a palatial look, and a New York sky- scraper would seem an irretrievable blot on the land- scape of a Latin American city, no matter how con- venient or useful it might be for business purposes. Even small houses are often covered on the front with stucco work and elaborate designs, all of which is in glaring contrast to the rear portion of the dwelling, that is out of sight.
The South American is as delicately thoughtful and careful about saying abrupt and disagreeable things as is any Oriental. No people are more long suffering in regard to sympathy with foreigners who murder their Spanish or Portuguese. One can make all man- ner of mistakes but your polished Latin American will never indicate by as much as the flicker of the eyelash that you are not speaking in the most perfect Castilian or Lisbon phrase.
A man of my acquaintance had excellent proof of this chivalric Latin forbearance when in the attempt to explain to a very solemn and dignified Peruvian official that while in the lofty altitudes of the Andes he nearly lost his mind. He intended to say — "I nearly lost my brains" — His Spanish became a bit muddled and he actually said— "I nearly lost my kidneys in the Andes"
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 37
— at which the polite official without a trace of a smile, replied, "How sad!" — and the traveller did not dis- cover his mistake in the use of two Spanish words sounding somewhat alike until he had left the country.
The attitude at such mistakes is seemingly — "I am sure that you do not mean what you say, but I under- stand what you are trying to tell me, and I realise it would be most ill-mannered to correct you, and thereby embarrass you."
As to the prodigal use of flowery speech to express his compliments, no Easterner can surpass the Latin American. Here is a description of a marriage clipped from a paper on the West Coast:
"Nuptials: — The virtuous and angelical Senorita Fulano has united herself forever with the perfect gentleman, Sefior Sutano. In view of the character- istics of so sympathetic a couple, there must ever shine upon their hearth the star of felicity, perfumed by the delicious ambient of the pure and virgin love which dwells in the innocent heart of the spiritual spouse. That the sun of happiness may radiate always in the blue heaven of this marriage is the vehement desire of those who, full of rejoicing with this felicity, sign themselves — their friends."
When in certain colder and more austere countries where "business is business" and not much else, and where time is at a premium, a youth would say hur- riedly to a prospective employer — "I want a job" — in Chile, at least, this is the manner in which one of the scions of a good family addressed a foreign official, in a language not his own, to be sure, but in a style
38 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
that was more or less characteristic of his upbring- ing:—
"Very respected Sir: —
Animated only by the confidence which inspires the well-intentioned, I dare make your distinguished per- sonality aware of a desire, which if it receives a fa- vourable reception by your kindness will compromise the eternal gratitude of the signer, and his family.
I am nineteen years old and desire to occupy a sec- ondary position in the offices of the Braden Copper Co., it having been impossible for me up to the pres- ent, to find one in the capital.
To have the assurance of being accepted immedi- ately I dare to beg of you, if you would be so kind, that you condescend to bestow upon me a letter of presentation addressed to the Mr. Manager of that establishment.
I realise the great influence which you would exer- cise ove*r the spirit of the Mr. Manager on presenting me to offer my services, supported by the word of one of the most worthy personalities of the North Amer- ican Nation in Chile, and it is for this reason, Sir, that I have hesitated until making the present reach your hands.
I possess references from two senators of the Re- public who know and recommend me, as well as cer- tificates which confirm my good conduct and my apti- tude for office work.
Awaiting your distinguished opinion on my petition and trusting, Sir, that you will pardon the trouble, I remain, Distinguished Sir,
Your attentive and sure servant,
M. Perez Besoin."
Here is the circumlocution of the Chinese, and the verbal honorifics of speech of the Japanese. The
-•Vi'FvJ
Ml
I T I
THE BULL RING, LIMA
w .riltiliisiia-!»SB»M»*^5*SS
THE JOCKEY CLUB STAND, HIPPODROME, BUENOS AIRES
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 39
above examples are not put forward as absolute types of Latin American journalism, or letter-writing. Both are somewhat extreme cases of the tendency toward a redundant and formal use of language which is dis- tinctive of Latin American speech and writing. From the northern point of view, the men born under warmer skies might with profit learn the art of compression and directness. Yet he who went about to change char- acteristic attitudes or modes of expression in either South America or the Orient, would find before him a task as impregnable as it would be foolish.
Our northern devotion to business and breathless haste are quite as comical to the Latin American.
In a theatre in Rio de Janeiro, a play was running while I was there in which a young American business man in a sack suit and straw hat was pictured as a lover. He came running in a hurried manner across the stage at frequent intervals, shook hands with his young lady-fiance, exclaiming hurriedly, — "I love you, — but I must go back to my office." After which he would charge off the stage.
In Latin America, our brusque business etiquette is an abomination to the leisured, cultured folk of the better classes. They would speak of us probably if they were perfectly frank, as I once heard a scholarly Bengali of Calcutta describe a very practical English- man as "one of the uncomfortable works of God."
The attitude of the South American toward work in general is more in line with that of the pleasure- loving Spaniard, who inherited much of his love of idle gentlemanhood, and his inaptitude for regular and sustained labour from the racial stock that was Berbet
40 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
and Oriental before it became mixed with southern European elements. Work is often a necessity among the higher classes of South Americans ; it rarely seems to be a natural hearty impulse. One misses the love of business for business' sake found in the United States.
A gorgeous fiesta is more interesting to the Latin American than an agricultural fair, and a carnival will close the business houses for days at a time. Our Latin neighbours prefer Paris for a holiday to New York or Chicago, since to them the French Capital represents more truly the home of pleasure, art and the charm of sans souci, attractive to the Latin tem- perament, to which utilitarianism and steady grind of work are usually distasteful.
Yet the Spanish American, like the famous Toledo blades of his ancestors, possesses a high degree of flexi- bility. He can adapt himself to circumstances in a wonderful manner as the ever enlarging number of keen South American business men bear witness. In fact, this man of the southern republics is keenly intui- tive and adjustable even to labour that is disagreeable to his native bent; he is emotional and verbose, but he is like the Oriental again, very intelligent; he loves his friends and will often sacrifice what we would call "good business" for their sake, yet in heart quality he can give suggestions of value to many other nations; he is intensely chivalrous and an ardent admirer of women, and this works usually toward the making of good homes; — and the elimination of bachelors; he prefers gambling indoors to out-of-doors sports, and this has not helped his physique, but with less strenu-
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 41
ous working habits, and also less money ambition, he conserves his energy more truly than does the North American; and one finds few sanitariums for broken nerves and enfeebled bodies beneath the Southern Cross.
In school work the South American, again Orientally minded, loves literature and drawing exercises best, and uses his memory by preference before his reasoning faculties. While visiting schools in these republics, I was often reminded of a certain Chinese student whom I once asked in a visit to a missionary school in Hong- kong to tell me the difference between the teaching of Moses and Confucius. He hesitated with a character- istic Chinese pause, then said : "Far be it for me, a hum- ble student, to act as critic between two such great men as Moses and Confucius, but — " he added, brighten- ing up, "if you would like to have me repeat from memory the books of the Old Testament I can do it," and he forthwith treated me with a running catalogue of the books from Genesis to Malachi; he was starting to repeat them backwards when his teacher stopped him.
It is well known that almost any Latin American can rise to his feet and make a more eloquent speech' extemporaneously, than could the average North American or Englishman after preparation. Like the Oriental, he likes to talk and he is extremely good at talking. It is not in the least unusual to find him capable of speaking several languages other than his own Spanish or Portuguese, and he is now adding English with considerable rapidity to his linguistic repertoire.
42 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
It is an Eastern trait to be enthusiastic and extrava- gantly inclined in starting new designs, and often quite inadequate when it comes to executing them. A suc- cessful East Indian business man of Calcutta who has been knighted for his accomplishments by the British Government, told me that the secret of his success was in thinking up his big plans and securing the best Europeans he could hire to help him execute them. "The Easterner," said he, "has talent and imagination but his training has left him poor in persistence and the dogged ability to carry through his schemes."
^It is somewhat thus with the South American. He' is intellectual, idealistic and also brave, but ineffective frequently in effort. Some have expressed doubt whether or not the Latin American was a misfit in a continent calling for large and continuous industrial and scientific effort. It seems certain that with all the exhilarating vigour, the passionate impulsiveness, the fury of life evidenced in their dancing, their pleasure seeking and rapid movements, the Latin American seems to lack perpetual action as a background and support for his energy. Ganivet, the Spanish critic, once said that his countrymen were afflicted with a disease which he called "aboulia" — lack of will power — and Mr. Havelock Ellis in his "The Soul of Spain," quoting from another Spanish man of letters, says:
"This capricious and facile expenditure of energy, Macias Picavea traces in the form of two original de- fects of character; an original defect in the predomi- nance of passion over will, an original moral defect in the substitution of the principle of justice by the socially inadequate sentiment of friendship and affection. By,
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 43
the first defect he accounts for the Spanish tendency to live in the present and put off every inconvenient task to a remote manana, the impulse to convert life into a lottery, the subjectivism that is content with imaginary possibilities in place of solid and prudent motives.
"The second quality is the source of the administra- tive immorality of Spain, which consists, not so much in venality or theft, as in the domestic and neighbourly feeling which is always inclined to favour a friend be- cause he is a friend, and which erects impunity almost into a law."
I am inclined to think this particular Spaniard was a bit of a wailer and deplorer by nature; nevertheless, this tendency of the Latin-minded Spanish American to be abnormally devoted to his family, his friend and his guest, at the expense of the world outside has pro- duced almost unawares an anti-social tendency in these republics. South America is not a region known for its social movements, and apart from what is done by the charities of the Catholic Church, the country as a whole is poor in activities aimed at the betterment of society as such. In this also the South American is as unlike the North American with his multitudinous "causes" and movements for social betterment, as he is like the Oriental in his emphasis upon individualism and family devotion.
The Indians of the Andean section, for example, have been left for generations to degenerate into beasts of burden, feeding on the coca leaves that leave them more helpless still, virtually without schools or amelio- rating agencies to soften the laborious drudgery of their lives passed in mines where they labour almost as slaves for the white man, or eke out a bare existence
44 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
on the barren sides of the cheerless Cordilleras. There are, to be sure, no such signs of poverty in South Amer- ican cities as one finds in many places in the Orient; but as long as compulsory education is such a farce as it is in many a South American republic, and as long as vast populations of Indians are left to their abject ig- norance and savagery in some parts, so long as the ne- gro and the cholo are living in a primitive periphery of poverty and mud huts about many of the cities, this anti-social characteristic will naturally be laid at the door of the Latin Americans.
Isolation from the world at large was the cause of the stoppage and stagnation of many an Oriental land. It has been also the secret of many of the evils in these Latin republics. For centuries the Spaniards, notably Philip II, did their best to isolate and keep close-locked for themselves Spanish America ; the kings of Portugal likewise kept closed the ports of Brazil as long as their power over this vast region existed.
It has been only in comparatively recent times that the South American nations have been in contact with the wider world of trade and thought. Until recently it took 37 days for a letter from New York to reach the city of Valparaiso, on its dilatory journey in small coastal steamers that stop and loiter along the West Coast. The opening of the Panama Canal has been a liberator par excellence for western South America, but its full results are not yet evidenced.
South America has still to learn the lesson Japan learned so quickly when she finally opened her small nation to the four winds and scattered her students and seekers for modern light across the world. These
THE ORIENTAL SOUTH AMERICAN 45
republics are still too proud of themselves, and at times too conservative to "polish their gems with stones brought from the ends of the earth."
Pan Americanism is still too much a paper idealism to satisfy its most keen and ardent supporters and pro- moters. Like the East, this part of the world is too much inclined to be suspicious of advance, and to be satisfied with the ways of their fathers, simply because these were their fathers' ways and for no other osten- sible reason.
I asked farmers in the wastes of Peru and Chile why they continued to plough with crooked sticks, and live in mud walls, and their answer was identical with that I have heard repeatedly from the lips of East Indians and Chinese cultivators in the inland parts of the Far East — "What was good enough for our fathers is good enough for us."
The great war will end some of this isolation, it is already bringing Brazil especially into touch with the great movements of the wide world in a way to assure in the future a progress of unlimited extent. Other republics cannot long hold back. The tide of mod- ernity is beginning to flow stronger than ever before in most of the twenty Latin American states. Brazil and Argentina and Uruguay especially are the Japans of progress and leadership of Latin America, and as the Sunrise Kingdom set the whole Orient astir and throb- bing with renewed life, so these advancing states with their men of culture and keenness for commerce and world contacts, will lead the way of Southern America out of medievalism and that Orientalism which hin- dered rather than helped.
46 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
South America will always bear marks of the East- ern temperament. It will be good for her and for us that she does retain certain of the traits that we in the clear, hard, crystal, business-mad North need and may well emulate. The isolation and the unsocial habits will go, and in their place will come by some agencies, native or foreign, industries and reforms of political and social institutions, such as will make South Amer- ica, not only "safe for democracy," but one of the fair- est and most fruitful gardens of the earth.
CHAPTER III
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA
We have distrusted, however, because back of all the lines of navigation, the industries and the contracts with the state, we have discerned an absorbing, dominating policy, which de- sired to subject the country to its exclusive influence, which sought to Prussianise it, forgetful of its character, its tradition, the genius of its race and its well-established prerogatives of nationality. — Senor Carlos Silva Vildosola (for many years director of "El Mercurio," the leading newspaper of Santiago).
THE influence of Germany in South America has been called a "penetration." The word was well chosen, for there is scarcely a realm of life connected with these republics which has been free from a more or less systematised plan on the part of the Germans to get a firm foothold, and to make pre- dominant there things and thought "made in Ger- many."
By sending his German professors and teachers, the Teuton has endeavoured to impregnate the youth and the school systems of the republics with the method used in Germany. By a thorough training of her trad- ers and manufacturers, even before they left their own land, the attempt has been made to suit Latin American conditions in the matter of language, cred- its, packing and kind of articles needed. The German
47
48 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
officers who have trained the military in a number of the republics have made a deep impression upon the army contingents of these South American nations, and in dress and deportment, as well as in arms made in Germany, the soldiers of such countries as Chile, for example, might almost be mistaken for Germans — caps, capes, moustaches et al. In this latter country es- pecially, where there is a strong native inclination for fighting, the German military propaganda has been more influential than the professorial mission, and only through the later developments of the war has the en- thusiasm been lessened for German types of militarism.
The founding of German colonies in South America has also entered into the German scheme at penetra- tion. The three hundred thousand or more Germans settled in the temperate climate of South Brazil, and the large German settlement in the region of Valdivia, in Southern Chile, are two notable cases in point, where the German ambition has been toward permanent hold- ings in a new German Empire in South America. In such sections as these, I have visited schools which to outward appearance of teachers and curriculum, might have been in Hamburg or Berlin. In certain of the towns in Santa Catharina, Parana, or Rio Grande do Sul — Joinville, for instance — I was told by responsible people that it was really difficult for any person who did not speak German to get work in the community.
Commerce has been the particular avenue through which the German has endeavoured to penetrate Latin America, and in this realm his progress, especially in the last forty years, has been remarkable. He has established large banks in the cities and larger towns;
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 49
he has founded business houses directly in touch with his homeland, and evidently under close supervision and surveillance of the German government; he has imi- tated and manufactured at low cost almost every na- tive product the South Americans desire or use ; he has built hotels and restaurants in replica of those found in Germany, and it has been clear that no detail like clubs, newspapers, literature and social organisations pleasing to the Teutonic mind and habits, has been omitted in order that the coloniser and trader might duplicate as far as possible fatherland environment.
At the opening of the war, the German commerce throughout South America had reached such flourish- ing proportions that even Great Britain, the arch trader of the world, with all of her long-time hold on the trade of Latin America, found some difficulty in keeping her lead in the matter of South American business, while the relation of the exports from the United States and Germany were in the ratio of seven per cent to twenty-five per cent in Germany's favour.
In every way conceivable, the Teutons sought to in- gratiate themselves into South American favour. They did as the Romans did, revealed a studied po- liteness in bows, handshaking and hat-lifting, learned to use excellent Spanish and Portuguese, flattered and fawned where it seemed to their advantage to do so, and even intermarried with the native peoples, being careful to exhibit at least a show of loyalty to South American governments and institutions.
No privations were too great to be undergone for the sake of winning trade and prestige. The trav- eller is surprised to find the German in such isolated
50 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
countries as Bolivia, where he has gone Germanising fourteen thousand feet above the sea. To this moun- tain republic, Germany sent a few years ago a com- mittee of experts to study the market even to the most insignificant details, taking back to Germany complete sets of samples of every article that it was possible to imitate and send to these out-of-the-way populations. As a result, if one goes to a shop in the Andean region to purchase a poncho, that picturesque blanket that every Indian or cholo of the lofty Cordilleras wears in place of an overcoat, he will need to be a close stu- dent of such articles to distinguish a poncho, made by the Indians, and one manufactured and dyed to suit the taste, but exported from Germany.
Other Indian products have been treated in the same way, and if one is privileged to attend the great Fair in January held at La Paz — the "Alacitas" — where much pride has been shown heretofore in the exhibi- tion of innumerable native articles, he will find the people carefully examining the products to detect imi- tations of native skill, since the majority of them have been made at short notice by the alert German manu- facturer. It is commonly reported in South Amer- ica that these German-made imitations are fine to look at, and resemble so closely the original native articles that one can scarcely note the difference ; but the qual- ity of the manufacture is said to be inferior in most cases, the things being made to sell, and with little fur- ther premeditation. One South American in buying a German sewing machine informed me that he knew he would be obliged to get another machine within the
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 51
year, but the low price suited his pocketbook for the time being.
I found that in this section the German manufacturer would make changes in his exported products, and often without additional charge beyond the price sub- mitted with the samples. If the South American mer- chant asks for a red shirt in a purple box, he is sold a red shirt in a purple box. The German does not tell him that he makes only blue shirts and incloses them in green boxes. He caters to his client's taste in every respect. Furthermore, if a German once gets a client, he will go to all possible lengths to hold him, although in many lines, especially in hardware on the West Coast, farming machinery and mining tools, it is a well- known fact that the American goods are superior to those of German manufacture.
Another hold the Teuton has upon trade in the mountain states is due to the fact that, in addition to extended credits and the adaptation of goods, he has made himself thoroughly familiar with the somewhat unique methods of transportation in these sections.
Bolivia, for example, is an interior country having no seaport, and secures her supplies through the far away ports of Mollendo, Peru, or Arica and Antofa- gasta in Chile. From these points, imports must be hauled over the Andes, at times on rack railroads, sometimes over five or six hundred miles of thirty- inch gauge and over very steep grades ; in other cases the goods are shipped on boats across Lake Titicaca. These trans-shipments need to be borne in mind by the shipper, as the products are submitted to the rough- est of handling, from steamships to lighters in open
52 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
roadsteads, thence to railroads, and inland steamers, and often in parts of their progress by llama and mule back, with all the consequent handling, loading and unloading from animals on long trails when they are stopped for rest.
Such details as the size of packages are extremely important since a llama, for instance, will carry a weight up to one hundred pounds, but beyond that bur- den he is particularly sensitive, and literally lies down and forcibly objects. This matter has been scrupu- lously considered by the German manufacturer, adjust- ing the weight of the cases so that the trans-shipper can tell at once the best means to be employed for sending the goods into the country districts. The packing cases are made of the best quality of wood to stand the treatment, and in many instances as I no- ticed, they were reinforced at the corners with slats of the same thickness as the boards of the boxes. An obstreperous llama may roll down a hill, but the goods will not be scattered over the surrounding country, as I have at times seen American products decorating the bleak slopes of the Andes.
A Chilean importer told me that he had discovered for several years certain of the American shirts and socks shipped to him from the United States, adorn- ing the persons of the flotilla men who had appropri- ated them when the boxes from the "States" popped open as they landed in their lighters.
The Bolivian and Peruvian markets in the high mountain regions, because of the rich mineral and land wealth of this sequestered region, are sure to be increas- ingly important. Germany has seen that the people
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 53
here want merchandise of the cheapest make, and that the poorer classes (for the most part agriculturists and miners) buy eighty per cent of the total imports of the republic. To this constituency the best expert thought has been given, with results that have placed German products generally in the hands of the people.
In Chile, German propaganda in various lines has made great headway during recent years.
As I sailed into the picturesque harbour of Val- paraiso, I was impressed with the large number of ships on all sides. I remarked to the captain of our boat that I had no idea Valparaiso was such a vast shipping port. The captain smiled and said, "It isn't. Those thirty ships that you see about us are all in- terned German vessels. The crews evidently thought that this was one of the most favourable ports in South America in which to get stranded. They are here for the simple reason that they can't get away."
I noted, in this German merchant marine fleet, six- teen sailing ships reminding one that the old days of the clipper ships were still in vogue. These ships had about half-crews, and the men who have lain on them now for nearly three years, do not give the impres- sion that they enjoy the enforced vacation. One large importer told me how he had been invited to go on board one of the largest of these German vessels, where he saw a fine oump which he coveted for his own use on shore.
'Til give you seven pounds for that pump," said the importer to the German captain.
The captain was indignant and fumed, "Why, that
54 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
pump cost twenty pounds, and furthermore, do you think I would sell any apparatus connected with my ship?"
"You would be a fool, if you didn't," returned the importer, "since you know that this ship will never leave this harbour under your flag. You had better sell all of the furniture you can, while the selling is good."
The bulky German nearly exploded in his patriotic wrath; nevertheless, two days later, the importer re- ceived the pump.
The Germans in Chile are connected with the Val- divia colony founded in the middle of the nineteenth century in the fruitful section ^of southern Chile, or are the Germans who have bee,n called in to train the soldiery; or they are teachers;and business men. The Valdivia Germans are the sons of old Germany who left their land in that political and economic crisis when the older idealism of that nation was exchanged for the military ambitions of modern Prussia. These peo- ple do not belong to the modern penetration move- ment, and live peaceably and industrially as farmers chiefly, partially allying themselves with the native people in a free land.
During the last thirty years the German movement has depended particularly upon the Teuton professors sent to Chile under contract with the Chilean govern- ment, and the German military officers whom Gen- eral Korner, a German ex-captain, engaged as instruct- ors for the army. This German captain, Korner, by reasons of his connection with the country's civil war of 1 89 1, became almost an arbiter of Chilean military institutions.
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 55
In the wake of these pioneer propagandists for Ger- many, came a new diplomacy, a fresh inflow of capital from across the seas, German banks and industries, to- gether with large firms for doing business on an in- creased scale. As one Chilean describes the condi- tion: uthe interest which the Prussian Emperor, the government and the people of Germany felt in Chile was proclaimed with all formality."
The militarists were more effective for the German penetration than were the teachers, since the militant Catholics combatted the teachers as a peril to national religious unity. Popular sentiment was reflected in the campaign waged quite strenuously in the press by one of Chile's well known poets, against the German pro- fessors, accusing the authorities who were responsible for engaging German instructors of being infected with "German enchantment.,,
The avenue to Chilean conquest was easier for the Germans by the way of the military, the Chilean be- ing predisposed to such matters, a fact not overlooked by the Teutons. The army system was Prussianised as one might say over night, with little regard for ad- justments fitted to the Republic. Sefior Vildosola, whom I have already quoted, writes:
"The Prussian regulations were translated and ap- plied, the military life was changed to its foundations, and it was all done with an unheard of precipitancy, without ascertaining if it was best or not for the coun- try, by means of copying mechanically.
"On a certain good day the Chileans beheld their soldiers uniformed in Prussian tunics, with green, red and yellow borders, with many adornments and much
56 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
gold braid, dark heads covered with helmets terminat- ing in a point, file past with that parade step which caricature has made known throughout the world.
"This exact reproduction of the regulations, the methods, the uniforms and even the utensils for the use of the army facilitated the other aspect of the re- form, which consisted in the acquirement by the gov- ernment of Chile, in Germany, of whatever might be necessary for the army, from the Krupp cannon and Mauser rifles, to the shoes for the horses and the cloth of divers colours with which the soldiers should clothe themselves according to the Prussian usage and tradi- tion."
Naturally there was protest on the part of the Chile- ans. A band of famous Chilean generals was retired, because they censured this rapid manner of German- ising Chile. Later, the nation rose more generally against the high-handed measures of these military and political and commercial agents of Germany. A noted professor who was found too insolent was returned to Germany. An undesirable German engineer, who had been given supervision of the railways, was sent home, and gradually the nation became aware of the differ- ence between Prussian methods and those of a repub- lic. In spite of all the German effort, it is safe to say, in the words of a Chilean, "the Germans have never been able to penetrate the Chilean soul."
Here, as in Brazil, there arose a racial distrust of the German. Their conscious superiority, their in- solent pride at times, and a lack of sufficient imagina- tion to fit themselves sympathetically to the Latin tem- perament, did not augur well for the final subjugation of South American peoples by Germany, even before
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 57
the European war opened. With the opening of the war, the latent love for France sprang up, and the con- duct of the German raiders of commerce, together with such events as the treatment of Belgium, the sink- ing of the Lusitania, and the general policy of the Prussians in waging war, were further proofs to the Chileans, as they were to the South Americans gen- erally, that Germany was not inherently "simpatico" with Latin America. It seemed to be a popular in- stinct wherever I went in these countries, outside of the German circles themselves, that South America should be pro-ally.
There was also a growing feeling in Chile, even be- fore the breaking out of the war, that European na- tions did not understand that country, and the national pride was frequently hurt by slighting allusions to Chile- ans as fit topics for comic opera and fun-making. There seemed to be a tendency for the sturdy de- scendants of the Araucanians, to draw within them- selves and retain the isolation which their peculiar- shaped land had given them geographically. There is no doubt that the sentiment toward the United States, which has not always been the best in Chile, is improv- ing in late years, and the part we are taking in the war has certainly increased the favourable feeling of Chile-, ans toward us.
When I arrived in Chile the British "black list" had just been put into operation, and there was consider- able complaint among all classes, particularly Germans. It was observed with strictness from the start, for Eng- lish, Irish and Scotch influence comprise much foreign power here, the Britishers being connected with the old
58 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
Chilean families, both by ties of marriage, and also by- reason of many services rendered the country by sea- men, statesmen and traders.
I was walking on the street of Santiago one day with an Englishman and was about to take him into a res- taurant for lunch, when he stopped short at the sign over the door — "German! — Nothing doing for me!" my British friend exclaimed, and drew away. At that time this discrimination against the German and his works seemed a bit childish to me and to many Chile- ans, I am sure, but later acquaintance with the foe of nearly the whole civilised world has changed opinion greatly. The reasons are too patent to need enum- eration here. When a quiet lover of peace and na- ture like John Burroughs appears in print with the signed resolve that he will never again look into a mod- ern German book, it is small wonder to find the Chilean point of view changing with that of other nations which have tried in vain to feel and act with neutrality.
I would not give the impression that Chile was then, or in fact is at present, ready to take up arms on the side of the Allies and use her 200,000 soldiers, German trained, to fight down the Boche. Here, as in every South American state, the Prussian emissaries were busy from the very opening of the war, using the press of Chile when they could, and especially the pro- German, conservative and clerical organ, La Union, to distribute among the people a one-sided view of affairs in Europe.
The army, too, was a centre in which the Germans practiced all kinds of depredations upon Chilean neu- trality. German agents established a newspaper and
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 59
called it La Gaceta Militar, with the design to carry the idea outside Chile that this was the mouthpiece of the Chilean army. Two Spaniards were placed in charge of this propaganda, and it soon became neces- sary for Chile to make known widely the true nature of this sheet, disavowing that it represented in any sense the beliefs or the convictions of the military au- thorities.
At first, the press in general was neutral and colour- less in its presentations, but as the paralysing of Chilean commerce grew apace, and as the raids of German war vessels along the coasts of Chile and South America began to disarrange the sailings of the British merchant marine upon which Chile was now largely dependent for her commerce, there was a noticeable change of tone. No one knew better than these people that the long unprotected Chilean coast, a stretch of 2,485 miles, with its maze of passages, small islands and deserted regions in the south, was a first class hiding place for German raiders which obtained their coal supplies from Chile by some kind of connivance, contrary of course to all known neutrality laws. When, therefore, the British squadron destroyed the German cruisers in the naval battle off the Falkland Islands and Juan Fernan- dez, Chile breathed a sigh of relief, and her commerce began again.
From that time the German propagandists spoke in lower tones. The convictions of the people, even though not always expressed openly, leaned decidedly toward the realisation that two great principles of civ- ilisation were held up for choice — the rights of men and
60 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
of nations on the one hand, and the subjection by force of military power as the other alternative.
Whatever the Chileans may see fit to do about aligning themselves alongside Brazil, the United States and the other South and Central American republics against the enemy of liberties of small nations, it may be taken for granted that the mass of public opinion in this vigorous state is in line with the following strik- ing testimony given not long ago by one of the most able Chilean exponents of the press in that republic : —
"The most of the people of Chile recognise that there are judicial reasons in the interests of civilisa- tion and humanity, in the defense of the constituent principles of all democracies, and in order to save from destruction the Latin civilisation to which we belong, for desiring the triumph of the Allies, and the suppres- sion of German militarism. "
The witness for the Chileans then proceeds to say in a notable summary of the reasons why we are engaged in this world-wide combat: —
"A consensus has been reached regarding certain fundamental points that may be summed up in the fol- lowing manner :
"i. That Germany provoked this war when it suited her, after having prepared her people during a labour of forty years, by means of an education and organisation whose only object was to attack Europe for the purpose of conquest.
2. That a mentality like hers, capable of subjecting an entire nation with a view to aggression and con- quest, is opposed to modern ideas of liberty, human fraternity and moral progress.
3. That the triumph of a nation that proclaims mili-
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 61
tary necessity as a sufficient reason for violating treat- ies, in which might is set up as the only source of au- thority, in which their essential liberties are denied to nations, would be the greatest peril that could be en- countered by modern democracies and all those prin- ciples upon which American independence was estab- lished.
4. That all the methods heralded by German writ- ers, sanctioned in their military regulations and applied to the war, are contrary to the notions of humanity which Christianity diffused through the world, and do violence to the engagements entered into by civilised peoples to remove the elements of useless and barbar- ous cruelty of the primitive ages.
5. That there exists at the heart of this struggle a conflict between the two philosophical and political tendencies that have disputed for the domination of peoples and the inspirations of their movements: one based upon right and the other upon force; one upon liberty and the other upon subjection; one upon fra- ternity and the other upon hatred cultivated as a sa- cred and almost mystical principle."
Such a pronouncement of opinion, in accord we be- lieve with the inner sentiment of the Latin Americans generally (excepting Germans themselves and their in- timate Germanophile satellites), on the West Coast as well as in Chile, cannot be especially flattering to either the method or discernment of German propaganda in these sections. Perhaps it was not wholly the fault of the Teuton spies and press-agents. They had a dram- atis personae to advertise and explain that would have taxed the brains and ingenuity of a greater race than the Germans, not noted for imaginative perspective or humour; the villainous German elements in this world tragedy overbear all palliative explanation. The al-
62 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
most constant fracture of all known principles of hu- manity and civilisation which the most advanced races have known and been guided by in the past, have given Germany's most sympathetic adherents in the Amer- icas a melancholy "quarter of an hour."
When we come to the conditions of things German on the East Coast of South America, the attitude of the people toward the Teuton propaganda has been revealed in the decision of Brazil to break her neu- trality because of the wrongs done to her shipping and the strong sentiment of the Brazilians relative to the justice of the Allied cause.
I was in Brazil immediately before the declaration of war of the United States against Germany. There was then a decided nervousness and feeling of distrust of the Germans on the part of the inhabitants. Re- peatedly one could hear the phrase the "German men- ace"— and by these words the people referred to the fact that the German colonies of Santa Catharina, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul especially, where the German language was freely spoken and German thought and institutions were well established, were not in keeping with the ideas of a republican nation.
"Every one of the thousands of Germans in South Brazil is a trained soldier, and these people seem at heart as loyal to the Kaiser as when they were in Ger- many," said a prominent public official of Brazil. "In spite of the fact that the Germans," continued this high authority, "have given us credits and adapted them- selves in a superficial way to our modes of doing busi- ness, we don't like the Germans here in Brazil. Their
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 63
spying and methods of dealing in war times have made the people suspicious. "
The German ships interned in Brazilian ports were being closely watched. The British "Black List" was keeping the issues of war prominently before the busi- ness community, and though the German business agents had been carrying on a flourishing trade with Teuton firms in the United States, the handicap of this black listing of things German was evidently very gen- eral and tended to weaken the German commerce and regular transactions. This branding of the houses and banks of Germany in Brazil, as all along the East Coast affected American concerns and was especially felt in shipping lines — a fact which Germans were mak- ing the most of in the attempt to array the foreigners as well as the native inhabitants against the Allies.
The press gave large space to war telegrams, and the people were well served with the news from the different fronts of the war. No one could travel over Brazil in these days without realising the growing tenseness of the commercial situation, and the sym- pathy for the Allied cause was apparent among the leading men in almost all walks of life.
When the Lusitania was sunk, a vote immediately was passed in one of the most prominent clubs fre- quented by foreigners in the Federal Capital of Rio de Janeiro, asking the resignations of all Germans and Austrians. Frequent rumours of German raiders along the East Coast accounted for the presence at times of warships of the Allied forces. The riots which occurred a little later in South Brazil, and which were speedily taken in hand and quelled by Brazilian
64 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
troops increased the suspicions of the Brazilians as to the loyalty of the large German colonist population. Rifle companies and squads of young men, members of commercial firms, marching and drilling called forth great crowds and much patriotic enthusiasm.
It was heard repeatedly that the plan of Germany to found in Southern Brazil a German South Amer- ican Empire, choosing therefor one of the richest gar- den spots of the earth, must be frustrated by Brazil- ians. No one can appreciate until he has travelled through this rich agricultural section comprising the vast areas of Parana, Santa Catharina, and Rio Grande do Sul, how strategic and well founded was this Ger- man dream. It is a territory with a temperate climate not unlike that of Central Europe, the developing cat- tle land where upwards of 20,000,000 cattle are even now grazing on these rolling prairies, lands capable of raising virtually every known product of the tem- perate zone; and valleys by the sea where mate, coffee, bananas, and many tropical fruits find their home below the higher regions of waving corn-fields. It is also a prolific lumber section, the home of Parana pine, and varied kinds of valuable Brazilian woods, which are being exported to Uruguay, Argentina and other South American republics which are poor in timber.
This wide reaching and hitherto only sparsely de- veloped region, as large as a dozen of our western states combined, contains resources sufficient to main- tain with abundant provision the entire European na- tions lying about the Mediterranean Sea. Such ac- quisition would have been many-fold more valuable to
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 65
Germany than all her colonies, and in fact would hold the promise of being even a greater Germany across the seas, as Brazil has become a greater Portugal, and as the United States, by reason of her great territory and industrial development, gives the earnest of future agricultural and industrial possibilities surpassing any- thing to which her English mother country is capable.
The general favourable sentiment of the Brazilians toward the United States was placed on record when the northern republic declared war against Germany. From that moment the war sentiment in Brazil grew with great rapidity. Brazil's speedy decision, her pro- gressive plan in connection with guarding the South Atlantic coasts, thus relieving ships of the Allies for other service, her military aims set in motion for the enlargement of her army [so decisive as to arouse par- ticular notice from Argentina, especially, where it has been suggested that Brazil's war measures are greater than is necessary for keeping under control three hun- dred thousand inhabitants of German descent] — all this is indicative of the strong feeling expressed to me recently by a prominent Brazilian — "Never again will the Germans gain a foothold in Brazil."
In Argentina, where pro-German sentiment has been stronger among certain of the influential people of the country, the issues have been somewhat more com- plicated. German propaganda has been doing its best here to keep its grasp on one of the largest and rich- est lands of Southern America. Here, too, for some reason the President of the republic seems to ave been playing into German hands. I have been old by reputable Argentinos that President Irogyan is
66 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
not so much pro-German as radical and wilful, and that it was only a question of time when this repub- lic of the River Plate would also join the forces of free states which are battling against German militarism.
Anyhow Germany has given this nation sufficient cause to act, and if the present indications are at all meaningful or filled with omens for the future, the mass of the population is ready and eager for some- thing definitely in line with an open break with Ger- many.
The Argentine press freely stated that there had never been seen in Buenos Aires such a manifestation of public sentiment and patriotism as followed the Lux- burg expose, when more than 200,000 of the leading citizens of the republic marched through the streets of the Capital, with bands and banners and cries for war against Germany. Senators left the senate halls to join in the procession, and united with a commission of deputies and senators from Uruguay, who had come down to bring to their neighbour republic the sym- pathy and the wish of the Uruguayan people for a rup- ture with Germany.
One of the features of the demonstration was a flag, 230 feet long and wide as the streets through which it was borne by 200 men; and behind this huge ensign there were carried 300 large Argentine flags and 100 flags of Uruguay. Those who heard the songs of the multitude of marchers, national patriotic songs mixed freely with the battle hymns of the Allies, or heard the jeers for the German government on this occasion, would be left in small doubt as to the popular attitude toward Germany. One of the ensigns borne
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 67
in this procession read: "No more German spies, traitors and assassins!"
The demonstrations of good will made before the British and American Legation and Embassy, the or- der preserved, and the character of the speeches all served to put Argentina on record as decidedly opposed to the methods with which Germany is carrying on the war. It would seem difficult to think of the govern- ment of Argentina withstanding long such evident de- sires of the people as this recent demonstration re- vealed.
German friends in Latin America seem to be dimin- ishing. As it stands at present, four of these na- tions have declared war on Germany — Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. Seven countries have broken off relations with Germany, in the following order of procedure: — Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Hayti, Honduras, Peru and Uruguay. Chile revoked her neu- trality last June, and the will of the people of Argen- tina has been plainly shown.
Among the professedly neutral countries are in- cluded Ecuador, Paraguay, Salvador, and technically Argentina, also Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. Of these three latter countries, Colombia is said to be in- fluenced by doubtful feelings towards the United States rather than by any sympathy with Germany ; Venezuela, the only autocracy left in the Americas, is ruled by General Juan Vicente Gomez, who is thought to be friendly with Germany, and Mexico is still too busily engaged with her own domestic problems and the dis- tractions of recent warfare to be a certain quantity on either side.
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Despite this seemingly growing antipathy to Ger- many and her plans in Latin America, the fact must be kept in mind that this idea of Prussianising a large portion of the southern western hemisphere has been one of Germany's great dreams and ambitions.
The American Defense Society has published a pamphlet in which Mr. W. H. Gardiner, an American engineer, has gathered and exposed the gist of vari- ous writings presented chiefly in 19 15 by Teuton bibli- ographers, statesmen and professors relative to the ambitious projects of a victorious Germany in the Americas. "These plans are so amazingly ambitious," says Mr. Gardiner, "and are founded on such an ut- terly cynical and ruthless disregard of the rights and liberties of all non-Germans that for the first ten or twelve years those men who first caught their sinister trend were discredited."
A brief summary of these plans of Prussian con- quest as given by Mr. Gardiner, may be pondered with advantage at this time by those who are interested to know about the Germanising of South America :
"The lower half of South America Prussia planned to acquire by peaceful penetration, revolution and political intrigue.
"As to the progress made to date on these lines, note that in the very small section of Brazil south of Tropic of Capricorn there are now over 400,000 native-born Germans and that native-born Germans are largely in control of the finances and commerce of Chile and Argentina; note that since 19 16 there has been a Ger- man rebellion in Southern Brazil; and also note the equivocal positions of the Government of Chile and Argentina at the same time.
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 69
"Realising the overwhelming prestige which the complete accomplishment of her plans in Africa and Asia would give her, Prussia believed that Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, and possibly Colombia, would come under her sway by whatever combination of a peaceful penetration, rebellion, and political cor- ruption might be called for.
uIn holding this opinion the Prussian autocrats real- ise the high degree of commercial and political pene- tration now actually accomplished in these countries.
"In passing it is worth noting that in his 'War/ pub- lished in 1906, Klaus Wagner suggests (p. 170), that the 'inefficient' non-German population of South America be exported by Germany to reservations in Africa, 'where they may crawl slowly toward the peace* ful death of weary and hopeless senility.'
"As an index, sufficient for the moment, of the con* trol Prussia thought she had over Mexico, and inci* dentally over Central America, note the terse proposal Herr Zimmermann made to Mexico that she attack the United States and that she, as the agent of Ger- many, get Japan to join her in the attack.
"On the 25th of May, 191 7, Secretary Franklin K. Lane said that Germany 'would certainly demand from an overwhelmed England, Canada on the north by way of indemnity.' And he might well have added Ber- muda on the east and all the British West Indies on the south, none of which have the means or facilities to conduct a successful modern defence without outside assistance.
"To the Teutonic mind this plan for an actual world dominion was as axiomatic as that two and two make four; — provided France could be crushed, Russia eliminated and then Great Britain crushed."
A few years ago the very statement of such wild ambitions would have seemed like the vapourings of
70 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
one who dreams. But as almost every passing month since the beginning of the European war has revealed some new and incredible indication of Prussian ruth- lessness and underhanded diplomacy and intrigue, such plain narration of German aims on this continent is worthy of careful thought.
Two things are inevitably certain regarding the Ger- man penetration and conquest in Latin America. First, it never will happen as long as Great Britain, France and the United States retain any power or influence to object, and second, even if these three great powers were rendered impotent [a thought as fantastic as are the German dreams of dominion] Latin America with its 70,000,000 or more of indigenous and partially in- digenous races is too large and too distinctly Latin either to be colonised by Germans or to be assimilated with peoples whose ideas and ideals are so radically antipodal to their own.
Furthermore, whatever advantage Germany has gained in the past thirty years in South America by reason of her trade and well-laid schemes, is being di- minished daily at present by her own acts and her bungling, thick-witted diplomacy and propaganda. There is no doubt of the German ambitions in this section. There is also no doubt of her great influence, financial and industrial, there. But the eyes of the southern Americans are being opened wide to the facts, and no nations on earth are more jealous of their na- tional rights and territories than are the people of these Latin American lands. Prussia has thus become unwittingly the best servant that a real Pan-American-
THE GERMANS IN SOUTH AMERICA 71
ism has ever possessed. The Monroe Doctrine is no longer a mere political paper shibboleth. It is a tie to bind together in mutual safety and progress the free Americas.
CHAPTER IV
BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA
Nearly every intelligent Peruvian and Ecuadorian with whom one talks believes firmly and enthusiastically that, with the opening of the Panama Canal, his country is going to start out on an era of great commercial prosperity.
Hiram Bingham.
ON the coat of arms of the Republic of Panama one reads : "The repudiation of war and homage to the arts which flourish in peace and in labour."
Over the section called "The Canal Zone" there also floats an ensign reading, "The Land Divided, The World United."
The possibilities of mankind, commercial and moral, that lie wrapped up in these ideals are tremendous. The Canal will cost the United States $400,000,000 in gold; the results will be returned not in money only but in the opportunity rarely offered to nations and men to link together in wide and deep fraternal unity the two Americas.
To achieve such vast possibilities, the co-operation of the republic through whose midst this waterway has been constructed, is essentially vital.
What is Panama?
The industrial and moral possibilities of the re- public merit careful study. Here is a territory of 35,-
72
BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA 7S
ooo square miles and a population that is estimated by the Panamanians to be 500,000 inhabitants, containing the mixed strains of blood from Spain, the West In- dies, the North American Indians and from a half a dozen other countries of the old and new worlds. Panama has a coast line on the Atlantic of 400 miles in length, and on the Pacific of 700 miles and its ter- ritorial seas are rich in the possibilities of fishing in- dustries, which as yet have seen but a comparatively meagre development. The land of this republic runs from sea level to a height of 5,000 feet, which fur- nishes a field for the cultivation of products ranging in character through the entire climatic register be- tween the torrid and temperate zones. Here are to be found regions of wonderful natural beauty shining in a perpetual spring time; wide tracts of natural prairie land wait for the development of stock raising on a large scale; innumerable rivers traverse the coun- try on both watersheds of the Cordilleras, and these are capable of furnishing water power for the com- ing agricultural and industrial enterprises; the forests contain no less than 140 different varieties of building- timber and dyewoods, and many of the vegetable prod- ucts now employed in various industries already have been discovered in these regions.
The Republic of Panama has proved her possibilities in the cultivation of bananas, sugar, coffee, cacao, rub- ber and cotton, and many of the business men with whom I talked claimed for Panama a soil equally capa- ble with that of Cuba and Jamaica for the production of these tropical products.
Few countries stand geographically in such happy
M UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
inter-oceanic relations to commercial traffic. A mar- ket for the supplies needed by the ever increasing num- ber of ships that pass through the canal, belongs nat- urally to Panama. No other country can be made capable of competing for this growing trade. The ship upon which we sailed down the West Coast, a Peruvian steamer, filled its entire order for fruits and the requirements of its table from Panama and Colon, and I saw a half dozen other ships of as many nation- alities waiting to restock their supplies of food at these Panamanian ports. The vast increase of trade in this line alone [which is certain to ensue with the diverting to the canal of commerce that now moves across the Pa- cific to the United States and Canadian ports, thence by rail overland and vice versa], together with the in- crease in traffic from all parts of Asia and Africa and Europe, that will naturally arise at the close of the war, will convert Panama into an unrivalled port of world marketing.
How shall Panama meet her possibilities?
The brief narration of these unusual advantages of location and soil-productivity would seem to make of Panama a "Providential Republic." But between the enchanting ideals and the practical possibilities lies a world of effort, and the chief factors of that effort are the men and the women themselves.
I asked the representative of one of the largest business houses of the United States what he considered to be the first need in building up a lasting trade be- tween the two Americas.
"The first essential," he replied, "is to get strong men to come down here prepared to settle down and
BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA 75
stay in the country: we send young men to these re- publics who hardly get their roots down than they are called away to other posts, and business must depend upon mediocre men or soldiers-of-fortune, who make a poor impression upon the South Americans, and who also seldom like the countries as fixed abiding places. You can not do much to help business among any people unless you like that people and the land they inhabit. We must use great care in choosing our South American business pioneers."
Somewhat along this line was the remark of the manager of one of the large banking concerns of Pan- ama, a man who for many years has lived in this coun- try and speaks with authority:
"Panama needs just now trained diplomats and men expert in the different departments of government; we should have specialists in commerce, fisheries, agricul- ture and finance, and the business of development of Panama should not be left to any one who is willing simply to come down here, because possibly he has succeeded at home in some particular line."
This gentleman pointed out how the bungling mis- takes of men in Panama, men who had failed to realise the temper of the people, had "set back the clock," as he expressed it, and made it harder for the men who were foreigners to work down here. One man had recently been in Panama as an official government rep- resentative, and with perfectly good intentions had made such a faux pas in a public meeting that his in- fluence with the Panamanians had been destroyed quite completely. The interesting thing about this incident lay in the fact that the official does not know that he
76 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
made a bad break, and the people were too polite to tell him.
A certain American army officer is very popular with the people here, quite largely, as I am told, because he has endeavoured to understand the customs and the temper of the Panamanians. "He takes off his hat when he meets me," said one Panamanian, as he spoke of this officer. Another referred to a reception given by the official. When the President of Panama ar- rived the order was given for the national anthem to be played and H. E. was announced with all the dignity belonging to the Spanish-American temperament.
It seems a bit ridiculous to the directness-loving American to change his attitude toward a person who may be his close friend whenever he treats with him officially, but it is just such little urbanities that win the respect of the Latin-American. A friend of mine who has lived long in this small republic told me of a very close friend of his who was recently elected as a Government official. "Now," said he, "if I go to call upon my friend upon any official business I must take care to put on a silk hat and a frock coat and go through all the formalities required of an utter stranger."
"Furthermore," said my informant, "it is required of us down here in the case of the death of a business acquaintance to robe ourselves in proper black cloth- ing and not only attend the funeral, but also, if the deceased is a personal friend, or a man to whom hon- our is due, we must walk all the way to the cemetery in the procession. Otherwise we would make mortal enemies of the family."
BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA 77
The northerner who is impatient and abrupt will always come to grief in these countries. The people are simply not accustomed to doing business in a hurry and they never separate their business from social courtesies of the drawing-room. One successful American voiced a very important need of those who would deal with these people of Spanish extraction when he said, "Patience is not a virtue simply, it is a necessity down here."
This gentleman went on to say that while it is im- portant for the northerner to be patient and long suf- fering with many of those traits which would seem in our own country unpardonable, there are times when it is important to reveal firmness and even to lose one's temper. His advice along this line is given in his own words :
"Don't. lose your temper unless it is absolutely neces- sary, but if you do get mad, do it first — then your Panamanian will rush to you to apologise since he will think he has said something to hurt your feelings. He may not know what he said, or in fact he may have done nothing worthy of your indignation; nevertheless the apology will always be forthcoming."
In other words, it will be seen that the inhabitants of Panama possess feelings that lie perilously near the surface. In some cases foreigners will tell you that it is necessary to treat certain classes of the inhabitants with whom they wish to have fraternal dealings much as they would treat children, and be willing to make many allowances. As one man expressed it:
"You must treat them fairly, never lie to them, never exploit them, and always be on the watch lest you hurt
78 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
their feelings, and at the same time you must keep in mind that they will often feel quite justified in deceiv- ing you, and even in treating you unfairly, without any evident realisation of conscientious scruples in the mat- ter.
In treating with the Panamanian it is impossible to take for granted the same mental and moral back- ground existing among the people in the United States. You are dealing with another historic and national consciousness, and the sooner the northerner realises this fact, the more readily will he grasp the springs of possible success in business dealings with these peo- ple.
There is another important point to be remem- bered which is being taught by experience in these Latin countries relative to trade with the United States; this is the advantage which business men pos- sess who do not need to trade with middlemen, but, having established their own houses in South America, are able to deal with the people directly. Firms like the Singer Sewing Machine, Standard Oil, and certain of the steel companies, for example, are able to com- pete successfully with any foreign firm because of the fact that they have established headquarters for their specialty in the South American republics. South Americans like to go to headquarters for their goods. Few Germans or Englishmen can successfully compete with one of these American firms that have thus es- tablished themselves in South America, since the Euro- pean agent usually has a dozen or more things which he sells for his German or English firm, and naturally can not be a specialist in any of them.
BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA 79
Add to these necessities for the new Panama a stable government which just now is a crying need, in order to assure titles for property and protection of busi- ness; the establishment of a few well ordered schools for agriculture and technical training; the constant in- fusion of men from the colder climates who will join with the youth of this fortunately located State in building firmly the basis of modern institutions, and some of the most vital needs of Panama will be met.
As Mr. Duque of Panama City said to me (and he speaks out of an experience of more than thirty years in this country) , "the Panamanian lacks ambition in a country where living has been comparatively easy; he needs to be taught that there is something more worth while than to be a cheap politician ; we have everything here in Panama to do with and are just waiting for the quality of manhood and a certain necessary amount of capital to make this country really great."
There is, however, a political Panama which must be understood by Americans, who go down to these parts on commerce bent. It was of this political- minded people of which I was thinking especially as I entered the gates of the President's palace to talk with the head of this republic.
It was one of those days in May when the tempera- ture is certainly tropical and the humidity registered at 94.
We had heard many rumours concerning political unrest in Panama, and several persons had told me that a revolution was imminent.
"It isn't that either side would expect to accomplish anything in particular by a revolution," said a busi-
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ness man of Panama City, "but the people haven't had a revolution for some time, and they seem to feel that it is absolutely necessary to stir things up periodically."
One does not remain long in this part of the world without realising that business is closely related to poli- tics, and that one of the chief obstructions to business on a large scale in this republic has been the lack of confidence in the stability of Government and the dif- ficulty associated with laws regarding titles of land and property. For fifty-seven years before the United States came to the Canal Zone there had been an aver- age of a revolution a year, or, to speak more exactly, fifty-three revolutions in fifty-seven years. The re- sults of these uprisings have not been very serious as a rule, a few policemen have been killed while the aristocracy have usually found it convenient to have engagements indoors during these stormy periods.
On the day in which I talked with the President a political meeting was held in the streets of Panama City at which the administration was severely flayed and the President was criticised for his endeavour to prevent the meeting: he was freely criticised as a "Dic- tator" and the enemy of free speech.
Such denunciations are not taken very seriously by the people, for September and the elections were just ahead and these always bring about fierce rivalry be- tween the "ins" and the "outs." I was told that the two candidates of the respective parties had been asked to resign in favour of a man who would head a new or third party in order to bring about a united republic. It is rumoured also that the third would-be President had promised to divide the spoils with the
BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA 81
other two candidates if such arrangements could be made. It seems that the plan did not please the heads of the two parties who had already spent considerable money for their campaign and both of whom felt that they had too much to lose by the combination. As in other parts of South America, people follow personalities, rather than parties.
The "outs" say that they would not be averse to in- tervention by the United States. This would doubt- less mean that the party in power would be removed and their political antagonists would have a chance.
However this may be, the lot of Dr. Poras would not seem to be an enviable one as far as the allegiance of many of his people are concerned. In speaking of him a prominent banker said, "Every man in politics makes some enemies, but the present President of Panama made the mistake of making everybody his enemy."
The pleasant-faced, courteous Spanish-looking gen- tleman of fifty-eight or sixty into whose presence I was ushered would hardly give any one the impression of an autocrat. The President may have enemies, but the men who were taking leave of him as I entered, would scarcely give the visitor the idea that they were his foes. One man was standing with his arms around the President's waist, and taxing the Spanish language for terms in which to express his admiration and fealty. To one just arrived from the North, the scene was a bit ludicrous ; who, with the wildest imagination, would picture the visitor to President Wilson holding him firmly around the waist while he kissed him warmly upon both cheeks ? This is Oxily one of the many signs
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constantly greeting the traveller from northern lati- tudes, assuring him that he has passed from the Anglo- Saxon world into the land of the Latin temperament. I found Dr. Poras exceedingly agreeable and willing to speak of the needs and the accomplishments of Pan- ama. To my first question, "What is the greatest present requirement of the Republic?" he answered:
"Banks are our greatest need. We should have a big bank which would give long credits and demand small interest for the benefit of the agricultural class especially. As a matter of fact," said he, "our agri- cultural population possesses very small holdings and must do their work on a limited scale. They need our help financially; and the banking systems used in the North are not always adaptable to our people.
"This country of Panama," continued Dr. Poras, "is a rich country and has hardly begun to be developed. Its possibilities in sugar, bananas, cocoanuts, and in mining, have not been generally realised. Only a very- small part of the area of the country is now under cultivation. Our great need is capital to assure the opening of agricultural business on a larger scale."
Dr. Poras then spoke of the new railroad which had been built during his administration, meeting another need of present day Panama. This is a three-foot gauge steam railway in the Province of Chiriqui and extends from Pedregal on the Pacific Coast to the town of David and thence to the town of Boquete with a total length of about fifty-two miles. In spite of the enthusiasm of Dr. Poras concerning this road which has cost Panama so heavily, the hard-headed business man of the city will tell you that it is a road that be- gins nowhere and goes nowhere, and if one-quarter of
BUSINESS AND POLITICS IN PANAMA 83
the money had been spent upon the building of good country roads for the transportation of crops, the re- sult would have been far more beneficial to Panama.
"Is your education in Panama coming on satisfac- torily?" I asked.
Dr. Poras then referred to the statistics which showed that from a total of 323 schools with an at- tendance of 15,000 in 191 2, the number of schools had increased in 19 14 to 518 with an attendance of 23,445. He also spoke with much interest of the two agricul- tural schools recently founded, a normal school for girls and a professional school for women.
The National Institute, which is the highest educa- tional institution of the republic, has established a commercial section, and in 19 13 a School of Painting was established.
Dr. Poras was much interested in his work among the Indians of Panama with whom he has been suc- cessful, not only "conquering" them with friendship but also in establishing among them schools and other means of civilisation. He showed me pictures of most beautiful islands covered with waving palms on which some of the tribes live, together with photographs in which he appeared with the chiefs. He exhibited all the pleasure of a child in showing me these photographs and said, "There is only one chief whom I have not conquered, but I shall subdue him, through the force of friendship." The President was inclined to dwell at length upon this subject of the Indians since it was the one topic upon which evidently he was not criticised, and Dr. Poras, who is a clever man, knew that at this period, virtually everything he did was wrong.
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It was with difficulty that I drew him from this in- nocuous subject of the Indians to the important subject of politics and government.
"Do you expect re-election as President?" I asked.
"No," was the reply, "according to our laws the President can not be re-elected for the term immedi- ately following his own, unless he resigns his office eighteen months prior to the election."
It was brought out that the President's cabinet at present consists of a Secretary of Government and Justice who has charge of the administration of the provinces, municipalities, police force, city fire depart- ments, post offices, telegraph systems, etc. The courts of justice, notaries, the penal institutions, and all mat- ters relating to the administration of justice are also under this Department's jurisdiction. It would seem that this Secretary is a very much over-worked man, and there would appear also to be a reason for the fact that his title has been known to be written by his opponents as, the "Secretary of the Government In- justice."
Then there is the Department of Foreign Relations having charge of the diplomatic corps, interrational boundary disputes, congresses and conventions. It is this Department that bears the brunt of the failure of the Panama Exposition where over half a million dol- lars was expended, seemingly to small comparative pur- pose. As one citizen expressed it, "In the first place we didn't have anything but a few bananas and cocoa- nuts to exhibit, and if the United States hadn't stepped in and helped us out, it would have been a perfect fizzle."
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The other three cabinet officials are the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Public Instruction, and the Secretary of Fomento (Promotion).
Panama has no army, but its place is taken by a national police corps numbering one thousand officers and men. A revenue cutter is maintained. It is a steam launch of 454 tons.
I found the people considerably stirred over the demand of the United States for the disarmament of the police force. The objection was not so much to the disarmament as to the somewhat abrupt manner in which it was accomplished.
When I asked the President what he thought about this disarmament, he said,
"Down here, we think Latin and we speak Spanish. You think Anglo-Saxon and you speak English. The result is we don't understand your words — and methods" (and his Excellency smiled) "and you do not understand our thoughts." He then went on with quite a treatise on the subject of the differences between the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin temperament. It was a very delightful conversation, but when later I began to jot down my notes and found that the President had beautifully refrained from answering any question directly, I had a graphic demonstration of one differ- ence between the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin habit of mind.
It is this difference in the point of view which is re- sponsible for much of the difficulty and lack of mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and the Central American republics. Pan-American- ism means benefits both ways, and many of the people
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in Panama will tell you that it is to be expected that the United States will get the benefit of the new trade, but they are always asking, "What do we get?"
The opening of the Panama Canal which has brought Panama into the great avenue of international business and politics has made it increasingly necessary that we strive to find out what the Panamanian is thinking, and how his interests as well as our own can best be served in the carrying out of the new order of world com- merce. One can not pass through the Canal and be- hold the lines of ships going before and following through the great locks, ships flying flags of many diverse nationalities, without realising that new link between the nations which is bound to affect far-reach- ingly the history of future generations.
The Canal has tapped the commerce of the Pacific Ocean valued at present at $4,000,000,000. It has also introduced directly to a world heretofore far away, 1,000,000,000 population living tributary to this ocean. This strategic point is quite sure to be a pivotal factor in our own political and commercial life. It is worth our pains to know what kind of people these are, as well as the firms most closely interested in our under- takings in this region.
"We have a word which is all powerful down here," said a Panamanian — that word is "simpatico."
CHAPTER V
TWO MOUNTAIN REPUBLICS — THE ECUADORIAN AND BOLIVIAN
AS the traveller looks out of his cabin window in the early morning in the Guayaquil river he sees all about him small fishing boats at anchor. There is no sign of fishing and upon inquiry he is informed that those boats filled with listless Ecuadorians are waiting for the turn of the tide to carry them down the river. It is easier than rowing, and time is no factor in the life of a fisherman in this land of Pizarro.
These anchored fishers waiting for a favourable cur- rent impressed me as a fitting picture in miniature of the people of this country still remindful of the six- teenth century. There are here one and a half million of inhabitants — Indians, Mestizos, Spaniards — all waiting — waiting — waiting for the turning of the tide, without worry meanwhile, and seemingly quite as indifferent regarding the matter as were their fathers and ancestors for the past five hundred years.
Slowly we steamed up the river until before us in the blazing equatorial sun lay the straggling port city of Guayaquil, which enjoys the unenviable distinc- tion of being the "City of the Yellow Jack," perhaps the most unhealthy port of entry to any country of modern times. A wide circling arc of one and two
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storied buildings lurch down to a stream as muddy as the Ganges, while half clothed natives swarm along the unkempt banks of the river at the mouths of the nar- row streets. The ship is carried so near the river-side that one can see the gesticulating inhabitants about the long market place, and their confused murmur of voices greet one over the current like a warning cry of "Un- clean"— a fateful welcome to these lowlands of the bubonic plague and the stegomyia, the fever-laden mosquito. To be sure it was the first of June, the be- ginning of the dry season, when the death-dealing mos- quito is supposed to have left the water front, that this scene unfolded before our eyes, yet the miasmic shadow of the place seemed to rivet the consciousness with a spell that not even the rounded hills that sentinel the town and the chiming towers of the Catholic steeples were sufficient to dispel. One recalls the reported say- ing of the short sighted Guayaquil merchants to the effect: "Sanitation will tempt the 'gringo' to come in and wrest our business from us. Let our friend, •Yellow Jack,' stay."
I did not wonder that a business man from the "States," who had sailed thousands of miles to make inspection of mining properties in Ecuador, confided to me as he stepped down the gang plank to the small boat that was to take him ashore, that he was tempted to turn about and go home. Indeed, if one did not realise that beyond these quarantined hot lowlands lay 116,000 square miles of fertile plateaus and snow- capped Andes, or think of Quito, the capital city with its 75,000 inhabitants, calling one up there among the mountains 9,371 feet above the sea, he would hesitate.
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Yet one wishes usually to see the vast cacao groves which belong to those equatorial altitudes thousands of feet above the Pacific, and the unique industry of Ecua- dor in vegetable ivory yielding yearly for this country and the world 20,000 tons. Ecuador's $15,000,000 of exports of coffee, her rubber, Panama hats and a dozen other native products, and her grandeur of mountain scenery weigh in the balance in her favour; otherwise it is doubtful whether any American traveller would sail up the Guayas river that laves the wharves of Guayaquil, the largest seaport town of Ecuador, where 40,000 people live in squalid forgetfulness of the twentieth century. .
The modern Ecuador can be understood only by a glance at the historic background far in the beginning of the sixteenth century when Francisco Pizarro, hav- ing conquered the great Inca Empire and executed the Inca king, turned to Ecuador whose people resembled in social and political institutions the Incas. On Dec. 6th, 1534, the Spaniards entered Quito as conquerors, Pizarro was appointed Governor of the province and the usual Spanish custom of feudal times was begun of dividing the land among themselves and the establish- ment of feudal estates.
After several rearrangements, by which Ecuador was included first in the vice-royalty of Peru, and also an- nexed to the vice-royalty of Granada, a movement for independence began on August 10th, 1809, when the citizens of Quito deposed the Spanish governor and established a revolutionary junta. Although the Spaniards regained control, they lost it afterward in 1820, when the citizens of Guayaquil declared their
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independence. In 1 830 a constitutional assembly was held proclaiming the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador.
In spite of the fact that the country has been called a republic for nearly a hundred years, the influence of this ancient Spanish regime is apparent, revealing itself in many ways. Three centuries of rule make a decided print on any country, and the rule of Spain was characterised by certain things that cling with tenacity to the Latin nations of South America.
The whole colonisation policy of the Spaniards dif- fered radically from that of the settlers in New Eng- land and Virginia. They were not actuated by a de- sire to secure either political or religious freedom, nor were they especially interested in the industrial and agricultural development of their colonies. To the Spaniards, any work which might be considered in the least menial was not looked upon with favour, and the natives early were placed in the position of slaves. To-day the same attitude of mind prevails and the for- eigner who so far forgets himself as to carry his own bag or suitcase in Ecuador loses caste with the aristoc- racy.
Spain brought to South America the spirit of the Middle Ages ; her sons were not colonisers but adven- turers who came to the New World in search of gold and an easy means of existence. The religion which they brought with them was of that narrow type found in Spain in the era of Ferdinand and Isabella, and it carried with it all the bigotry and disregard of human rights that characterised the Inquisition period. The union of the Church and State in these new lands stood
rLAS BALSAS" REED BOATS, LAKE TITICACA
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for the apportionment of the lands to the privileged classes, the multiplication of priests, friars and nuns, and instead of the inauguration of equal rights, there was instituted the rule, or misrule, in which the ele- ments of force, bribery, intrigue, cruelty, treachery and authoritative religion formed the doubtful weapons of sovereignty and progress.
The policy of the rule was well expressed in the words of one of the Mexican viceroys:
"Let the people of these dominions learn once for all that they were born to be silent and to obey, and not to discuss or to have opinions in political affairs."
Trade with foreign countries was entirely prohibited and all mineral wealth was heavily taxed. The native could not enter into business without the consent of an official, and for a man to seek a free field for his labour was held to be treason. Education was denied by these Spanish conquerors, and the local governors joined with the ecclesiastical authorities in a settled system of down- right subjection by force and chicanery which has af- fected later generations. Immigrants were forbidden by Spain and not until comparatively recent years has there been infused into these South American countries any great amount of new blood.
To be sure a hundred years has passed over lands like Ecuador since such deadening ideals of civilisation had their sway. But not in one century does a nation pass out from beneath the yoke of those ways of thought and custom which undercut initiative, stifle the conscience, degrade the thought of honest labour, and deprive the individual of human rights.
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It takes time to develop republics out of elements worked upon for generations by a system of selfish mediaeval feudalism. "It is a travesty on the word," said a leading foreign business man for many years in Ecuador, "to call this country a republic" : and then he told me for an hour instances of autocratic rule and undemocratic customs which had all the earmarks of monarchical domination.
It must be learned that self-government, the appeal to the ballot instead of to arms in settling ordinary dis- putes, and the building up of self-confidence and self- reliance, are matters that cannot be inaugurated over night in a mass meeting, where a Constitution is agreed upon with high sounding words. Republics develop from within outward and not in the opposite direction, and the spirit of a Constitution is far more important than its letter when it comes to the making of demo- cratic states.
Remembering these days of checkered history we were not astonished when upon asking a prominent Ecuadorian what he considered to be the chief need of the people at present; he replied, "Discipline, personal and national discipline."
It must be remembered that about 40 per cent of the people of Ecuador are Indians, 50 per cent mixed Indians and Spanish or mestizos, and only about 2 per cent of the population are pure Spanish or white. Many think that this mixture of races has brought down the level, as the Indian is usually considered a more desirable worker than the mestizo, and compares favourably with him in the matter of morals.
As to education, the authorities give the following
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facts : primary education is maintained at the cost of the state, and school attendance is compulsory. The Re- public reports an attendance of 100,000 pupils in 1,000 public schools of primary grade. There are 35 secon- dary schools, and somewhat recently the government has established 9 higher schools with commercial and technical schools in Quito and Guayaquil. One finds at Quito also an old university, while faculties for higher training can be found at Cuenca and at Guaya- quil. It is fair to truth, however, to state that all that glitters is not gold in educational government reports in Ecuador.
About one in sixteen persons are reported to be en- rolled in school. It is evident that the children of the Indians are getting practically no schooling, while one will be informed that possibly one fourth of the children of the peons are receiving some kind of instruction. It is the law in Ecuador that the master having ten or more families of labourers on his estate must maintain for them a school, but in this case, as in others, the law is not always obeyed. As in East India, the parents are loath to give up their children for school attend- ance, especially outside the towns, where the parents have little regard for education and are living in an ignorance at times startling to those unacquainted with the backwardness of some of these states. The shuck- ing of ivory nuts, and the earnings therefrom, usually outweigh the attraction of the schools.
Of Ecuador, as of many another country, one may speak in terms that seem at first contradictory. It is an equatorial land; indeed, it takes its name from the equator, but in its highland plateaus where nine-tenths
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of the population live, the weather is cold enough for winter clothing. Guayaquil lying in the low, shore levels is anything but desirable from a physical point of view, while Quito and much of the domain lying a mile and a half above the sea in and between the paral- lel ranges of the Andes, furnishes as beautiful scenery as one could wish, with dry and bracing mountain air.
One finds here a very uncertain government and an undisciplined and unsteady people, yet a commercial condition worthy of note in at least three great indus- tries. The traveller who walks along the busy water- front of Guayaquil passes warehouses filled with piles of cacao bags as high as the buildings themselves, and he is told that this industry in itself amounts to between eight and ten million dollars a year in exports, while Ecuador's trade in tagua nuts, or vegetable ivory, leads the world, with an output reaching upward to two mil- lion dollars yearly.
The palm producing the ivory nuts is found chiefly on the Pacific coast of Ecuador, and grows from ten to twenty feet in height bearing at the base of the leaves a cluster of nuts resembling cocoanuts. Each nut con- tains seeds approximating the size of small potatoes, but fine in grain and approximating real ivory in char- acteristic. It is of this material that most of the buttons of the world are made.
American enterprise is now entering Ecuador, one of the large New York export houses, having 40 offices and 2,000 men working on the west coast of South America, being well represented here.
It is only a matter of time, hygienic improvement, and patient modernisation of roads, people and govern-
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ment, that keep the door into Ecuador still half closed — considerable "matter" one admits — yet the for- eigners in this equatorial republic have hopes.
It is the instability of government especially, that handicaps the present day Ecuador. The Constitution is liberal; foreigners enjoy the same rights and civil guarantees as do the citizens of the country, and free- dom of thought, worship and the press is given. It is an inducement to trade to find that aliens may acquire property, public lands, and hold the right to establish banking institutions under the same conditions with Ecuadorians. It is also worthy of note that the Presi- dent of this republic, as in most of the South American states, is elected for a term of four years by direct vote, and cannot be re-elected except after the lapse of two intervening terms.
The government is supported by a permanent army consisting of upwards of 7,500 officers and men, and a first and second series of reserves of 100,000 men. There are also mining and torpedo sections, a sani- tary section, and a telegraph and telephone corps — all created in 19 10. The navy of Ecuador consists of one cruiser, the Cotopaxi, a torpedo destroyer, the Bolivar, of 1000 tons; one torpedo boat, the Tar qui, of 56 tons; three launches and one auxiliary vessel, with a total personnel of about 200 men.
There is maintained a telegraph system of 3,500 miles with 188 officers; two telephone systems with 400 subscribers each and 150 post offices. In 19 13 the postal money order system was installed in the principal offices and the parcel post system is in vogue.
Despite these advances, Ecuador has much to learn
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in the use of modern contrivances. The Constitution has not yet learned to "march." The people have not yet discovered that revolutions do not usually pay, yet some of these revolutions in recent years have been little more than opera bouffe. A railroad official in describing to me a recent revolution said that he was ordered by the government to have ready a special train to carry General A and his army which con- sisted of fifty-four men. He gave them the train and shortly afterwards another order was received to have
ready a second train for General B and his army
of fifty-seven men. The trains were made ready and the government troops departed for the battlefield. They met the revolutionists' army in a valley, the enemy to the established government consisting of the somewhat unique combination of seventy-eight officers and three privates. A battle ensued lasting for several hours when six men were killed and fifteen wounded, the government troops achieving a glorious triumph, and, returning home, received the admiring uvivas" of the populace, whom they had so bravely defended.
One soon is impressed with the fact that the Ecua- dorian loves a uniform and gold lace quite as much as the Japanese. This is especially evident among the army officers. We were told of how a Paris house received some time since an order for uniforms for the army of Ecuador. The head of the Parisian clothing establishment understood the order with the exception of one set of Ecuadorian regalia that was to be covered almost completely with gold lace, braid, epaulettes, etc. He called on the representatives having the mat- ter in charge and said:
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"I understand all the other uniforms but this one; what branch of the service is to use this pretentious uniform?"
The representative answered, "Oh, that is for the members of our secret service."
Although the laws of the republic look excellent on paper, their execution halts badly at times. A for- eigner who has lived many years in Ecuador informed me of the frightful "graft" in the customs revenue. He said, "If I could have charge of the customs for three years, I would be able to save for the government fifty per cent more than they are now receiving, and in addition, if I could be allowed the surplus, make for myself a munificent fortune."
There seems to be a way to get around the revenue, and it is said all along the coast that one reason that the Germans can crowd out all competition in the ivory nut industry, is because of their understanding of the methods of satisfying officials, thus relieving themselves from paying the scheduled duty.
An American told me of his experience in getting a large consignment of supplies from America upon which he paid the regular duty. A Guayaquil mer- chant criticised him for being so foolish as to pay the full duty. "But," said the American, "it is the thing to do." "Yes, perhaps so," said the Ecuadorian, "but no one does it here."
In these tendencies, as in so many other departments of Ecuadorian enterprise and activity, the historic tra- ditions planted and grown for centuries amongst these people by their European conquerors, are dying hard. That, however, they are becoming less and less popular
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with the increased introduction of foreign trade and traders, and especially at present by the added impetus to South American industries on account of the Euro- pean war, is patent to any unprejudiced observer. Ecuador, with its vast fields of untouched wealth, and with its growing sense of justice born of contact with the outside world, is certain to cut herself away slowly but surely from these deadening bonds with which she has been bound for hundreds of years, and with this emancipation, a real republic of far-reaching value to herself and the world, will result.
Bolivia — The Mountain Republic
No one visits Bolivia without considerable sacrifice. It is justly called the Mountain Republic for it is an isolated elevation 12,470 feet above sea level, and in winter, that is during the months of June, July, August and September, especially, this country can furnish in- conveniences second to none that we know of on the face of the earth.
Shortly before our intended departure from Cuzco for Las Pas we were greeted with the cheerful informa- tion that a terrific snow storm was raging in Bolivia and that two policemen had been frozen to death on the streets of La Paz. Since the Bolivians have no fires in their houses, coal and fuel being so expensive, the traveller naturally draws the conclusion that the policemen were frozen upon the street because they had gone out of doors to get warm. Indeed, the houses of Bolivia, like many of the great cell-like Spanish structures in many of the mountainous sections
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of Peru, seem to have corked up the cold of four hun- dred years, and their bleakness is absolutely impreg- nable. No one who visits Bolivia in winter can possi- bly imagine how any population could build houses with rooms thirty feet long and sixteen feet high with no arrangements whatever for warming them, to resist a climate as cold as the United States in November or December, unless these people had had evil intentions upon their posterity.
I asked a certain gentleman whom I met coming out of the country wearing three overcoats what he thought of Bolivia. He answered grimly, "I didn't see any- thing of Bolivia. I spent the whole time while in the country in bed, which was the only place I found where I could keep warm."
There are, however, things in Bolivia other than the temperature to attract and to impress the traveller. Here is really a remarkable land, lying midway of the South American continent at the place where the Andean range is widest, comprising 640,000 square miles, being the third largest political division south of Panama.
The population of this country of the Andean table lands is 2,000,000, only 13 per cent, of whom are pure white. In a sense, therefore, it is an Indian republic. There are three main divisions of these Indians, the Ayamara, Quichua, and the Mojos, together with many minor tribes. A prominent Indian called Bolivia "a commonwealth of savages," a title which would hardly be acceptable to the whites of the republic.
Formerly Bolivia was a part of the Kingdom of the Sun, or a vital section of the Inca Empire. From 1821
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to 1825, Simon Bolivar, who is called the George Washington of South America, led the Bolivians to Independence, and the people took his name in honour of his career as Liberator. Bolivia was thus the first of the South American states to teach the fine art of liberty by example, and she is very proud of this fact.
In the first Act of Independence for Bolivia we read the words: "Upper Peru was the altar on which the first blood was shed for liberty in the land where the last tyrant perished."
This mountain republic stands at the distributing cross roads for traffic through South America. Two- fifths of its area is mountain region, and the rest is composed of vast stretches of swampy bottom lands, forests, low hills and plains, lying on the eastern border. It is a land rich in mines of silver, tin and copper. The climate is diverse, and like Peru it is capable of great extremes. One sees in La Paz llamas loaded with ice from the north coming into the market place to meet there mules loaded with oranges and tropical fruits from the south and eastern borders. It is a land of contrasts and rich resources, and is as dependent upon the Indian race as is Peru.
La Paz, which is called the Mecca of the Andes, Capital and chief city of the Bolivian republic, is one of the picture cities of the world. As the traveller gets his first glimpse of it lying in a valley one thousand feet deep with vertical walls ten miles long and three wide, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, — it makes an unforgettable scene. Five rivers flow through the valley crossed by ponderous bridges. One descends to this city containing 60,000 to 100,000 population (ac-
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cording to the movement of the people) ■ man. tkrvrip car-line built by an American, and throughout this land, as in many another South American republic, the far- reaching value of immigration from Europe and other parts of the world is evident.
Here at La Paz one finds a railroad centre for three lines. The city is indeed the pivot not only for the Bolivian railway system, but the centre of the future progress of the country. La Paz is a rapidly growing city; there are many fine buildings and the city is rapidly building down the valley. As in other South American states, the past history of the country has been checkered and there have been many changes in which the Capital of the country has shared. Indeed, the traveller will have pointed out to him quite a line of cities and towns, each of which has been at some time the Capital of this land, — Sucre, Cochabamba, etc.
An Englishman is reported to have asked: "Where is really the Capital of Bolivia?" A Bolivian an- swered his question by replying, "The Capital of Bolivia is the back of the horse which the President of the Republic rides."
In entering Bolivia from Peru, while the traveller is impressed with the preponderance of Indians as is the case in the Sierra section of the Peruvian country, there is also the impression of a more virile and sturdy con- dition of affairs as evidenced both in people and in business. Nine hundred miles of railway in the coun- try bring the people and produce to the central mar- ket places of La Paz, and an Argentine railway is about to open the republic to the Atlantic, two thou- sand miles away through Buenos Aires. The silver
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mint's of P-otoGi are famous the world over, and in the past three hundred years are said to have yielded two billion ounces of silver. At one time the entire world was dependent upon these mines for silver coinage. Bolivia is sometimes called "The Land of Ten Thousand Silver Mines," and although there is still a great lack of modern enterprise and capital to tap the rich and untouched resources of this vast republic, the present development is increasingly rapid.
Cochabamba is the garden city of the country and the city of tin mines. The Bolivians will tell you with pride that their country is the second tin-producing country in the world.
The traveller will visit Sucre in that long curve of railroad that connects La Paz with Antofagasta in its two days' train journey and find in this one-time Capital a city of old Spain, but gradually being dressed in modern clothes.
In Bolivia the military service has been made com- pulsory for Indians between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one, and these have been drilled in many cases by German officers and instructors. It is a combina- tion of education and military drill, and the result is said to be a rapid advance in the condition of this large portion of the population. The Indians are taught to obey, to read and to write, and some authen- tic account and vision of modern civilisation is being given to them. There is a dearth of scientific and in- dustrial training, as in Peru, and one is always led to wonder why these countries existed under the nominal influence of Spanish control for hundreds of years with so little genuine and systematic attention being given
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to the race of people upon whom the entire population so largely depends.
As a city of colour, La Paz is probably unequalled by any city in South America, unless perhaps by Cuzco, Peru. The costumes of the people are so vivid that one has described a market scene by calling it "a field of poppies in the month of June." The women wear round flat, pan-cake hats, embroidered on the top, and they shine and glitter in the sunlight. The stylish Boliviana wears as many skirts as she can get on her body, often eight or nine, each of a differing shade, and one showing below the other. They are extremely full and sway as she walks, making her look like a perambulating umbrella.
The ponchos of the men are of every colour under the sun — red, green, brown, grey, purple, yellow, or a mixture of all the colours, made up in stripes. Yet the dirt of years tones down these brilliant colours, until they are all so softened that they form a beautiful whole. The people are brown by nature, brown by exposure and brown from lack of bathing facilities, because in this cold country a bath is almost a sure forerunner of that dreaded disease, pneumonia. As in Peru, the Indian woman is always occupied with her little spinning spindle, and as she walks or talks or sits before her wares in the market place, her hands are busy turning the wool carried upon her right arm into the thread with which she weaves her clothing and the gay poncho of her lord and master.
The Aymara Indians impress one as being a stronger and more vigorous race than the Quichuas of Peru, and they must be treated with more consideration than these
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latter, as there have been within late years serious uprisings of the Indians to voice their indignation against unfair treatment meted out to them by the white man.
As with the other South-American Indians, alcohol is their curse. On feast days men, women and chil- dren become horribly intoxicated, and remain in that condition so long as they can beg, borrow or steal the liquor they crave.
On the whole, however, Bolivia seems to be facing the sun and appears to be more inclined to progress than does her neighbour, Peru. Recently negotiations have been carried on with representatives of the Bolivian government for large plans of immigration, which must come in these countries if modernity is expected to appear. The plan was formed not long since to bring one thousand colonists, Dutch and North Americans especially, with their families to form an agricultural colony in Eastern Bolivia, and it is be- lieved that the conditions of settlement will be so favourable that these people will become, in a short time, Bolivian citizens.
The Congress of Bolivia has passed a bill prohibit- ing, with certain exceptions, work on Sundays in fac- tories, shops, commercial houses and other business es- tablishments. The bill also provided for the closing of saloons on Sundays, violations of the law being punishable with heavy fines for the first offence and with fines and arrests for further violations. The need of commercial and business training is being felt in Bolivia and plans are on foot for commercial schools; one, the Mercantile Institute of Santiago, Chile, has
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opened a branch school in La Paz under the manage- ment of a Bolivian professor, educated in Chile.
The possibilities, born of the immense resources of the land, are well nigh limitless. Bolivia waits for modern pioneers, for leadership and the right training of her Indians, for capital for the large mining and transportation enterprises, which must come from the outside, and for a system of education adaptable to the diverse elements of her Mountain Republic.
CHAPTER VI
PERUVIAN CHARACTERISTICS Manners maketh the man. — William of Wyckham.
THE men of Peru vary so widely in racial origins and national characteristics that any general title like "The Man of Peru" seems to call for the further question, "Which man?" — Here in modern Peru one finds the mediaeval man. I visited a great Franciscan monastery in Lima where the air is laden with the in- fluences and customs of far distant years; the monks chant their Latin orisons and follow their mediaeval vows as though Francis of Assisi lived but yesterday. The man of Peru is also the Indian man, at least nearly two million of them, though population statis- tics are difficult to secure on the tablelands of the Andes. These early inhabitants of the Americas range in character from utter savages abiding in the deep recesses of the Cordilleras to the self-respecting landholders and agriculturists of the coast towns. These Indians form as a rule an industrious community, as long as the white man's whiskey can be kept out of their reach. When they mix in marriage with the Spanish stock to form the "mestizos," their intelligence is said to be enhanced. Yet here even in the vigorous mountain air the proverbial "lazy Red Man" is to be
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found all too frequently and his mistrust of the white man makes intimate friendships between them com- paratively rare. If the Indian of Peru could be blessed with a few schools of the grade and type of training in practical arts of Carlisle and Haskell, the day of industrial progress would be hastened by scores of years in this rich and fertile land of the Incas.
Among the one and one half million inhabitants of Peru not classed as Indians, the types and nationalities are varied, but the Spanish racial stock predominates and the language and customs of Spain have set a deep mark on the whole country.
In spite of the advantages which the Spaniards have brought to South American civilisation, the initial ideal [or perhaps one might say the lack of ideal as far as the constructive development of the country is con- cerned,] and the inherent form of pecuniary corrup- tion attending the administration of Spanish laws, have shackled Peru making difficult modern advance.
Even from the time of Pizarro, the eyes of the Spaniard have looked towards Europe as a Mecca of pleasure and the place to which he is anxious always to return. Unlike the Frenchman who goes to Morocco or Algeria with the idea of permanent settle- ment, rearing there his small towns in miniature of those in France, and thinking particularly about the building of homes and the betterment of industrial conditions, the Spaniard came to Peru largely for ex- ploitation purposes. He was an adventurer and the glint of gold was in his eye. Even to-day, he will not stay in the country, but is only happy when he is at Lima or, if his means permit, when spending a large
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part of the year in Paris or some other European cap- ital. His sons, born in Peru, have inherited these urban tastes, and one of the first things noticed in Peru is the lack of patriotism or love for the rural districts. I frequently heard the remark that certain senators had never even visited the provinces which they were sup- posed to represent. It is a sad commentary upon the industrial capabilities of the Peruvian Spaniard that virtually every great commercial and national Peruvian enterprise has been inaugurated and developed by for- eigners.
The Peruvian, more than the inhabitant of any other South American republic, clings to his pride of Span- ish lineage. There is, to be sure, no colour line here, and occasionally a man whose colour would be a handi- cap in reaching a place in society in the United States, is found among the best social circles in Lima. The white men who stand at the apex of Peruvian society are usually members of old families, and many of them have retained from former prosperous days con- siderable wealth, while all have inherited more or less the ideas strange to North Americans. Among these traditional ideas is the sentiment that labour and even commercial activities are somewhat infra dig and the career of a gentleman who can live without work, or a politician (which often means the same thing in Peru), is standardised here.
The head of one of the large foreign business houses in Lima told me that he and his wife did not expect much of a place socially in the city, because of his alliance with commercial affairs. While it is a truism that "money talks'' in Peru, quite as loudly as in other
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countries, and the ability to shine in material splendour is a great factor in securing influential leadership, nevertheless, the processes of securing wealth are not popular; to this fact can be traced much of the back- ward condition of this country, surpassed by few other lands in wealth of national resources.
The cultivated man of Peru is interested in making a good appearance, in dressing in the height of fashion regardless of his financial ability, and in placing as his ideal a condition of ease in which he can merely re- ceive his dividends and spend his time abroad, or amidst the charmed circles of select Peruvian society. Indeed, those who have really reached such a position enviable in the eyes of their countrymen, dwell in a world apart, keep largely to themselves, intermarry, and move in a restricted orbit, filled only with the an- cestrally elect.
Peru is one of the few South American republics in which the tide of immigration from European coun- tries has not as yet set in strongly. In Chile, Argen- tina and Brazil, a variety of ethnic elements from vir- tually all parts of Europe, and also from North America, are now being mixed to form a new, vigorous and self-respecting division of mankind. Peru is still in the shadows of the middle ages, and the mediaeval Catholic Church is revealed more potently here than in any other large state south of Panama. I asked the editor of a foreign paper, who has lived for the most of his life in Peru, about the force which the Catholic Church exerted upon the people, and he an- swered :
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"It is a force, but it is the force of inertia — it is a stone on the ground. It keeps things from moving forward. It is a dead weight as far as educational or scientific progress is concerned. It keeps religion for those who are keen for it, a matter tinged with super- stition. The old characteristics of the Spanish inqui- sition and the intolerance of any other faith, still smoulder just below the surface."
In spite of the dominance of the Catholic faith, which is supported by the Government and has the sympathy and allegiance of the leading classes, the majority of the men of the country seem to regard the church with indifference. uThe women go," they say. In a goodly number of cities and towns of Peru I in- quired concerning the active part which the men took in church affairs and the answers were everywhere the same. They were to the effect that while, of course, the Catholic religion was the nominal religion of the country, the tendency of the manhood of Peru was largely towards free thinking, if not agnosticism. In a church service in one of the towns of southern Peru I counted seventy-five women and three men; although this proportion would not hold in every case, in services attended in at least half a dozen different sections, I found more than two thirds of the congre- gation composed of women.
As far as the religion of the country is connected with morals, it would be difficult to say what influence the church is exerting upon the men of the country. Much has been written in derogation of the morals of the Peruvian men, and we have been told frequently enough that the home life here is on quite a different
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basis than that of the United States, for example. Allowing much for exaggeration (and there has been undoubtedly considerable one-sided writing concerning this subject) there is no doubt but that the institution of marriage is not held in the same sanctity by Peru- vians as it is in certain other countries. Much larger freedom is given to the man who spends large portions of his time at his clubs and in amusements in which his wife cannot share. The traditional custom of semi- seclusion, which the women of this Spanish-American nation have held rigidly, has produced conditions simi- lar to those found in the Orient. No divorce being possible in this Catholic country, the women have found it necessary either to submit patiently or to close their eyes to a condition under which women of the United States, or any other Protestant country, would take refuge in the divorce court.
Another noticeable feature among the middle and lower classes is the lack of the marriage ceremony, either civil or ecclesiastical. Some say that the ex- pense stands in the way, for this ceremony is usually attended with expensive festivities as well as with the necessity of fees to the officiating priest. This lack of a binding tie between man and woman, especially among the members of the lower classes, makes for looseness of living and also works particular hardship upon the children, who are frequently left for the mother to support, when the man passes on to another relationship.
As to moral integrity and honesty in business, one finds varying opinions. The large Peruvian business firms are generally conceded to be trustworthy, accord-
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ing to the testimony of foreigners who have dealt with them for many years. There is undoubtedly a grow- ing sense of responsibility on the part of business men in this country. Among the small shopkeepers, how- ever, one finds here, as in the Orient, two prices and in some cases, many prices. There seems to be little commercial integrity among the retail shopkeepers, and even the Peruvians will advise the foreigner that he should never pay the first price. I regret to say that this does not always refer to the shops on the side streets, as I had good reason to discover. I went into one of the largest optical and photographic supply- houses in Lima, situated on the main business street, and was charged three times the price for my pur- chases, as I learned afterwards, that I should have paid.
But in spite of these weaknesses, the Peruvians are very likable people. They are kindly; they will go out of their way to help you or do you a favour. They make good friends, but it also must be added, bad ene- mies. Foreigners, who have lived for a long time in Peru, bear witness that they are very pleasant folk with whom to live, but amiable rather than practical. In- quiring of a certain European of long residence in one of the Peruvian ports the difference between Peruvians and Chileans, I received this answer :
"I like the Peruvian better, but I prefer to do busi- ness with a Chilean. The Peruvian has better man- ners, but he is less efficient in a business way than his Chilean neighbour."
It may be added that in a land where a music teacher finds it demeaning to carry his music roll to the house
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where he is to sing in an evening's entertainment, re- quiring a servant to follow him with this small roll and wait outside for him to finish in order to carry the roll home; in a country where a student may not soil his hands with labour to help himself through college ; and where the beau ideal of a ten-dollar-a-week clerk is to dress up like a gentleman of leisure and go to the horse races — on gambling bent — the charge of not be- ing an efficient business man would not carry with it the uncomplimentary stigma that it might in North America. It has been said that in the United States there is no human being so lonely or so miserable as the man "out of a job," but in Peru it would hardly be understood that a gentleman of leisure could ever be classed among the "undesirables. "
To fail in courteous gentlemanhood is to be declasse in this country, patterned after the Spanish school of courtliness. It is doubtful whether a better mannered people can be found anywhere on the face of the earth than here among the best classes of Peruvians. In our North American climate where directness and the absence of expressed feeling go together, we have been inclined to sniff at the politeness of the French, the Japanese and the Spanish, as being needless veneer, if not a thin veil to cover insincerity. The Peruvians, however, impress one as being really sincere in their politeness. Their amiability is charming and conta- gious. You find yourself falling in line and forgetting some of the northern brusqueness and practicality.
A Peruvian gentleman spoke a word recently which might well be taken to heart by those of us in the United States who are over-proud of an aggressive
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efficiency which loses much of its power through its lack of appreciation of those amenities that are second nature to the Latin temperament, and which, we must admit, add an intangible something to life's relation- ships :
"You in the United States," said my Peruvian friend, "are a wonderful people^ wonderful in your organisa- tion and practical sense; we in Peru are people of feeling and emotion. We live from the heart. The ideal is to unite American practicality with Peruvian feeling — either one alone spells failure."
It must be admitted also that the Peruvian is a man of ideals, in the realm in which his temperament finds easiest expression. He loves music and poetry. I talked with a member of an old family in Lima who was engaged in building an opera house at the expense of $30,000. He is equipping this building with every modern device which would cater to the inculcation of the love of music among his countrymen. It is the first attempt of the kind that has been known in Peru, and the man who is spending his time, his money and his enthusiasm upon this undertaking said, "I do not expect this to be a paying venture. I am not thinking of the money-side of this building, but it is my desire to do something with my money to bring out and to maintain the strain of idealism in our people."
The Peruvian men take off their hats when meeting one another on the street and handshaking is an omni- present institution. You may not be surprised to have your host shake hands with you two or three times, as a matter of course. A customer may shake hands
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with a merchant from whom he buys a necktie, and he will be greatly offended if you do not allow him, as host, to put himself to all kinds of inconvenience in your behalf.
In business this emotional and enthusiastic tempera- ment does not always work for permanency. The for- eigner will say usually that he finds the Peruvian strong to begin a new venture, but that he does not hold out in the face of obstacle as does the Anglo-Saxon. Theo- retically he knows what to do and cannot be surpassed in intelligent comprehension of the needs in a particu- lar case, but he fails to "carry through." He lacks what Napoleon called "two-o'clock-in-the-morning- courage."
It may be because of the tendency to take life more easily than do men in the northern America that the chief end of the Peruvian youth is to become a politi- cian, an honourable gentleman's profession requiring but a few hours of work a day.
Yet the tendency to use the office of a politician as a means for pecuniary profit, through "graft," has lessened of late. It may be because there are fewer spoils since the loss to Chile of the nitrate fields which are said to bring Chile a revenue of $90,000,000 yearly. At any rate, one result of the Chilean war has been the new birth of patriotism in Peru, and signs of greater stability and honesty in government affairs are plainly evident.
Quite apart from the utilitarian matters to which it is so easy to bring nations and men to book in these twentieth century days of progressive material effi- ciency, the man of Peru has a message of real value
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to his South American neighbours, as well as to his northern brothers, who find it easy enough to criticise him for the want of things they possess in abundance. It is the message of kindliness and the attention to those amenities of daily intercourse, without which dollars and dreadnaughts are alike inadequate to make the world a pleasant place in which to stay. An old lady who knew intimately James A. Garfield as Presi- dent and man, said to a friend after the martyred President's death, "I liked him; he was always so pleasant."
The man of Peru has much to learn in matters of industrial proficiency from other nations; but in the realm of agreeableness and in studious attention to the fine art of living pleasantly with one's fellow men, the man of Peru can teach the world.
CHAPTER VII
NATURAL RESOURCES OF PERU
"Rocks rich in gems, and mountains big with mines, That on the high equator ridgy rise."
HUMBOLDT said many years ago: "Peru is a beggar sitting on a hill of gold."
While it would not be fair to the modern Peruvian to say that Humboldt was right relative to the first part of his definition of the Peruvians, no one who knows the stupendous resources of this old land of the Incas would deny the truthfulness of the last part of the assertion. In spite, however, of the vast resources, agricultural and mineral, of Peru, the country has been likened with some justice to a small boy who has money in the bank but is unable to get at it because he has no key.
Here one finds in the various sections reaching from the low coast line on the Pacific to a height of more than fourteen thousand feet on the table lands of the Cordilleras, almost every known possibility of industry through the rich products of the soil. Sugar and cot- ton are among the most profitable of the coast enter- prises. One is told that in Peru the greatest cotton harvests in the world per unit of acre are obtained. Upland cotton in the Ganete valley furnishes an aver-
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age of five hundred and fifty-three pounds per acre, and some places as high as nine hundred and sixty-eight pounds are being obtained, while the maximum of 1384 pounds has been reached in the valley of Lambayeque. A high average in any one of our Southern states is 308 pounds.
One also discovers, somewhat to his astonishment, that the growing of sugar cane can be made a most profitable industry in the coast zone, and one is shown how the yield per acre of sugar in Peru is nearly double that of any of our sugar-producing states. The Presi- dent of the Republic owns and operates a sugar mill which is said to be one of the most enterprising and successful pieces of business to be found, not only in Peru, but in any other section of sugar enterprise. It is no unusual thing in this resourceful country to find great sugar haciendas employing from one thousand to twenty thousand workers.
Here, as in India and in Egypt, the land is simply waiting for water, and capital invested in irrigation forms a most remunerative field. The area of this vast zone, capable of irrigation, is estimated at fifty- million acres, of which not over two million acres are cultivated at the present time.
As one goes inland to the great table lands of the Andes and elevated plateaus, although the region has been reached by two railroads, the chief means of transportation through the devious windings of ravines and mountain gorges is the llama and pack mule. Here one finds almost every known kind of mineral — copper, silver, gold, lead, quicksilver, coal, zinc, petroleum, sulphur, bismuth, cobalt and salt. The
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possibilities of this region, providing railroads, or even good country roads, can be furnished, are well nigh limitless.
The most important formations of gold are found upon the eastern slope of the Andes, and it is estimated that one auriferous deposit in this region contains more gold than has ever been found in California. The famous deposits at Aporoma, several miles in length, are estimated to contain gold to the value of $200,000,000. You will be told how these mines were one time worked by the Incas and how the Inambari River and its tributaries are veritable gold pockets and also how the mountain regions of the Sierra proper are rich in quartz lodes. The scale upon which Peru is rich with this latter mineral is indicated by the fact that in the southern part of the country there is to be found a group of quartz lodes, ten of which cross a deep valley and ascend the slopes and traverse a high plateau. The outcrop of these lodes is said to be from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the lowest level of the valley while the lodes extend downward to unknown depths.
The great difficulty in all of these mines is the lack of sufficient capital to install proper machinery and, as has been suggested, proper transportation. There are few more interesting sights for the traveller in Peru than the long train of llamas which are utilised espe- cially in the high altitudes in place of trains to trans- port these rich land resources. These animals will carry one hundred pounds and no more. If one hun- dred and one pounds are placed upon a llama's back, it is said he will lie down and refuse to move until the
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pack is lightened. He is called "the living scales.*" These trains of llamas form the branch railway lines on the high plateaus, carrying the freight to the in- terior from the railway stations. It is said to take one hundred and fifty llamas to carry the contents of the ordinary freight car.
It is also in the mining of copper that Peru is to-day one of the great producers of the world. The Cereo de Pasco mines which lead in this industry were passed by an English concern to be taken up by a group of Americans who purchased them at a compara- tively low figure and are now carrying on an immense business, with an authorised capital of more than fifty million dollars. These are the highest mines in the world, worked at an elevation of over 16,000 feet. At present there are about 200 Americans working at Cereo de Pasco, the remainder of the 6,000 men em- ployed in these mines being for the most part Peru- vians. This means a population of 30,000 people including the families, forming one of the most inter- esting communities to be visited in South America. It is a severe test upon the foreigner to work in these altitudes since mountain sickness (sorochee) is com- mon, and many of the Americans who have gone to these mines have been obliged to return. It is said that the high altitudes cause an enlargement both of the heart and the lungs, and that the Indians, who live continuously at these heights, are susceptible to tuber- culosis when they descend to the lowlands.
Recently the government of Peru placed an export tax upon copper when the price of this commodity has reached or goes above 6$ pounds a ton. The
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present manager of the company informed us that at present they were paying $33.00 a ton export tax, but as long as copper sells for the present enormous price of 144 pounds sterling per ton the company was not inclined to find fault with the government tax. It was also stated by this manager that, in his judgment, capital was as safe in Peru as in any other part of the world.
The traveller is astonished in going about this coun- try at the scarcity of coal because he is given to under- stand that the land is rich in coal deposits. At present, most of the coal comes from Australia or from Wales, while some of inferior quality is brought from Chile. It is stated that the bituminous coal region of Ogon is by far the greatest coal reserve in South America, and it is pointed out that this region is particularly valuable in that it lends itself to the establishment of a coaling station in the bay of Huaco.
As far as the petroleum industry is concerned Peru is virtually at the beginning of the enterprise, although the Peruvian oil field is the second in the world as re- gards its extent. The lumber industry also has vast possibilities, especially on the slopes of the Andes on the east called the Montana. These wooded slopes, extending from the eastern sides of the Andes to the impenetrable forests of the Amazon, filled with navi- gable rivers, are to be entered by two trans-Andean lines of railroad. The forest reserve of this region con- tains trees of great size and beauty and is capable of furnishing plain lumber or hard wood of almost every known variety. In this region it is not uncommon to see an entire house built of black walnut, or of mahog-
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any. It is interesting to note that these forest lands now sell for about twenty-five cents an acre.
Here are also the great rubber forests, for the most part still unoccupied. The government cedes these lands ad perpetuam for the payment of two shillings for two and one half acres. The projection of rail- road lines into this region promises a great future for both Peruvian lumber and rubber.
Add to these great natural resources the tropical possibilities in coffee, cocoa, wheat, rice, alfalfa, and numerous other products that flourish in the warm and fertile region and it is clear that this country has been unusually blessed in the resources of its soil.
In a conversation with President Pardo I was inter- ested to learn that the present government of Peru took great pride in the American industrial and mining establishments in this country.
"We believe, " said the President, "that we have a stable government now, and to those who would en- quire about the safety of business enterprises with us we would give as an example the enormous English and American firms and corporations that have been carry- ing on increasingly successful business in Peru, not only without government interference, but also with our sympathetic attitude and support."
It is the time of times for the United States to con- sider Peruvian resources as an objective for American capital. This old country of the Incas is in a period of impotent transition, and the friendly sentiment which the Peruvians hold for Americans, together with the vastly increased trade with the United States be- cause of the European war, and the use of the Panama
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Canal, open a door of commercial possibilities unique in the history of these two republics. The American Consul of Lima, who informed us that Peru gave to the United States, even before the war in the year 1 9 13, 6 per cent more trade than she gave to any other nation, also stated that the result of the present year of commercial intercourse would reveal a much greater percentage.
It would seem a strategic and far-reaching policy for American capital and business to begin at once to assist Peru in discovering and making use of the limitless resources in her "hill of gold."
CHAPTER VIII
THE INDIAN OF PERU
"Strike hands, my brother man, 'Tis yours to paint the morning red That ushers in the grander day. So may each unjust cord be broke, Each toiler find a fit reward, And life sound forth a truer chord."
ACCORDING to recent statistics the population of Peru comprises approximately four million people. This population is divided as follows: 1,260,000 mestizos, or mixed races from intermar- riages of the whites with the Indians; 600,000 whites; 100,000 negroes; 40,000 Orientals, and 2,000,000 Indians.
The great problem of Peru is the problem of the Indian who is not only numerically the important factor in the country, but who is also virtually the only sup- port of the vast majority of the population. It is a common saying everywhere that all Peru lives off the Indian. If the Indian were taken out of Peru to-day, the country would starve, at least unless the remaining portion of the population learned by necessity to culti- vate the land and to make a living.
The ancient Inca Empire of which Cuzco was the centre and the home of the Inca kings, extended origi-
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nally from beyond Quito to the southern coast of Chile, including what is now known as Ecuador, Peru and Chile, and these ancient people had here a civilisation in many respects more advanced and civilised than that of the Spanish adventurers who conquered them. When Pizarro came to Peru there were nearly eight million of these inhabitants of the Inca realm in Peru alone, industrious, law-abiding, practising progressive arts and having irrigated farms, traces of which are still to be seen along the high peaks of the Sierra table lands. Their old homes and fortresses, their temples, and their architecture reveal a state and quality of knowledge and skill resembling that found in the old Egyptian tombs and monuments.
When the Spaniards came, not to colonise but to conquer and to exploit, the Indians were driven from their homes, the country in many instances went to waste, people becoming slaves of their ruthless masters who proceeded to make the quiet, tractable Indians into beasts of burden, killing them ruthlessly, whenever they opposed.
The present evil traits of the Indian, his dishonesty, suspicion of the white man and much of his sloth have been the result of the conditions under which he has been controlled for four hundred or more years. Dur- ing the old Inca regime, such sins as lying, stealing and adultery were punishable by death, and the home life of these ancient people was far better in character than that generally found to-day among their suc- cessors.
The suspicion that the Indian holds for the white man is pronounced, and it is only after continued proofs
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of his friendship that the white man can gain the con- fidence, of these people who have been so continuously wronged through the centuries. The average stranger who speaks to the Indian will hardly get an answer in Spanish from him ; even if the Indian knows that lan- guage he will pretend that he does not know it, for fear some new device or demand of the white man will be practised upon him.
A friend of mine who is accustomed to travel much among the Indians in Peru told me that it was difficult even to secure a fowl for his supper in an Indian vil- lage, since the Indians feared that he either would not pay them for it, or would play some trick upon them in relation to it. One time he found it necessary after offering the Indian a sole, or fifty cents, for a fowl that was worth twenty cents, to go out himself and shoot the coveted chicken; when the Indian saw what had been done, he came and asked my friend if he would give him forty cents for the fowl. On being asked why he had not been willing to take the proffered sole at the beginning he simply shrugged his shoulders, say- ing that he did not believe the white man meant what he said. He said he had never found truth in the white man.
Frequently people have told me in Peru that it is im- possible to gain the friendship of the Indian because of the deep seated fear and suspicion which he has in- herited for those who have exploited him with regu- larity and his fathers before him for hundreds of years. Nevertheless you will be told by those people who know, that the Indian, of the interior especially, forms the most trustworthy labouring element in Peru to-
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day. He is hard working and frugal, living on a small patch of land which is frequently owned by the com- munity or by a large land holder. He will work day after day for his masters, receiving only ten cents in Peruvian money, which is equal only to five cents, gold. At the end of the week he receives an additional sti- pend, making his wages amount to about fifteen cents, gold, a day. In the case of the Indians who occupy land on the great estates of the Sierras (and there are often as many as four hundred families of Indians who live on a single large hacienda, as their fathers have for generations) the owners have the right to demand the labour of the Indian for virtually any work re- quired and at any time. At time of planting, weed- ing and harvesting, all the Indians are requisitioned to cultivate the great estates and when the owner wishes to send his produce to market, he has simply to call upon his Indians who respond with their trains of llamas carrying the produce many leagues to the near- est shipping place, without charge to the owner.
While this seems at first sight nothing short of slav- ery, the lot of the Indians in these mountains is not so bad as it might seem. They have their own bits of land which they cultivate assiduously and which yield them a good living, and they have their own sheep, llamas and alpacas, and a certain number of cattle. Their grazing lands are apportioned to them and they are protected in their rights. There is no danger of their homes being taken from them. In fact the Indian in the interior is so wedded to the place where he and his fathers have lived for generations, that it is virtually impossible to move him from his
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home. When the land changes hands the Indians are sold with the land, and simply transfer their allegiance from one master to another.
While in Cuzco, I had personal knowledge of a transaction involving the transfer of a great farm thirty miles square upon which there were living five hundred Indian families. Its seven hundred able bod- ied men constituted one of the chief assets of the farm, since, with these sons rooted to the native soil, the owner was certain of his labour and never would be troubled with strikes or problems relative to the fluc- tuation of wages. In these sections, moreover, the Indian impresses one as being much freer and happier than on the smaller individual portions of land nearer the large towns, where he is in continual trouble and often at the mercy of lawyers and lawsuits. I was shown a large tract of land filling a beautiful valley on the high plateaus of southern Peru which was owned formerly by the Indians. It is now possessed by three lawyers in Cuzco, who by clever manipulation have managed to embroil the Indians in lawsuit after law- suit, until these native owners have lost control of their original properties. It is a proverb in Cuzco that a rich lawyer is a rich farmer, for the first and constant mm of the lawyer is to get hold of as much of the In- dian's land as can be secured.
There is no more picturesque sight to be seen in South America, if indeed anywhere in the Orient, than these Indians journeying on foot behind their long trains of llamas, laden with alpaca or wool on their way to the market place. A market place like that of Sicuani, where on Sunday many hundreds of Indians
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gather, leaving their llamas and burros corralled on the hillsides, while they throng the central place with their wares for sale, makes an unforgettable picture. The first impression is one of colour — colour every- where. It is one vast sea of variegated ponchos, shawls and head dresses. Strangely enough they all seem to consist with the peculiar brown of the Indian faces, and the harmony of colours under the blazing light of the semi-tropical sun can scarcely be dupli- cated anywhere else upon the globe.
Women in gay dresses of red or blue or purple, are sitting in front of their little mats on which they dis- play the food for sale, or the socks which they have made, or the ponchos they have woven, and as they bargain with the passer-by their hands are always busy with the little spindle dangling from their arms on which they are spinning the wool from which they will make their socks or ponchos. They are never idle, these Indian women, as they trot along the paths be- hind their llamas, or as they herd their sheep on the hillsides, or as they come through the streets of Cuzco; you see that little spindle being twirled by the hand that has become so used to the labour that the process is performed mechanically and seemingly without ef- fort.
After the market is finished the Indian goes to his favourite chicheria, where in a great dark room, whose only light enters by the low doorway, he will sit upon a rude bench or on the earthen floor, and drink a glass of his national chicha, his food and drink com- bined, made from corn. This drink is said to be in- toxicating if used in great quantities, but its fermenta-
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tion is very slight, generally being drunk the same day it is made, and it takes a considerable amount to pro- duce intoxication. For ten cents the Indian will re- ceive a glass containing nearly a quart of the muddy brown liquid and a plate of "piquante," a stew made from vegetables and meat or fish, highly seasoned with red pepper. The Indian is not fastidious and does not resent the guinea pigs running around him as he eats his food, nor does he notice the smoke that arises in great clouds from the open fire which has no outlet except the room itself. He eats his piquante and drinks his chicha, then takes a few coca leaves, rolls them into a ball, puts a little lime in the middle of the ball and places it in his mouth, when he is ready for his homeward journey.
His home is quite likely a rude mud, straw-thatched hut in a little village lying close up against the moun- tains in one of the valleys through which a stream rushes down from the melting snows of the lofty Si- erras. The typical dwelling is about eight or ten feet in width and ten or fifteen feet long. The doorway is so low that the ordinary person must bow his head to enter it. There are no windows and no chimneys, and virtually no furniture. In some of the huts there is a framework upon which the family sleep at night, but in the great majority of Indian homes in this sec- tion, men, women, babies and animals share the floor space and huddle together to keep warm on the cool nights in these high altitudes. A little mud stove, or three stones in the corner of the room, burns a peat that is found on the pampa, and the smoke from the fire blackens the roof of the hut and escapes as best it
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may through the doorway. There are one or two cooking pots, a jar for water, and perhaps a couple of dishes in which to empty the food, but fingers were made before modern utensils, and they are the chief resource of the Indian who dips his hand into the com- mon bowl. Just outside the hut is a little corral where the burros, the tiny lambs and the pigs enjoy a pro- miscuous intimacy with the family.
The food of the Indian is simplicity itself, consist- ing of the ever present Indian maize, mutton and po- tatoes, all of which is often made into a thick soup, seasoned freely with red peppers. In the higher alti- tudes frozen mutton and frozen potatoes form the chief diet. The potatoes are frozen and refrozen, un- til all the liquid is eliminated, leaving only the nutri- tious part of the plant. The corn is parched and ground into a coarse meal with which they thicken their soups. Nearly every family keeps a few chickens which are eaten on feast days and pork also is appreci- ated evidently, as it is quite common to stumble over a pig when trying to enter the darkened dwellings of the Indians. The guinea pig is especially omnipres- ent, and his abundant fertility furnishes a cheap article of diet to the frugal Indian.
Marriage among these Indians of the Sierras is not general, although the Indian chooses his mate at an early age and his loyalty to her and his family is usually lifelong and in striking contrast to conditions found among the cholas or mestizos occupying the towns and villages. You will be told constantly by those who live in the midst of these mountain tribes that there is very little immorality among them, and the spirit of
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co-operation existing between the man, woman and all the children in their common toil and simple pleas- ures is as beautiful as it is praiseworthy.
Nor is the Indian free from romance. Indeed, a strong romantic strain runs through the character of these people of the hills. Often in riding along the mountain trails the traveller will see in front of him an Indian boy and girl walking along hand in hand, and as the rider approaches their hands will unclasp, and the same shy look will pass over their faces as one sees on the faces of youth in courting time in other lands. On a quiet night in some of these wonderful valleys the traveller may be sitting on the veranda of a great hacienda when there will float up to him the plaintive murmur of a flute, played in a minor key. The owner of the ranch will turn to you and say:
"I see it's courting time. One of my Indians is serenading his lady love, down there in the Indian vil- lage. One of these days he will come to me and say, 'Master, I want a plot of ground,' and I will go with him and choose his land and he will build his little hut, and there will be a new family on the estate."
As far as the education of the Indian goes, there is at present much to be desired. Nominally there is compulsory education throughout Peru, but such edu- cation can not be enforced among the Indians because of the manner and the necessities of their life, even if the Government provided sufficient schools and teach- ers. In the larger towns and villages a rudimentary teaching is given to Indian children during certain months of the year, but as a rule the Peruvian seems to
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go on the principle that it is better to keep the Indian fairly ignorant in order that he may not get above his business of making a living for the rest of the Peruvi- ans. If the Indian was educated, and began to think, the Peruvian might have to work, which would be a tragedy. Here and there, however, one comes across educated Indians who show signs of progressive lead- ership and some day it is hoped a Dr. Eastman will be raised up here in Peru to espouse the cause of the Indian [some man like Colonel Rondon of Brazil], building for him schools of industrial training, and raising up a new generation of intelligent and indus- trially-minded descendants of the Incas.
With the coming of industrial training for these In- dians there should come also a lightening of the load of religious superstition which they are now carrying.
The burdens which are bound upon the poor Indian by the priests who make him pay for birth, life and death, feast days and days of sorrow, all in the name of religion, are among the heaviest which he has to bear. Add to this burden of superstitious faith fois- ted upon him by his conquerors, the use of alcohol to which he has also been introduced by the white man, and one sees two of the chief obstacles in the way of the Peruvian Indian's present advance.
The lack of knowledge regarding the outside world has thus far kept the Indian an inhabitant in an iso- lated existence, and his mountains and his animals are still the chief things which he knows. That he is as good and as capable as he is, considering his lack of opportunities and the manner in which he has been treated, is a revelation of the inherent qualities of a
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race of men worthy of the study and the sacrifice of any people truly interested in humanity.
The red man of the Sierras has degenerated since the white man has touched him. The great question persists, when will the white man pay his debt to the Peruvian Indian by giving him the privilege of being a man?
CHAPTER IX
CUZCO AND THE INCAS OF TO-DAY
A voice oppression cannot kill Speaks from the crumbling arches still.
Whittier.
JUDGING from many of the books written upon Cuzco and southern Peru, one might easily gain the impression that the chief and only attraction of this old Inca city existed in the big rocks from which the people in some pristine age constructed their houses and fortresses. Enough has been written con- cerning these poor old rocks to fill a geological li- brary. The reading to most people would get monot- onous from repetition, since it would run somewhat as follows :
*These stupendous boulders were lifted to their places with no aid of modern machinery. They were laid without mortar, and so close together that you cannot insert a knife-blade between them (this knife- blade simile is invariably associated with the Cuzco rocks). The corners are rounded marvellously. Al- though thousands of square yards of these walls yet re- main, many have been ruthlessly destroyed by the ad- venturous Spaniards, or by later Peruvian vandals,
135
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There are many variations more or less verbose, but the above is the main text from which writers from Pizarro until now have preached their stone sermons anent Cuzco, and if the guidebook-loving traveller spends all his precious hours in this fascinating city of the Andean tablelands nosing about among the old tot- tering walls of very ordinary houses, and misses the real Cuzco of picturesque Indian life and modes of ex- istence reflecting the Middle Ages — let him not blame Cuzco, but rather the authors and grave-diggers who love the dead and dug-up things more than live peo- ple and present-day conditions of living.
To me, an hour in the Plaza de las Armas of this City of the Sun, surrounded by the vast protecting hills that hold the old city of the Incas in their bosom, where one sits in a four-ringed circus of moving, colourful, primitive life, which no single spot I have ever visited on the wide face of the earth affords in a like degree, leaves a memory as unforgettable as it is impossible to delineate. A phantasmagoria of colour, of antiq- uity in architecture, of absolutely unusual specimens of humanity and animals ranging all the way between ponchoed and shawled Indian men and women of the far distant Sierras to the would-be modern cholos, wearing hats made in Germany; and from the two teams of mules that drag the Cuzco horse car to the long trains of lofty-necked llamas that sweep by you, each with his packful of alpaca from the high interiors.
We called it a four-ringed circus, and so it is; as you sit in this great flower-filled square, more than n,ooo feet above sea level, the semi-tropical sun shed- ding its warmth radiantly upon your head through the
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thin, transparent, cloudless air, you find yourself won- dering which way to face lest something of the ever strange, unfolding scenes escapes your gaze. One side of the square is lined by a row of little shops filled with "fifty-seven varieties" of merchandise. Among these predominate gaily-coloured saddles and diverse accou- trements for the burros and pack animals, with pro- fuse decorations of red and green and blue wool. Be- fore these shops sit Indian and cholo women, holding in their hands spindle spools which they manipulate dexterously during the intervals of trade, spinning the wool which later they weave into the ponchos and caps and full skirts of the native dress. It interested me to learn that the riot of colour seen in these Indian dresses and ponchos was attributable to the famous aniline dyes that Americans find it difficult to import these days from overseas. Above these quaint places of merchandise in the top of the two-storied houses are homes, with elaborately carved balconies overhanging the street in old Spanish fashion, while above, the red-tiled roofs glitter in the sun, spreading over the sidewalks and supported by deep pillars. Here and there, through some opening, you will catch a glimpse of a patio within these houses, and a four-square clois- ter effect out of which the homes open to the sunlight. On another side of the plaza stands the ancient cathedral, built, as one is told, of the famous Inca stone and containing the bones of the brother of Pizarro and that Spanish conqueror's partner, Almagro. On the doors of the chapel of Santiago adjoining the cathedral, one can read the legend preserved in archaic sculpture of St. James coming down visibly on his white
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horse, standing with lance in rest to turn the tide of battle in favour of the Spaniards, thus witnessing the last throes of the famous Inca Empire.
If you can divert your attention from the passing throng of travel from the hills that confront one on still another side of the square, you can study the re- markable fagade of the old Jesuit church, and the an- cient University of Cuzco, founded in the sixteenth cen- tury, buildings which are said to be connected by an underground passage, associated with many an historic intrigue in the old days of the conquistadores.
These great piles of ancient masonry look straight away to the east, where the Cyclopean structure often called the ninth wonder of the world, the great mega- lithic fortress of Sacsahuaman, tops the hill, 700 feet above the city. There one climbs to behold the rock remains which guarded the aboriginal Inca Empire of Manco Capac, pristine king of the vast west coast of South America. Halfway up the slope an old Inca home can be seen, half hidden among the eucalyptus trees, while on the summit stands a cross bearing an inscription to the effect that to him who climbs the hill, kisses the crucifix and says a prayer at the foot of the cross, a hundred days of indulgence shall be granted.
Here one can sit for hours and dream of the scenes that were enacted on these surrounding terraces over- looking the heart of the Inca city. It is a drama of pastoral life, for the most part, of which no Virgil has ever arisen to sing, — an epic poem as romantic and tragic as any siege of Troy caught in Homeric num- bers.
MASKED DANCERS AT CARMEN ALTO, PERI'. DURING CARNIX A
RUINS. PALACE OF THE INCA, CUZCO
CUZCO AND THE INCAS OF TO-DAY 139
It was an agricultural empire, — this far-famed em- pire of the "Son of the Sun.'* It was a kingdom of labour and a nation that depended upon the land. On one great slope of hill which is now waving with golden grain, the Cuzconian will point out to you the place where, in order to dignify labour, the old Inca kings themselves were wont to initiate with their own hands the seasons of planting and harvest. The king Inca, amidst pomp and festival, would go to the terraces of the Colcompata and begin to break up the soil with a golden pickaxe, while the populace stood below in the famous square with uncovered heads. Later, when the maize and quinoa had ripened, he again went out amid the rejoicing of the multitudes to signallise the harvest time by plucking the first fruits of the high- standing grain. These harvests were invested with a sacredness akin to the worshipful wonder connected with the rising flood of the Nile for the ancient Egyp- tians; they were under the direct supervision of the Inca Son of Heaven, and seeds from this first harvest were distributed throughout the empire.
Again, from this central gathering place of the de- scendants of the Incas, the traveller will be shown far on the heights a certain rounded corner of the road where the Indians, coming down from the high coun- try, catch the first glimpse of this beloved City of the Sun lying with her red tiles shining in the white light a thousand feet below. It is here that the native still halts as in bygone days, and removing his hat gazes down upon the city of his forefathers, murmuring in Quichua the half-prayerful greeting, "O Cuzco, great City of the Sun, I greet thee!"
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As one wanders out of this picturesque square, he meets on all sides strange and fascinating scenes. There are colonnaded sidewalks filled with shops, re- sembling a bit the souks of Tunis, where the small shop-keepers sell and barter with the Indian. It is colour, colour everywhere. The ponchos or blankets worn are slipped over the head through a hole in the middle, and are striped red and yellow, brown and blue — every colour of the rainbow. The Indian wears a little crocheted cap of red or yellow or some other bright colour, with little ear flaps that pull down over the side of his face, leaving his black hair as a set- ting for his swarthy features. His trousers are short, coming a little below the knee, slit up a certain dis- tance to facilitate his walking. There is always a gaily embroidered bag hanging from his waist in which he carries his coca leaves. This coca, which, he chews constantly, provides him virtually with food and drink in his long marches. It is mixed with ashes to bring out the properties of the alkaloid, somewhat as the East Indians mix lime with their betel nut. Although it is generally admitted that the prolonged use of coca befogs the mind of the Indian and becomes at last an ally of his ignorance and paganised religion to rob him of his enlightenment and his years, it does less injury to his motor faculties and brain than does the white man's alcohol; and its solace helps to mitigate the monotonous adversity of his chill and barren ex- istence. Even the missionary to these folk of the lofty tablelands is loath to take away this omnipresent cheekful of coca. The native of the Sierra will trot cheerily along for days with his heavy, back-breaking
CUZCO AND THE INCAS OF TO-DAY 141
burdens, providing only that his coca holds out, but without it, his strength fails and even food is inadequate to supply his drooping spirits.
The Indian women of Cuzco, who abound on every side, wear a very full skirt of hand-woven wool, reach- ing to their bare, brown ankles. Many dresses have a border of a contrasting colour. They are particu- larly fond of all shades of red, from the brightest cerise to the deepest cardinal, and over their shoulders they wear a shawl of another shade of red or brown. In this shawl the labouring woman carries her burden, whether it is the baby or the vegetables she buys from the market, or the chickens she is delivering to a Cuzco customer. On her head she wears a flat hat with an unturned rim, and this is as showy as she can afford. Many of these hats are covered with tinsel embroid- ery. Like most of the Cuzco inhabitants of the lower classes, she goes barefoot or wears a crude sandal. Skirts are added, one over the other, according to the temperature, and one is reminded of the saying in common use in China as to the degree of cold: It is "one-coat weather," or it is "five-coat weather."
Bathing in Cuzco is evidently a lost art. When the rains begin during the first week of November it has become customary in modern times for the people to take their annual bath. It is really a kind of "Fes- tival of the Bath," and it is said that a good propor- tion of the inhabitants get pneumonia as a result, so unaccustomed are they to this civilised exercise. The missionaries will tell you that one of the first evidences of a man's conversion is that he takes a bath.
The custom of bathing is not popular even with the
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better classes of Cuzco, the people connecting the con- tact with water almost superstitiously with the contrac- tion of disease. We were told by an English trained nurse of her advice to a woman who came to her for medical help. The nurse prescribed nine baths for the patient, and the obedient Cuzconian took the whole nine in one day!
The Cuzco market will not soon be forgotten by the foreigner who sees it. It is fairly alive with a swarm- ing mass of picturesque humanity, composed of In- dians and cholos mixed in marvellous promiscuity. Women seem to be the owners of the stalls, their wares being placed on mats on the ground. All manner of vegetables are sold, onions and red peppers predom- inating. Along the edges of the market place are dry goods stalls, the wares hanging up so as to be plainly visible to the would-be purchasers; the brown clay jars used by the Indians, some of them copies of the old vessels found in the Inca graves, are everywhere for sale.
Fortune tellers abound and are invariably sur- rounded with groups of women. On one side we en- countered an enterprising Spaniard who had set up a stall where his trained birds at his call pick out a small envelope for sefior or senorita, which is supposed to contain infallible destiny. There are little religious punch and judy shows from which the Church reaps considerable profit, while on all sides are beggars, and small, keen-eyed cholo boys who follow the tourist, of- fering their services as guides and repeating the mon- strous exaggerations concerning Cuzconian relics. These little urchins are very clever, and they know
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that the foreigner is looking for antiquities; conse- quently everything they show one is "antigua, muy antigua." One clever little chap followed us around the market, and noticing that we stopped to examine a basket of ordinary black beans, which are one of the chief articles of diet, came up to us with a serious look on his face, but with a roguish twinkle in his black eyes, took up one of the beans and said, "Antigua, muy antigua, senor!"
No one can remain long* in Cuzco without realis- ing that this city was the seat of the Inca religion, a city filled with temples dedicated to the worship of the celestial luminaries. It was to Cuzco that the entire Inca population journeyed on pilgrimages for worship, much as the Mohammedans to-day travel to Mecca, and Hindus to the shore of their Mother Ganges. Upon these temples was showered the largess of the entire land, and the Temple of the Sun, which had few rivals in its richness and glorious worship, was justly called "The Place of Gold." Although there are re- mains of many temples in and about Cuzco, the Temple of the Sun is of predominant interest. A portion of the original wall is standing, and the mediaeval-looking monks who show you about preserve something of the ancient romance and glory clinging to this Cuzco temple.
A vivid picture of the extravagant richness of the Temple of the Sun has been given by Prescott, the historian:
"The interior of the temple was the most worthy of admiration. It was of enormous dimensions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones. It was
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so situated in front of the great eastern portal that the rays of the morning sun fell directly upon it at rising, lighting up the whole apartment with an efful- gence that seemed more than natural, and which was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and ceilings were everywhere incrusted.
"Gold, in the figurative language of the people, was 'the tears wept by the sun,* and every part of the in- terior of the temple glowed with burnished plates and studs of the precious metal. The cornices which sur- rounded the wall of the sanctuary were of the same costly material, and a broad belt or frieze of gold let into the stone work encompassed the whole exterior of the edifice."
It seemed the irony of conquest that this resplendent golden image of the sun, which had looked down upon countless generations, should have been ruthlessly gam- bled away in a night by one of the Spanish cavaliers to whom this treasure fell as his share of the looted temple. Even to-day a typical gambler in Spain is described in a proverb as one who follows the Span- ish adventurer Leguizano: "He plays away the sun before sunrise."
Not only in the ruins of these ancient temples, but in almost every turn in the narrow cobblestone streets in Cuzco, one is reminded of the sad story, written in blood, the story of the iron conquest of Inca Peru by the heroic but conscienceless knight errants of the Span- ish sixteenth century. Yet the place which the trav- eller will be shown to-day, where the Pizarros be- headed the Inca lords and nobles, was also the tragic place of decapitation of the losing Spanish adventur- ers, Almagro, his son and his lieutenants, who were
CUZCO AND THE INCAS OF TO-DAY 145
worsted in their mad search for gold. Cuzco was the particular scene of the arch barbarity and fraud per- petrated upon these peaceful inhabitants by the Con- quistadores, who have left a stain never to be effaced from Spanish arms in the New World. Few adven- turers have equalled in courage, capacity or cruelty the Pizarros, but the glitter of the gold on the Cuzco tem- ples proved to be for them and for their descendants but the shell of the pearl of great price; and Spain to-day is revealing the sign of this distorted strain of humanity, reaping her reward as one of the backward and impoverished nations.
No one can journey through this land of the In- cas, behold the great roads and aqueducts, see the scarred faces of the mountains which were in other centuries cultivated to the very summits, realising that the irrigation of the present day is still carried through the trenches that old Inca hands prepared, without feeling a high sense of respect for this people, who antedated the Spanish conquest and, in many respects, were superior to their victors. In those ancient days such vices as now fasten themselves upon the Indians and have become their second nature were virtually unknown. Lying, stealing and adultery were punish- able by death in the Inca reign. Instead of the pres- ent condition of drunkenness and sloth too apparent in many of the Indian communities, the old ancestry showed sobriety and an industry that rarely has had its equal anywhere on the face of the earth. Is it to be wondered that one finds certain old families or tribes directly descendant from the Inca kings holding them- selves proudly aloof and bearing in their faces and
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general attitude a conscious dignity of lineage? These disdain to have association with the diluted stock that now so largely has become the servile vassal of the semi-white man.
The brown faces of the Indians who follow their llamas through the dusty streets of Cuzco give food for thought. They are dark, sorrowful, sombre faces, and reflect the unspeakable tragedies that the last four centuries have wrought upon the natures of a once noble race of men. These people efface themselves in the presence of the white man, turning out to give him space, as a pariah might make a wide circle around a Brahmin in India. They work for twenty-five cents a day, or are impressed for long periods of labour for the price of the coca leaves and alcohol that the land-owner or the gangster may give them. This long- suffering race, upon which all Peru lives at present, and upon whose ignorance and superstition unworthy ministers of the Roman Church thrive and grow ar- rogant; these are the tillers of the soil and keepers of sheep and alpaca on the cold, windy slopes of the pampas, where white men cannot live. They dwell in vermin-infested huts that are breeding places of ty- phus and a dozen deadly forms of human destruction, seeing ninety per cent of their children die before they are two years of age. These are the sad descendants of those 200,000 Incas, who inhabited Cuzco when Pizarro came to loot and to kill, and carry away out of the Cuzco temples alone $100,000,000 in gold treas- ure, giving in return a destiny of labour and slavery, which one day will rise to haunt and besmirch the name of Spain.
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In the cathedral, and, in fact, in all of the forty or more churches of Cuzco, where barely 20,000 inhab- itants now remain of the once populous city, the trav- eller will see the pathetic vision of the Indian bowing till his head touches the stone floor, his face a study of abject fear and ignorant awe. For several -mornings we were awakened at an early hour in our hotel in Cuzco by the din of explosives about a church near at hand. Upon inquiring the cause of such celebra- tion, we were informed by an old resident of the place that this was a feast given by a certain Indian who had been selected by the priests to be honoured by paying the expenses of several days of festivities, in which a large number of people joined. The cost of this ornate and noisy festival was upwards of $250, and the Indian [to whom this amount represents a fortune] was obliged to borrow and also use all his life's savings. It meant placing himself in slavish bondage for the remainder of his days, in order to be thus honoured in the name of religion.
"But if he should refuse to comply with this request from the priest?" I asked. "Oh," was the answer, "he would not dare to refuse, and if he did his lot could be made unbearable."
In spite of the fact that the scales of justice seem to have been held so unevenly by his rulers in Peru, the strength of the race is revealed in many ways. On this small bit of land in the fastnesses of the high ranges about the City of the Sun, the Indian lives an inde- pendent and often a happy existence. He raises maize and potatoes on the uplands, and in the valleys, watered by mountain streams and warmed by the wonderful
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half-tropic sun (for Cuzco is only thirteen degrees south of the equator), he harvests his oranges and coca and the many vegetables which he brings across the long trails to sell at the Cuzco market. Indeed, there were few visions more impressive to me in this region than the sight of waving fields of barley and thriving potato patches, grown successfully on these Alpine heights 12,000 feet above the sea, in plain view of mountains wreathed with eternal snow. Nature at least has not abandoned the South American Indian. She has left him his herds of llamas, his fawn-coloured vicunas, his merinos and alpacas, animals which refuse to thrive below the wind-swept, dreary moors of the Sierra desolation; and there about his thatched adobe hut he folds his precious animal companions in rude farmyards fenced with stones.
Scattered on the slopes of the Sierras are occasional villages composed of these thatched huts, of which the little town of Asquia Alta is a typical example. Its name is taken from the irrigation trenches through which the water flows on either side of the narrow streets, fed from the melting mountain snows far back in the Sierra range. This primitive settlement — "High Water" — was more interesting to me than the cities, for here one sees life as it was far back in the days of the Incas. It is a page out of the Book of the Past, and its writing is printed deep on the lineaments of the people, as upon their customs and dwellings. The very animals have a prehistoric look; and as we walk through tortuous lanes that serve for streets to divide the straw-thatched homes, they gaze at us stu- pidly, with the wonder of other centuries in their eyes.
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The houses — can we call them homes? — consist usually of a single room, mud floors, no windows, an aperture serving as a door which is often little more than the mouth of a cave. One must stoop to enter, and then a strange miscellany greets one, a lot of primitive pots and kettles in the corner around a smok- ing fire built around three stones. At cooking times, there being no chimneys, the place reeks with the min- gled smoke and odour of burning flesh. It is neces- sary to walk circumspectly lest one step on a sprawling baby, or get tangled up with several dogs, chickens, or snoring pigs — all of which claim their common rights with the numerous members of the family to the promiscuous domesticity. These cholo huts, which serve as coverts from the cold of the South American winters, are chiefly bedrooms and kitchens and stables — ensemble — for as soon as the sun of the tropics, which these people's ancestors worship for good and sufficient cause, floods the narrow defiles of these moun- tain villages, every one is out of doors. The stronger members of the families, both men and women, are off to the fields with their mules whose sides contain the machetes and farming utensils, while the doorways are black with children of all ages and degrees of filthi- ness. Here and there is an old Indian woman mend- ing a poncho, or a mother with a nursing infant at her breast. A walk through the streets of Asquia Alta is like walking in a dream. There is absolutely noth- ing to suggest anything with which you have been fa- miliar save the gurgling rush of the water in the irri- gation trenches and the penetrating warmth of the blazing sun upon your head.
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These little Peruvian villages are not without their gladness and amusements, and almost every other one of the adobe huts flies a flag from its roof to signify that chicha and piquante are to be enjoyed there; the first is a drink made out of corn, while the second is a kind of stew made of vegetables and highly seasoned with red peppers. These small eating and drinking houses remind one of the coffee houses of the Arabs in North Africa. The primitive surroundings are sim- ilar, the people sitting without lights save perhaps the feeble flame of a candle, which casts flickering shad- ows on the dark faces of the men about the small, low table upon which stand the large chicha glasses.
Sunset hour, or "cow dust time,,, marked the por- tion of the day when I enjoyed most sauntering through the lanes and narrow trails that stood for streets in Asquia Alta. Diminutive burros loaded with great bundles of maize, the national food of the Indian and the cholo of the high altitudes of Peru, patter along in single file through the dusty paths that lead from the fields. The farmer whom we saw a while ago ploughing the steep hillside with a crooked stick, now appears over the brow of a hill, driving his faithful oxen home for the night, he himself carrying the yoke. Every door is filled with children, who, with the women and innumerable dogs, stand to greet the toilers com- ing home from the mountain farms, tilled in the self- same manner by the ancient Inca ancestors centuries before. The six o'clock bells in the distant cathedral at Arequipa are sounding the hour of evening prayer, and for a moment the tired peasants halt with uncov- ered heads. The little village is growing dark rap-
CUZCO AND THE INCAS OF TO-DAY 151
idly now, though the wonderful semi-tropical sun is painting the great guarding El Misti at the east of the town with one last golden wave of light. In another half hour our mountain hamlet will have lost its in- spiration to live, for the sun which the old Incas wor- shiped will have changed watch with the cold night winds that sweep down from the snowy summits of the Andes.
Already the inhabitants shiver along the winding streets clad in their red ponchos. You can begin to hear the doors of the rude abiding places which these people call "home," being pushed together for the night (for sundown is bedtime in the Cordilleras). As you pass down through the empty streets, the si- lence of the hill town is only broken by the bark of a dog or the cry of a child on the borderland of dreams. Weary hard working peasant Asquia Alta is being hushed to the dreamless sleep of tired bodies by the lullaby of the singing waters — waters that flow by the thatched huts in the irrigation trenches from the eter- nal snows that freeze and melt on the peaks of the distant Andes.
There may be somewhere in the world more prim- itive pastoral villages than those the traveller finds upon the sunlit sides of the towering Cordilleras ; but I have found no sections of the earth where the life of na- tional peasantry is more captivatingly picturesque, where Time seems to have stopped in its course, in or- der to remind us of days that are dead.
CHAPTER X
LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INCAS OF PERU
When Manco Capac pledged the Spanish Commander in a golden goblet of the sparkling Chicha, the humiliation rather than the triumph of the Peruvian Incas was impressive. The armed foot of the conqueror trod the Cuzco streets. It was the death knell of the glory of the children of the Sun. The annunciation was a sad and miserable pageant. The soldiers of the Cross had vanquished the children of the Sun — a doubt- ful exchange. — Prescott.
AMONG the ancient populations of the South American countries the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico are of the greatest interest, both be- cause of what they accomplished in the way of civilisa- tion, and also by reason of the influences they exerted on the generations following. No one can appreciate truly Peruvian life and customs, without a knowledge of the old races which were conquered but not an- nihilated by the Spanish cavaliers. These Indians who still make up half of Peru's present day population, were descended from this old Inca stock, and their cus- toms and the country they inhabit reflect on all sides the powerful farce of this ancient culture.
Like the Aztecs in the North, the Incas chose as their chief seats of empire the elevated tablelands of «he great mountain ranges that have had such dete*-
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mining influence upon the inhabitants of these coun- tries. Those who by chance are interested students of the manner in which the configuration of the land has been reflected in the character of the people whose lot has been cast upon it, will find rich material for study in South America.
The Incas differed from the Aztecs of Mexico in their military laws and life, showing far less philosophy and a greater display of common humanity towards prisoners taken in war. The Inca realm, indeed, was a benevolent and patriarchal monarchy in which the Inca lord and his nobles surrounded their subjects with a kind of parental solicitude, claiming from them in return absolute obedience and the readiness to obey commands of whatever sort imposed upon them by the government.
The Incas were more or less constantly in war, sub- jecting to their organised and complicated scheme of government the ruder tribes on their borders. They showed remarkable interest in combining these con- quered nations in the Peruvian monarchy, and were careful to warn their soldiers against committing un- necessary outrages on the persons or the property of the tribes conquered. One of the Peruvian princes is quoted as saying, "We must spare our enemies or it will be our loss, since they and all that belongs to them must soon be ours." Like the ancient Romans, the Incas are said to have gained quite as much by the policy of clemency as by the victory of arms.
Military service was virtually compulsory among the Incas, every Peruvian having reached a certain age being likely to be called to bear arms. Several times
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each month there were regular drills held for the in- habitants of the villages, and the soldiers thus trained made altogether a force amounting to at least 200,000 men. These troops were divided into bodies similar to the modern battalions and companies and the of- ficers rose in rank from the lowest subaltern to the Inca noble, who was commander in chief of the army. The Inca arms used against the Spaniards at the time of the Conquest consisted chiefly of bows and arrows, darts, lances, battle axes, slings and a short sword. The Incas used at the ends of their spears and arrows copper or bone points, and the weapons of the Inca lords were often mounted with gold or sil- ver. On their heads the Indians of the higher orders wore casques made of wood or the skins of wild ani- mals, which head dress was usually surmounted by the brilliant plumage of birds. The ordinary soldiery used the regulation costume of the provinces, wearing a turban or a roll of different coloured cloths about their heads, and carrying a shield or buckler. There was also worn a close tunic of quilted cotton on the part of the soldiery. The ensign under which these people marched to battle was a glittering device of the rainbow, suggestive of the fact that these were "Children of the Skies." The soldiers were clothed and fed by the industry of the people and any viola- tion of the property or the persons of the inhabitants by the soldier, was punished with death. Along the great roads were magazines of stores filled for uses of the army, and which, when obtained by the con- quering Spaniards, maintained the armies of the ad- venturers for a long period. In spite of the splendid
LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INCAS 155
organisation of the Incas, their character as fighting men was greatly inferior to the Auracanians of Chile, who even yet, as it is commonly reported, have never been actually conquered by the white man.
In the matter of religion the Incas furnished a re- markable exhibition of a people whose sovereign was supposed to hold a divine commission and to be pos- sessed of a divine nature. The violation of the law, therefore, was not only to insult the majesty of the throne, but it was also sacrilege. The worship of the Sun was the central principle of the Inca religious pol- ity, and their belief approximated more nearly to a spiritual worship than did that of any other Indian nation of South America.
It was, however, in the agricultural and mechanical arts, together with the laws that made for the social inter-relations of the Incas and their followers, that this nation is particularly worthy of study by those in- terested in the making of states.
The laws were comparatively few and simple be- cause the country was owned by the government and the right of really owning property was denied to the inhabitants. The whole territory of the Inca Empire was divided into three parts — one portion for the Sun, another for the Inca or the ruler, and the last for the people. The revenue of the lands of the Sun was used for the support of the religious observances, the building of temples, and for a priesthood of vast numbers. The Inca's lands brought him vast riches, and these were used by him for the exigencies of the government ; one chronicler maintains that virtually all
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that he received went back to the people and to the country for their general welfare.
The people's land was divided per capita in equal shares. Each newly married couple was given, accord- ing to Garcilasso, a "fanega" and a half of land; a "fanega" being as much land as could be planted with a hundredweight of Indian corn. A similar quan- tity was added for each male child born and half the quantity for each female. We found in the region of Cuzco that this custom was still followed in part, the landlord using similar measures in apportioning the maize-raising land situated in the valleys.
No more effectual agrarian law has been known in history than that by which the Peruvians built up their vast, well regulated agricultural realm. There was a reapportionment of land each year, but as a rule, it was said that the people were allowed to remain upon their own land, which to all intents and purposes was as good as ownership.
The cultivation of the lands of the Inca which was accomplished by the entire population in a body, par- took more of a festival than of the work-a-day world. The inhabitants were summoned at daybreak by a proc- lamation from some great eminence and men, women and children, dressed in their finest apparel, and orna- mented according to their love of display, gathered to- gether as to a jubilee. They went through the labours of the day, to the music of their popular chants and ballads commemorating the heroic deeds of their il- lustrious Incas. Many of these soft and beautiful na- tional airs were set to music by the Spaniards after the conquest.
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It must not be thought, however, that this Inca des- potism, patriarchal and mild as it may seem from one point of view, was lacking in the rigorous execution of its laws. Punishment was quick and to the point and the death penalty was inflicted for crimes of theft, murder, adultery, blasphemy against the Sun, and malediction of the Inca.
To burn a bridge was also an act punishable by death, while removing landmarks, or turning away from a neighbour's land for one's own benefit the water that flowed down from the mountains in the wonder- fully well made irrigation trenches, brought down upon the victim's head severe punishment. Of all crimes re- bellion against the "Child of the Sun" was the supreme one, and a city or province that thus arose in opposi- tion to the sovereign of the land, was immediately laid waste and its inhabitants destroyed. It must be added that the infliction of the punishments by the Incas was far less ferocious and attended with less cruelty than was the case with the Aztecs. The execution of the laws in this regard by these ancient peoples, compares favourably with the destructive violence of their Span- ish conquerors.
It was the aim of the Inca, as it was for so many generations with the Moslem, to forcibly convert at the point of the sword the nations which he vanquished. It seemed usual also that nations thus becoming ac- quainted with the mild, and in many respects, beautiful worship of the Incas who associated the heavenly bod- ies with a deep religious awe, became irretrievably at- tached to this religion. It was a long time before the Roman Catholic Spaniards were able to gain much
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inroad upon the religion of the Incas who failed to see in the belief of their conquerors indications of a more desirable faith than that which they themselves professed. According to custom it was usual for the Spanish inquisitors of these early days to present, with a doubtful show of benevolence, their faith as the last resort for the members of the Inca nobility, whom they sacrificed often with cruel death-penalties in the midst of their own people. Atahuallpa, the reigning Inca who was treacherously entrapped and killed by Pi- zarro, when led out to his execution was accompanied by a friar who tried to convince him of the advantage of the Christian faith. The dignified and supreme head of these mountain people was as calm and unruf- fled in the hour of death as in the day of his reigning prosperity; shortly before the dissolution of his vast empire, he spoke thus to the friar of Pizarro :
"For my faith, I will not change it. Your own God, as you say, was put to death by the very men whom he created, but mine," said he pointing to his Deity, then sinking in glory behind the Cordilleras, "My God still lives in the heavens, and looks down upon his children.'*
The Incas' philosophy concerning success and happi- ness in life revolved around the two principles of la- bour and religion. Every member of this kingdom was obliged to work, and idleness was a crime in the eye of the law. It is notable that there were no mendicants, and there is no record of a famine in Peru in Inca times. The government made work for the people to assure their constant industry. It built great roads upon which the traveller may now journey in the moun-
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tainous sections of the country, and obliged the inhab- itants to carry stones for their dwellings and thorough- fares from Cuzco to Quito, a service that in these times was attended with almost insuperable difficulty but which helped to keep the nation busy. Some of these roads are estimated as being built from 1500 to 2000 miles in length, and were carefully organised by posts along the entire distance, at a distance of less than five miles from each other. By means of these post houses, remains of which may still be seen, information could be carried to the Inca ruler from the most remote sec- tion of his wide domain by swift runners, who were called "chasquis," at the rate of 150 miles a day.
The marriage customs were unique, an annual day of the year being set apart for marriage. Males of twenty-four years of age and women of eighteen or twenty were called together in the great square of their respective towns and villages throughout the Empire. The Inca presided in person over the assembly of his own kindred, and placing their hands together de- clared them man and wife, while lesser officials offici- ated in a similar way in the different districts. The consent of the parents was deemed necessary to make the marriage valid, and the preference of the parties was considered. The government provided the dwell- ing and the prescribed portion of land for the newly married couple, and the days associated with the an- nual marriage period were filled with festivities; irf short as one historian has put it, "There was one uni- versal bridal jubilee throughout the Empire.'*
The Inca ruler was allowed larger latitude, and like the ancient Mohammedan rulers, counted his wives
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and concubines by the hundreds, the most beautiful women of the Empire being honoured to become mem- bers of the royal household. It was also the custom here, as in old days in India, for many of the wives of the Inca to immolate themselves upon his bier at the time of his death.
The analogy of many of these customs and laws to those of the Chinese and Hindus is striking, and would seem to give reason for the belief of many that these people had "an Asiatic cradle -land." The des- potic government resembled eastern Asia; the patri- archal sway of the sovereign, together with the im- plicit obedience to authority, the reverence for ancient usage, and the invincible patience were not unlike tra- ditions of the Chinese race.
Their worship of the heavenly bodies and the ele- ments of nature, and especially their division into castes, find abundant analogies in Hindustan, while their pottery, their construction of buildings by the use of enormous stones fitted by hand, and their atten- tion to the preservation of the bodies of their rulers after death, reveal considerable resemblance to the ways and methods of the ancient Egyptians.
The characteristics of the Incas of Peru were most divergent from the traits and the ideals found in North America, in the absolute and unmitigated control ex- ercised by the rulers over their subjects. The Empire of this ancient race rested upon the Inca as both the law giver and the law. He was the servant and rep- resentative of Divinity; indeed, he was Divinity itself to these people. There has seldom been a scheme of government in the history of men enforced with such
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sovereign sanction or penetrating more oppressively, as it would seem to an independent mind, into the pri- vate and domestic conduct of its vassals. To be sure there was commiseration such as a parent might have for its impotent offspring, but the power of free agency which has been considered usually to be the in- born and inalienable right of every human being, and without which morality can hardly exist, was utterly an- nihilated by this system of government. It is notable that with all the advances which this national life in- augurated, the Empire of the Incas, perhaps the most absolute despotism known to history, has passed away; meanwhile the other type of government based on the individual capacity and freedom of human beings to work out for themselves the problem of existence, is still increasing its sway around the world. There are some who would attribute this absence of the sense of personal rights and the presence of a slavish obedience to authority, as the chief reasons for the easy fall of this Empire before a handful of Spanish adventur- ers, who represented in every fibre of their being the principle of individual initiative and courageous inde- pendent action.
The traveller who goes through Peru to-day and meets on the old broad Inca highways the sad and often sullen-faced Indian, will attribute the woes of these people to the misgovernment of modern Span- ish Peru. Undoubtedly one will be right in believing that far too little attention has been given to the de- scendants of this early race of aborigines on the part of their modern conquerors. Yet we can not but be- lieve that the far away root of their servility and sub-
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servience lies in those seeds of absolute and unadul- terated sovereignty planted in the hearts of their an- cestors many centuries ago.
The crying need in modern Peru as far as the In- dians at least are concerned, is that of reawakening through education and a virile religion, the dormant principles of humanity in the breast of the Indian, elements which through all time have differentiated an independent self respecting individual from a slavish vassal. The task of Peru is to change these latter day "Children of the Sun" from beasts of burden into men.
The question persists in the minds of those who travel throughout Peru to-day — how can a country be- come great when half of its inhabitants are the sad- dest-faced men to be found in the world? We have wandered considerably about Peru and we have seen the Indian in his home, at his work in the fields, driv- ing his llamas along the mountain roads. We have seen him in his restaurants and in his rest houses, and we have never seen him laugh. With his heavy bur- den on his back and his stolid, brown, expressionless face looking straight ahead of him, his whole appear- ance is tragically pathetic. Yet as this modern child of the Sun stops at the crest of the hill above his sa- cred city of Cuzco, he turns towards the place where the Temple of his Deity once stood, and taking off his vari-coloured cap, he silently murmurs an old Inca prayer before he takes his toilsome way across the Cordilleras to his mountain home. Although the cen- turies of oppression have seemingly crushed to earth the manhood of the Indian, his soul is still alive. He
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is waiting for his modern conqueror to see the vision and to take the initiative of kindling into flame the spark that is left within his bosom, forming out of the remnants of an ancient despotism the life of a new republic.
CHAPTER XI
CHILEAN MEN
THE man of Chile has been somewhat more for- tunate than his Peruvian neighbour in the mat- ter of climate, and climate has more to do with the formation of national characteristics than is sometimes realised. In the beautiful city of Santiago, where Chile finds her leading citizens, four hundred thou- sand strong, the weather during the winter months of June, July and August, rarely is colder than our Oc- tober in the United States, while the remainder of the year is a continuous stretch of days resembling our Spring or Autumn. If the people of this conservative land could once discover the comfort derived from steam heat in their houses during the three months of the year when the air is crisp and the houses cold, we can think of no portion of the earth where climatic conditions are more favourable for either work or play.
As a matter of fact the Chileans seem to have a kind of traditional, almost superstitious dread of heated houses; they will tell you that if the houses are heated one is almost certain to get a cold when he goes out, and the foreigner is puzzled to find the people as a rule wearing their overcoats and often their hats in- doors during the Chilean winter, even when they are
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abundantly able to have suitable arrangements to make their great houses livable according to American standards of comfort.
It is possible, moreover, for the Chilean to satisfy his tastes in the matter of weather without leaving his own country, for he lives in a land that stretches along the Pacific Ocean for 2,900 miles from about 17 degrees south latitude where Chile joins Peru, to Cape Horn, 56 degrees, south latitude, where the wind, it is said, always blows a gale and the winter lasts nine months of the year. If the Chilean craves further variety, he can have it among the lofty snow-capped Andes on the east, which in the southern portion of this "Tapeline Republic" throw their glaciers down to the very water's edge, and never allow the coun- try to become more than about a hundred miles in width ; he may also live in the deserts of the north, or among the smiling California-like valleys full of flow- ers and vineyards, around Valdivia.
The man of Chile has thus been shut away from the rest of the world by great natural barriers, and this partially, explains the economic situation in which we find him at present, engaging in the production of material, like copper, nitrates, borax and iodine whose great values can stand heavy transportation charges, and producing for his own needs such articles as would command huge prices if imported from other lands. The Chilean is fortunate in inhabiting a country that in its elongated extent at one place or another is capable of producing under proper treatment well nigh every product known to exist in any part of the world.
In the north she has tropical lands which only need
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irrigation to produce all that is seen beneath the warm- est southern skies. The main reason that this section has not been irrigated is not merely the difficulty in securing water supply, but rather because this des- ert region contains over five hundred million tons of nitrate close to the surface, which is said to be suffi- cient to last the world, in accordance with the pres- ent rate of consumption, more than two hundred years. These nitrate fields, with their vast sources of wealth, bring into the country by export tax alone, between fifty and sixty per cent of the entire revenues of the i ational government, and in spite of the fact that they are said to be the chief handicap to the Chilean man's advance at present, there is probably no country which would lightly despise these great natural resources.
The old residents will speak with longing of those golden days of long ago when the Chilean really worked, before he learned to depend upon politics and official positions in connection with the government in order to make a "soft" living. They will tell you of the times when before the Civil War, the United States with its industry and Anglo-Saxon vigour carried on the chief trade with Chile, and the Chilean was found in various parts of the world pioneering trade and helping to develop his country.
At present quite a different condition exists. The German has come to Chile with his scientific and effi- cient methods, settled in her southern provinces, de- veloping there great stretches of agricultural terri- tory, keeping her shops in the small towns, and be- coming the heads of large business firms, trading in things "made in Germany." Likewise the English, the
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Scotchman, the Frenchman and the Italian have seen the opportunity and have also taken control of some of the most important enterprises of the country.
Meanwhile the man of Chile has dropped back to the old Spanish standard of being a gentleman with unsoiled hands. The one hundred old Spanish- Chilean families who are said to rule the country, have established themselves in the Capitol at Santiago, and joining with the Catholic Church, have become the leaders of the Conservative party of the country, not eager for progress, but desiring far more the leisured life of land holders or honoured politicians* spend- ing long vacations in Europe, and preferring evidently at times the atmosphere of a monarchy to that of a republic.
Against this strong tide of feudal, aristocratic, and church influence, the modern liberals are trying at present to oppose progressive measures, and the es- timate that one hears everywhere to the effect that the Chilean business man has little or no regard for the Church personally, and is beginning to realise that his modern methods of doing business are not con- sistent with the old time customs of the social order, throws hopeful light upon the situation. The hand of officialdom and ecclesiastical prestige is still heavy upon Chile, and the youth who are educated in the church schools and are brought up to feel that men who engage in commerce and really make a business of working eight hours a day, are a bit "common," are not being trained properly to take the leadership in the great possible industrial enterprises of the country. As their ideals have been wrong in inheritance, so
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their education has been one sided, the literary and legal side of the curriculum being chiefly emphasised while practical education which a great agricultural and mining country requires, has been far too fre- quently conspicuous by its absence.
"What is to be the result ?" I asked of an old Chilean. He answered, "The man of Chile must go hungry before he will really apply himself to that which he has looked upon as being beneath his dig- nity— commerce."
The man of Chile has been given a rich heritage. His Spanish ancestors mingled and married with the most virile and sturdy Indian stock of South America, and the Auracanian Indian is still forceful in Chile. The better class inhabitant of this land is unsur- passed in intelligence and in ability. The artistic and cultured side has been developed to a degree sur- passing, in many cases, that found in the United States. But politics and living on credit have sapped his active energy. He needs a new impetus along the line of hard, faithful and honest endeavour. He is like a watch whose spring has run down. He needs rewind- ing. The man of Chile who is at the top of society needs to learn that honest labour is a dignified calling.
Senor Juan Luis Sanfuentes, the present man of the Chilean "White House," has been a force in the politi- cal life of his country for many years; in fact one hears him spoken of at times in terms resembling those which we in the United States are accustomed to attach to our political bosses. In other words he is not un- familiar with the ways and means of carrying on the government in Chile, and the strength of the Sanfuentes
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personality has been felt in more than one stirring con- test in a republic where politics form the most popular profession.
The Chilean President is a Liberal in politics, but he was elected by the Conservatives with the help of some of the minor factions, and as a result he is finding some difficulty in pleasing his diverse constituents. When I was in Chile the radicals and democrats were quite to the front with all kinds of censure of officers and government practices, while the House of Deputies was wrangling over the measure recently proposed to make it impossible for officers in the army and navy to be members of secret societies, especially of the masonic order. Page after page in the daily papers contain accounts in full of the entire proceedings of Congress, and in general it is the Conservative party [which is also the Church party] vs. the Liberals and several minor political cliques.
I attended a meeting of students and labouring men held on the main Plaza of Santiago, which might have been a sign of encouraging progress in democracy and free thinking to those who will tell you here that Chile is a Republic only in name, and that the Church and the old conservative families really rule the country.
A big brass band led the torch-light procession wherein was displayed various transparencies and ban- ners promising death and destruction to the corrupt rulers, and especially to the head of the police who was the particular object of this meeting's derision. Fiery and eloquent speeches were in order, and the Anglo- Saxon political speech is a tame affair in contrast to the easily flowing periods of even the slightly educated
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politician of the Latin temperament. At the end of each scathing rebuke the crowd went wild, with the aid of all kinds of bells and tin instruments which made one think of a New Year's celebration in Manhattan. After an hour or more of oratory, noise and band- music the agitators formed in procession and marched to another part of the Capital city where the perform- ance was repeated. That this gathering was not merely a "cart tail" oratorical display, was revealed by the fact that the editor of one of the prominent daily newspapers was one of the speakers, the university stu- dents also taking a prominent part. In fact, I was attended at the meeting by two of the prominent edu- cators of the city, whose interest and sympathy with the remarks of the speakers were shown unmistakably.
The visitor in Chile will be told by the patriotic Chilean that there are no socialists in the country, that "we would kick them out very quickly," as one man expressed himself in my hearing; yet the student of this vigorous country would be inclined to predict that if socialism and labour troubles are not already here in embryo, they are on their way. The next quarter of a century will find the country necessarily grappling with many of the problems of society and the labour question with which the United States and all growing republican nations have had to deal at some time or other.
One advanced and very intelligent member of this group of reformers made a visit recently to the "hacienda," or farm of the President and dressed as an "inquilino," or labourer, made notes of the alleged abuses practiced on the farm workers of Chile, writing
TYPES OF A PATAGONIAN INDIAN TRIBE OF SOUTHERN CHILE
CHILEAN MEN 171
it out in full and publishing it in a paper of Santiago, and also in a book later. During my interview with President Sanfuentes, I remarked that I had already seen the account of his farming methods, at which he laughed heartily, saying:
"Yes, it looks rather bad for me, but, as a matter of fact, I have only just purchased that farm and the abuses can scarcely be laid at my door."
According to the statement of another man who was present at this interview, the social investigator was at the farm only two hours, and the account was coloured considerably by the imagination of the writer. There was ground, however, for the complaints, espe- cially regarding the unsanitary and ill conditions of living among the "inquilinos" on the vast farms which number hundreds, and frequently thousands of acres, and where the peons are found utterly ignorant and with hardly any conception of the outer world.
Certain it is that no one visiting the Chilean Presi- dent and his charming wife would get any impression other than that the destinies of this republic were now in the hands of very real and genuine people.
Their home is a typical Spanish one built on a grand scale, with huge rooms, high ceilings and filled with paintings and statuary that might add to any European art gallery. We were received on a Sunday afternoon, not only by the President but also by Mrs. Sanfuentes and several members of the family. The home was filled with that delightful air of hospitality and thought- ful courtesy which marks the life of these well-bred cultured people of the best class in Chile. The Presi- dent, a big genial man about sixty years old, makes
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one at home immediately by his remarks as to one's trip, and inquiries concerning your health, family, and happiness generally, which always forms the customary prelude when Chilean meets Chilean, no matter how important or immediate may be the business in hand. Our conversation was interrupted at times by Madame President, true to her Chilean home devotion, excusing herself to go out of the room to attend to some domes- tic's inquiries, or bringing in to meet us her beautiful grandchild, or going to find a picture of her son to show us.
Like all Chilean homes, also, the house was without heat, even in the winter, the wife of the President wearing a seal-skin coat and a la Chinese holding her hands up her sleeves to keep them warm. It is cus- tomary here in the winter months for your host to in- sist that you keep on your overcoat in the house, and he sometimes suggests that you keep your hat at hand to wear if you need it in passing through the open air patios with which all the old Spanish houses are fur- nished.
"What is the outstanding need of Chile at present?" I asked. "Capital!" was the President's reply. "We have great natural resources. Almost everything found in any country can be raised on our land, or dug out of our mines; but we must have money for irriga- tion, for the needs of transportation and for the start- ing and maintenance of industries. Note what some of your own countrymen are doing at present here in mining," he continued. "See the huge trade that the English and Germans have built upon Chilean re- sources. These things have been wrought largely by
CHILEAN MEN 173
foreign capital. Give us money for promotion pur- poses, and our advance is almost certain and at once."
The subject of immigration was discussed, and H. E. emphasised the fact that Chile, contrary to the opinion held in some quarters, desired immigration not from Europe only, but also from the United States.
"The Germans, for example," said the President, "have developed for themselves some wonderful col- onies in the south of Chile. They have revealed what can be done along the line of colonisation in this pro- ductive land where the mountains have ample water power for all kinds of purposes, and where there is only required proper industry to raise fruits and grains equal to any to be found anywhere in the world."
"Yet," it was added, "we are a bit particular to make sure that we get the right kind of immigration, and such as we can assimilate and is adapted to the country's need at the time. We expect that the opening of the Panama Canal, which will break the isolation our land has heretofore experienced, will aid us in this, as in many other ways."
One could hardly expect that any government official would speak ill of the nitrate industry, which is bringing to Chile at present considerably more than one half her entire revenue. I ventured to say that many peo- ple had told me that nitrate was not an unmixed bless- ing to this country, since it brought in so much "easy money" in revenue, that it tended to cut the nerve of the old-time Chilean endeavour, and caused really every one to seek connection with the Government, and share in the stream of wealth flowing into the nation's treas-
174 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
ury from saltpetre, iodine and the rich nitrate fer- tilisers.
"Only a comparatively small percentage of our pop- ulation is engaged in the nitrate fields," answered the President, "while the revenues have helped to make possible schools, railroads and many other improve- ments which would not have been possible otherwise."
Reference was made to the new bill of two million pesos for primary education, which branch of learning is weak in Chile.
"To be sure," Said Dr. Sanfuentes, "every nation first cultivates her natural resources. The United States followed that policy. According to the view of the Chilean the fears of certain persons that Chile will be ruined by nitrate are groundless, since the people are active and intelligent; the majority of the youth of the land work, and the sons of the large farmers are interesting themselves now in the improvement of their lands through modern appliances, and trying to better the condition of their employees, by sending them to night schools and building for them better dwellings. This work may seem slow since the peons are averse to change; they do not, as a rule, wish to spare their boys from manual work in order to send them to school ; they are too often satisfied with things as they are."
"What about trade with the United States after the war is over?" was asked.
"That depends almost entirely upon you," was the decided answer. "Chile is not averse to doing business with your country," said the head of the Government, "and now that we are by necessity getting a closer ac-
CHILEAN MEN 175
quaintance with the people in the 'States' than we have had previously, there is every opportunity for your manufacturers to establish a large and permanent trade in Chile. The great difficulty at present resides in the fact that our people are having so much trouble to get considerate treatment as regards filling of orders as they are sent, also with payments, which are demanded often in cash before the goods are even shipped, when the Chileans have been accustomed to credits of sixty or ninety days. Our people are saying, 'It seems that the United States does not care for our trade.'
"Unless your manufacturers awake to the situation in time," said he, "I feel almost certain that the Chileans will go back to their European markets as soon as the war opens those markets again. It will be a matter not only of economic gain for us, but also an added convenience in being able to do business in ac- cordance with the traditional taste and custom of the country."
This sentiment is found not only in Chile but also in virtually every Latin-American country I visited. Buenos Aires was much disturbed when I was there by reason of several cases of shipments of goods not in accordance with orders or agreement, and the press was scathing in protest of what was considered grave breaches of business integrity on the part of American shippers.
Almost every American business man one meets down here, as well as many of the consular officers of the United States Government seem pessimistic about our getting the great and important business in these republics because our manufacturers are either so
176 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
much absorbed in the temporary business in connection with the European war, or are plainly indifferent to their future interests, that they overlook one of the most far-reaching opportunities for foreign trade ever opened to America. To be sure, many are awake to the unprecedented "abnormality" of opportunity, as one official expressed it, but we need banks down here in every important city; we need special visits by manu- facturers themselves who will get into touch personally with the people and gain their point of view as they never can get it at long range; and more than all the American firms need to appreciate that what is done must be done quickly.
"A month of activity now in getting into touch in the right way with these markets will be worth years of slow plodding for any manufacturer in the United States after European competition sets in again at the end of the war," was the significant remark of one of the astute heads of a strong American firm doing busi- ness in South America.
That the people in these states south of us are eager and ready to do their part, the Chilean President averred:
"We are sending our students to study in the United States," said he, "since we know that our people who have visited you have returned enthusiastic over the things they have seen and learned. We believe that there is a natural bond of comity between the republics on this continent. Our people have usually gone to Europe in late years for their pleasure and travel, as well as for their business ideals. Many of us have hoped that it would be possible to join our American
CHILEAN MEN 177
nations more closely than ever before through the ex- igencies of these unusual times — but I repeat," said he, "this depends largely upon the men of the United States." '
What will be the answer of our people to this con- fessedly frank and true statement of the President of Chile?
CHAPTER XII
SANTIAGO THE CITY OF ARISTOCRACY
Aloof from our mutation and unrest. — William Watson.
SOUTH AMERICAN cities possess many traits in common. The same language is spoken, Spanish, save in Brazil with its Portuguese traditions. The architecture varies somewhat, but in all the larger cities and towns the churches and the public buildings remind one of Europe, often of mediaeval Europe, and the open patios, the flower gardens and the ever present Spanish balcony, confront one everywhere.
There are also similarities in the characteristics of the population. A foreign gentleman once said to me on the West Coast, "See one Latin-American city and you have seen them all." To a hurried traveller this may seem true, but as soon as one begins to get below the surface, meeting the people of various classes and studying habits in the light of history, he finds a world of difference in these cities. Lima is as different from Buenos Aires as Quebec is from Toronto, while Quito is as unlike Rio de Janeiro as Delhi is unlike Naples. In each of the large cities of the Southern Hemisphere of America certain geographical, racial and physio- logical conditions have combined to stamp the inhabi- tants with more or less distinctive traits.
178
SANTIAGO— THE CITY OF ARISTOCRACY 179
This fact is abundantly evident in the Chilean city of Santiago, the fourth city in number of inhabitants in South America. It is a city of isolated aristocracy, situated in the heart of the real Chile on the tableland from which the inhabitants look up to the glistening perennial snows of the Cordilleras, which shut it in on the east, and see toward the west the verdant slopes of the coast range mountains. It seems an ideal spot for a great city, here in this amphitheatre of hills and mountain summits, some of which pierce the heavens 19,000 feet above the level of the Chilean Capital. It is a standing compliment to the judgment of the eminent conquistadore, Valdivia, who, in the year 1 541, placed on Santa Lucia Hill, which overlooks this fair city, his fortress built against the Auracanian In- dians.
There is only one other South American city, the enchanting Rio, that approaches the natural beauty of Santiago among the Andes. As one stands at sunset on the hill of Santa Lucia, which is not unlike a rich flower garden bending over the city and two hundred feet above, his eye is greeted by a wonderful panorama of enclosed country forty miles long and eighteen miles in width, in the midst of which lies Santiago, whose parks and broad statue-adorned Alameda, with its churches and handsome buildings, form a rich colour contrast with the snowy peaks of the Andes to the east.
Here is focussed the political energy of Chile, which is the most ardently patriotic of all the South Ameri- can republics. Here dwell the hundred or more old aristocratic families which are said to rule the country.
180 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
Here is the great cathedral occupying an entire block and the Bishop's palace, from which there issues an in- fluence, political as well as ecclesiastical, almost as powerful as in those distant mediaeval days, when the Church was the State and the State was the Church. Here are the wealthy land-owners whose fine homes signify the vast productiveness of Chilean soil, and also the favoured sons of a government grown rich by nitrates, and revenues upon mining products made pos- sible by foreign labour.
As one meets everywhere in the streets of this active and alert Capital the silk-hatted Deputies and the ever present would-be young politician, one gains the im- pression that for the Chilean, politics is all. In the schools if one asks the controlling ideals for life work, the answer is constantly, "Our young men want to be lawyers and have a place in the government." The older inhabitants shake their heads at times and seem to wonder what is going to be the result of all this modern race of politics-loving youth, these young men who consider business and commerce a bit lowering to their aristocratic standards of gentlemanhood. As an old resident said to me, "Our young and active and intelligent sons, alas, do not like to work. The gov- ernment with its short hours and good pay is more attractive. These are not such days as we knew be- fore we took from Peru her nitrate provinces. Then, work was more honourable, and our commercial agents were found throughout the world."
• In a city like Santiago, where politics is a business, one is not surprised to find a system of favouritism, and political manoeuvring for the securing of well paid posi-
SANTIAGO— THE CITY OF ARISTOCRACY 181
tions in all lines of business owned and controlled by the government. The same kind of story heard in other republics about the overcrowding of employes upon railroads and the almost unbelievable corruption in connection with the contracts for government construc- tion and municipal affairs, is heard here in this beau- tiful town, which has been almost hermetically sealed against the outside world by her unique geographical boundaries.
Yet the spirit of the inhabitants of Santiago is dis- tinctly strong, virile and attractive, as different from the Peruvian laissez-faire and that of the tropically influenced inhabitant of the republics northeast of Chile, as one can possibly imagine. The city is full of the air of modernity; there is to be found here pride of accomplishment, pride of family, pride of race, and particularly a pride in fighting abilities. In fact, one may say that politics and war are the two topics which are of perennial interest to the people of this city. More than any other South American republic, Chile is militarily inclined.
I found no peace propaganda in Santiago, but we found here, as throughout the country, Chilean soldiers and officers who remind one more of Prussia in both their dress and ideals than they resemble the usual South American republicans. This may not seem strange when we realise that the Chilean army has been trained by the Germans and that Germany, through her colonists and influence exerted in many ways upon this state, has left her deep impress here. In fact, as one walks through the streets of Santiago one finds it hard to discover what might be called a Chilean type
182 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
of face. The negro or Indian types are absent. There are many blondes, and the upward curl of the moustaches could almost deceive one into believing that he was in one of the smaller cities of North Ger- many.
Among the attractions of this Chilean city are its beautiful women. They are beautiful with a type all their own; lighter in complexion than their Peruvian cousins, with more vigorous bodies but with delicate, oval faces, often pale through artificial causes. Their eyes are their chief charm, being large and dark, and often reminding one of some sad old melancholy romance one has read concerning those pristine Spanish days "When knights were bold, and barons held their sway."
Many of these women are tall and stately, and their clothes are bought in Paris. They are the epitome, especially the members of the higher classes, of well- bred and graceful ladyhood. One can hardly blame the young Chileans for standing on the street corners at the tea hour, or sitting in the tea cafes in order to watch these fair creatures "born in Chile.'"
The manta, "that graceful euphemism which shields the poor and disarms the vain," in a kind of soft black enveloping shroud, making the women look very much like nuns, but their closely framed faces are too happy and lightsome to fully complete this illusion. When you see their slender, graceful figures, silhouetted against some light background, or behold them kneel- ing in their dimly lighted churches, you are quite in- clined to think that not the least charm of this fascinat- ing city consists in its beautiful women. Perhaps,
SANTIAGO—THE CITY OF ARISTOCRACY 183
however, one's admiration for these Santiago beauties is somewhat diminished upon closer acquaintanceship. In the majority of cases the women, while beautifully ornamental, rarely leave their homes. They are not as secluded as are the Peruvian women, but they still believe that the home is the woman's realm. I found only one woman's club in Chile, and this club seemed to be having a struggle for existence. As one of the ladies of Santiago's aristocracy expressed it, with a shrug of her pretty shoulders, "Clubs are for women who have no homes, but the ladies of Chile will never countenance them."
These fair inhabitants excel as musicians and linguists, but as far as modern education is concerned and the ability to carry on a conversation requiring any general knowledge or thought, one will be exceedingly disappointed in Chilean feminine society.
The home in Santiago is quite hermetically sealed to foreigners. One often meets American or English business men here who will tell you that they have hardly been within the home of a Chilean during their entire residence in the country. Once in a while a foreigner who is particularly "simpatico," or an alien youth who has married into a Chilean family, gets into Santiago "society." The Chilean will entertain his guests at his club, but he follows the South American habit of keeping his home to himself.
In fact, the home life of Santiago is patriarchal. The families are enormous, and the sons and daughters and aunts and cousins and far cousins make such a wide circle of social life that the Santiagoan does not need the cultivation of outside acquaintances.
184 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
Santiago, moreover, is a home for the rich and a home for the poor. There is no great middle class. As soon as you go a block or two from the beautiful Alameda, lined with the homes of the rich, you will come upon the very slums where the poor are huddled together in one-room tenements, and often under most unsanitary conditions. These tenements are usually located in alleys off from the main streets. These alleys are paved with cobble stones, with a large drain running through the centre, and the whole life of the inmates of the one-story houses is passed in these open, narrow defiles, where they cook and wash their linen, and perform many of their household duties. These tenements, horribly overcrowded, are used only for sleeping and eating purposes, as the remainder of the life is largely out of doors. The Santiagoans are be- ginning to realise that these tenements and the adobe huts are a disgrace to their beautiful city, and one man not long ago built a line of model tenements. Unfor- tunately the prices were so high that the poor could not afford to live in them, and they are now occupied by clerks, school teachers, and others whose purse makes it possible for them to reside under healthful modern conditions.
As one wanders about through this striking city, be- holding the glaring contrasts between its wealth and its poverty, it is usually with the wonder that these highly patriotic citizens have not yet turned their sen- timents of patriotism more systematically towards the great social and humanitarian enterprises which engage to-day so many people in the cities of America and Europe.
SANTIAGO— THE CITY OF ARISTOCRACY 185
Despite many things which the investigator finds in Santiago not exactly to his liking, there is still for him an abiding charm, not unlike that which holds him in many an Oriental city. This is especially recognised at "vermouth time," which is the period just before nightfall in Santiago, when the whole city seems to leave its homes and its offices to take a little promenade before dinner. The merchant pulls down his heavy iron shutters ; the newsboys cry out the evening editions of the newspapers, with shrill voices, on the corners of the thickly congested thoroughfare of Huerfanos, and the Union club, where the gentry and politicians gather, is filling up with a goodly quota of its twenty-one hun- dred members. At this hour, when the dull red after- glow of the sunset is reflected upon the snowy tops of the Andes, which are always present to view from nearly every part of the city, the bells ring in the theatres calling the people to the latest Spanish playlet, or cinema, which has just received a film from New York, shown six months ago upon the "White Way" of the northern metropolis.
On the Plaza, where Santiago youth walks and stares at each other, the band is tuning up its instruments. This circling around the Plaza at twilight seems to be a tradition of the blood in Spanish American countries. The young men walk about in one direction and the young women in the opposite direction. This gives an opportunity for the pretty Santiago maiden to show her face to an admirer without a breach of propriety. It is a motley and vari-coloured crowd, as far as garments go. The young Chilean officer is there, in red coat and grey mantle. There is the dapper young idler
186 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
and son of the wealthy hacienda owner, the clerk from the great foreign commercial house, old men and young men, all coming to admire the senoritas as they pass slowly by. In the moving panorama of Chilean fem- ininity one discovers here and there girls of good families attended by a watchful duenna, but this Plaza march is composed largely of the young women of the classes once removed from "Society" and the pretty shop girls.
This Plaza section is like the famous Avenida of Rio, where all Rio appears at nightfall. The air is filled with the scent of violets which the flower boys fairly thrust upon one. The narrow streets are jammed with limousines and fine victorias carrying the wealthy and the socially elect to the tea places and clubs. The great double-decked cars move slowly down the crowded streets, packed with the only true democrats of the country, who are for the most part jammed together like sardines on the roof of the tram cars, where riding at night is colder, but less costly.
The chill that sweeps down from the heights of the Andes makes the hurrying Santiagoan button his over- coat tighter and feel for his gloves. But in all his rush to join a party of friends at the club he never forgets to raise his hat and shake hands as he meets a gentleman on the way.
If you wish to see men and women who are the rul- ers and pattern makers of the life of Chile, it is all here at "vermouth time," here in a square mile in Santiago. It is a glittering phantasmagoria of externalism, pomp and pleasure-loving — a bit of the mediaeval day that
SANTIAGO— THE CITY OF ARISTOCRACY 187
died before it was born in America, mixed with a half- formed desire for modernity.
One cannot but think that this really important city, that holds the sovereignty of government and fashion in Chile, will in the next generation put off much of this specious worship of family and caste which, to- gether with an oligarchical type of clergy, binds the wheels of the republic. As the more clogging accom- paniments of Spanish tradition and an authoritative Church have been relegated to the background in Argentina, making way for the new order of social and industrial progress, so in Chile a new generation promises to sweep away much of this patriarchal aris- tocracy, ill suited to the air of republicanism.
CHAPTER XIII
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST
Load the donkey according to the wish of the master.
Old Portuguese Proverb.
AMONG the far-reaching possibilities making for better business relationships between the United States and the South American republics are those flowing from the recent policy of the United States Government in sending a few trained business special- ists— Commercial Attaches, to several of the Latin American States.
Mr. William F. Montavon, who is the commercial representative for Peru and Bolivia, has already travelled over large portions of his field, visiting some of the leading industrial enterprises and gaining valu- able information regarding the business opportunities for Americans in these countries.
I asked him concerning some of the chief difficulties he encountered, and he answered:
"The trouble just now is to get the manufacturers in the United States to discover that we are here and desire to help them to secure business in South America. Many of them do not seem to know that we exist, and we are spending considerable time at present simply to inform them of the ways in which they can secure in-
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 189
formation through us and asking them to let us be of
In speaking of the opening doors for trade with Peru, especially, Mr. Montavon expressed his conviction that there was need to establish some kind of a publicity campaign through South American papers by which the Latin American may be able to learn the exact truth regarding American business, prices, and the general point of view of people in the United States. The Peruvian needs to be shown thereby that these present prices, which in many cases are double the usual prices they have been required to pay for goods, are war prices and not normal ones. Everywhere one goes in the cities and towns of Peru one hears complaints about the exorbitant cost of American manufactured articles, and European competitors of the United States for the South American trade are quite ready to join the Peruvians in extending the impression that everything made in America is excessively expensive.
A newspaper campaign, which would show the actual conditions and the handicap under which our manufac- turers are now working because of the European war, would be of great assistance at present. Mr. Mon- tavon believes that the South American papers would be very glad to print such articles. In fact, these papers are eager for news especially relating to com- mercial and social conditions in the United States, and at present the information printed in the Peruvian newspaper is fragmentary and often misleading.
For example, the answer of Germany to the message of the United States regarding submarines was printed
190 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
in full by one of the leading dailies, while our message to Germany was not printed either in this edition or in any former one. The people thus get one-sided accounts, and the traveller in these countries often comes across very strange and frequently ludicrous con- ceptions of the Americans as to their business and life in general. I was talking with one Peruvian gentle- man who informed me that he understood that, while the United States at the time of the Civil War was really an aristocratic and cultured nation, at present, through the lowering of ideals by the incoming of so much immigration, the country has greatly degenerated, and it is really difficult to find what might be called "real gentlemen" among the Yankees. As far as I could gather from his remarks, he held the view that certain Americans still hold a position of education and gentlemanhood equal to the people of South America, but that the majority of the population are in a low state of civilisation, and lack particularly edu- cation and culture.
One is also impressed in visits to several Latin American states with the tendency to secure ideals and information very largely from Europe. Peruvians go to Europe, and especially to Paris, not only for their models of dress, but also for their vacations, mental point of view, and for the education of their children. As soon as a Peruvian is successful in business his first thought is to stop work and to make arrangements to live on the continent of Europe for a good part of the year.
It must be remembered that the Peruvians are not primarily a business people, that the society of the na-
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 191
tion which establishes the ideals are the old families descendent from the Spanish aristocracies, whose mem- bers live on their dividends, and consider commercial activity demeaning. Indeed, Peru is unique among South American republics in proudly holding to its old lines of Spanish ancestry which many of the old families trace directly back to the house of Pizarro and the old Spanish conquerors. It is a proud people, and, in its upper social register, very exclusive, turn- ing automatically on the wheel of family lineage. Although the Peruvians are not as wealthy in this world's goods as formerly, they are no less desirous to appear so, and one will often see the outward signs of splendour that attended the rich era of the ancient rule of Spain in this republic.
Because of these traditional ideals, the youth of the country are not inclined to save their money, but to spend it in the outward signs of prosperity. They like to be "rentiers," or men who seem to be able to live on their income without work. It is therefore difficult to tell the degree of business success by judging from the clothes the men wear. One seldom sees better dressed men anywhere than in Peru. It is too often "front," or, as an old resident of this country put it, "They keep the front room up, but don't go to the kitchen."
It is due to these national heritages and character- istics that the country has been slow to improve its in- dustrial condition. At present the country needs roads, railroads and country roads, to make possible the transportation of crops and the native products of the mines. The Andes shut the people up to a com- paratively narrow tract on the west coast, but as soon
192 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
as roads are made to tap the vast valleys and table- lands of the interior on the other side of the first range of the Cordilleras, there will be opened in Peru regions equal in area to the combined extent of four or five of our largest states in the Middle West.
Another great need, and business opportunity as well, is along irrigation lines. At least 75 per cent of the rainfall is wasted because of the absence of proper irrigation. The land of the interior stretches away for miles upon miles before the eye, all untouched in its virgin condition, needing only water to make possi- ble the growth of nearly everything germane to both tropical and temperate zones. I write these words in the interior of Peru, 8,000 feet above sea-level, in full view of the snows on the summit of Mount Misti, which volcano towers nearly 20,000 feet above the sea. One looks over a valley rich in all agricultural products, with waving palms and terraced gardens and orchards hanging heavy with tropical fruits. It is the inland city of Arequipa, where modern plans of irrigation have turned the desert into a beautiful and prosperous community.
Peru, with capital, possesses almost every imagin- able opportunity for great commercial and industrial progress. Her present business advance reveals her future possibilities. Her war with Chile was indeed a costly reverse, for it is said that out of the nitrate fields which Chile took from Peru the victorious re- public reaps sixty per cent of her revenue to-day. If the above needs can be met (and they must be met largely by foreign capital) the old Peru is destined
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OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 193
to awake from her mediaeval sleep and become truly one of the resourceful nations of the world.
That the United States should have an increasing part in this progress is both natural and possible. In 19 13 Peru gave the United States six per cent more trade than she gave to any other nation, and the years since reveal a much larger percentage of business be- tween the two countries. The imports in which the United States stood first with Peru in 19 13 were chiefly in woods, lumber and manufactures; in paints, dyes, and varnishes ; in tools, ship stores, machines and vehicles; and in pharmaceutical products and medicines. The leading exports of the country are in wool, copper, sugar, hides, and various minerals in which this moun- tainous land is extremely rich.
The large increase of imports of late years is due to several causes, among the principal ones being.
First, the development of hydro-electrical power in such concerns as the Cerro de Pasco Mining Co., which business is said to pay one half of the export duty of Peru at present; it is also due to the large quantities of electrical material used in the .other large mining firm of Backus & Johnson.
Second, the increase was due to the purchase of sev- eral powerful American locomotives by the Peruvian Corporation, which controls all the railroads of Peru.
Third, because of the installation of modern sugar machinery in the large progressive sugar factories along the coast, together with the labour-saving ma- chinery in the cotton mills of Lima.
The war conditions of 19 14, making it impossible for Great Britain, Germany and France to continue
194 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
furnishing a large part of their usual material to Peru, have turned the eyes of Peruvian importers to the United States. A steady tide of American products is now going towards this southern republic; yet the Peruvian business people will tell you that, as soon as the war is over, they will go back to the European markets because of the great expense of American merchandise. It is commonly stated here that in spite of the sentimental regard for Americans, there can be no sentiment in buying goods of a nation at almost double the price at which the same goods may be pro- cured in another country.
Lima women, for example, are now buying American shoes, paying often from nine to fifteen dollars for a pair of shoes that sell ordinarily in the "States" at four or five dollars a pair. This increase is due, to be sure, to the percentages of from fifteen to twenty-five per cent paid to commission houses, as well as to the fact that the Austrian shoes, which the Peruvians have usually bought, are not coming at present. It is noted that Austria in times of peace buys her hides from the Near East at moderate prices, and pays her labour from fifty to seventy cents a day — a decided contrast to American conditions. Regarding means by which the United States could overcome these handicaps, the Commercial Attache of the United States made two valuable suggestions.
In the first place, it was suggested that the com- missions which are sent to South America should be selected with great care, and should be guided by persons who are perfectly familiar with South Ameri-
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 195
can conditions and temperament. These conditions furthermore should not be sidetracked by social amenities and a continuous round of entertainments and dinners that consume the time that should be given to purely business matters. The illustration was cited a number of times by different observers of the return Commission which visited Peru in response to its appointment at the Washington Financial Congress of 1 9 14. To be sure, this Commission, coming directly after the unfortunate incident connected with the visit of the Commission on the "Tennessee," would have seemed to be considerably handicapped through the absence of social hospitalities, which were lacking be- cause of the outraged feelings of the Peruvians rela- tive to what they considered to be lack of considera- tion of their feelings and hospitality by the "Tennes- see" party. However, this proved to be a blessing in disguise, for the business men who composed this later Commission had time to devote themselves entirely to commercial and industrial investigation, with results that were valuable and far-reaching.
The second suggestion was to the effect that several manufacturers in the United States get together and establish agencies or a commission house in Peru, sav- ing the commissions that now go to the middlemen who do business with Europe and other countries, and are therefore naturally not pushing the goods of any one nation.
An English business man, who is the head of the Chamber of Commerce in one of the Peruvian cities, said:
196 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
"Your American commissions investigate too much down here. Why don't you form a commission house?"
It would seem that this suggestion was timely now when the merchants of Peru are in a transition stage. Their European goods are virtually gone, and they have not begun to buy American goods on a big per- manent scale. Soon, however, they must buy heavily somewhere in order to remain in business. As one American business man of Lima said: "The people here are at an amazed standstill, not quite off with the old, and not quite on with the new; it is the most strategic moment in the entire history of the country."
One is told in Peru that the taking of the nitrate fields by Chile was a blessing in disguise for Peru, since it cemented the Peruvian nation and made it necessary for the people to spend less time in politics and revo- lutions and more time in value-producing pursuits. The loss of the nitrate fields took away the cause of the revolutions by reducing the government revenues, for which revolutions were usually carried on.
I was interested to know what the Chileans thought of the value of these nitrate fields, which are yielding for Chile from twenty-five to thirty million tons of nitrate yearly valued at twenty-six million pesos. In other words, out of the sixty million dollar revenue of the Chilean government, between thirty-five and forty millions come to Chile from her nitrate fields.
"What has been the result of the nitrate industry upon Chilean business?" I asked of many heads of foreign trading houses. The answer almost invariably was, that it had cut the nerve of business endeavour on the part of the Chileans who now depended largely
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 197
upon one industry, a bad condition for any country.
When one asks why the vast forest reserves of southern Chile are not being worked, or why greater emphasis is not placed upon the production of copper, wheat and other commodities in which Chile is rich, the answer always comes:
"It is easier for the people to work the nitrate fields which at present yield a tremendous product for a sure market."
The fact that Germany is said to be producing yearly six hundred thousand tons of nitrate ammonia and promises to be a fair competitor of Chile along this line, does not seem to affect the people's peace of mind. Chile, like other South American republics, has been seriously affected by the European war, the government suffering especially from the shortage of revenues from imports. The general import trade of Chile is largely in the hands of a dozen or more big importing houses which are engaged also in export trade. These trading houses, owing to Chile's distance from the great supply market, find it necessary to carry large stocks of im- ported merchandise, which are distributed along the coast. The advance of freight rates, together with the prices of many commodities in former markets, made it possible for these houses to dispose of their reserve stocks at a profit, because of the fact that the market had received a short supply of articles from abroad.
The war increased the demand for the production and exportation of nitrate of silver and copper, and the high prices brought from these commodities gave Chile a large amount of money and helped to re-estab-
198 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
lish her trade conditions on as normal a basis as could be expected, in consideration of the disturbed state of the world markets.
During the year 19 15, stock dividends in Chile were fifty per cent below those of previous years, there be- ing only about half a dozen companies in the city of Valparaiso, for example, that declared equal or larger dividends in 19 15 than in the preceding year.
A summary of the general conditions in the country is indicated by the following extract from El Diario Illustrado of Santiago:
"The situation of the country is difficult. It has recovered, or is on the way to recover, all of its produc- tive force, but it can not count for safety on the foreign market. Also, the lack of freights, or their fantastic quotations, almost effects an economic isolation of the country. These conditions of insecurity, which also considerably depress our export prices, will probably be prolonged during the entire period of the war. After the war we will face formidable market uncer- tainties and, although in a less degree, many difficulties in the matter of freights. Apart from these, the war, which is destroying the wealth of the greatest nations, will deprive us of avenues of credit, and almost cer- tainly will oblige us to live for some time on our own resources. The normal financial equilibrium of the country will not be achieved except by effort and by sacrifices. All fixed bases for the calculation of import and export tax revenues are wanting, and we find our- selves obliged to revise our system of revenue. The gravest problems raised by the European war as yet remain unsolved."
One finds a decided increase of trade with the United States on the part of all business houses in Chile. This
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 199
is not because the Chileans or the English and German houses are especially inclined toward trade with Amer- ican firms, but simply because many European markets are closed. One finds everywhere complaints concern- ing high American prices, difficulty in getting orders filled promptly, grievances concerning credits, and the cries that are always going up from South Americans, on the West Coast, especially, regarding the inadequate packing of American goods. Since the war the pack- ing from the United States has been worse than ever, because there have been many new shippers who do not understand the need of firmly packed goods to withstand the unusual and difficult processes of unload- ing products virtually on the high seas. Shippers seem to be lamentably ignorant of the fact that there is not a single port on the West Coast where a steamer can land at a wharf in still water, but that everything must be taken from the hold of the boat sailing from the United States to Panama, lifted by cranes and placed in lighters, often during a heavy sea ; the lighters in turn upon reaching the shore must unload this cargo under the stress of big swells that roll up from the Antarctic region and also with the additional disturb- ances caused by a strong backwash from the shore.
In coming down on a Chilean steamer, I was intensely interested in the unloading of cargos. Almost invari- ably it was possible to pick out the boxes packed in the United States. A large number of them were broken open because of the fact that the commodities were only packed in skeleton frames suitable for transporta- tion between cities in the "States." One shipment of
200 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
chairs to an inland port was in such condition that it seemed impossible for any more than one half of the large shipment to reach its destination in unbroken form. It is the usual remark among ships* officers when large boxes, lifted into lighters, land with a crash of broken wood and a spilling out of products — "There goes another Gringo order I"
On all sides one hears from business men in Chile this remark.
"The manufacturers in the United States seem to give no heed to our needs down here : our orders are delayed often for six or eight months, and we have to stand the losses of goods received in bad condition or orders filled incorrectly. We are only waiting for the war to close in order to renew our trade with European firms where we receive better service at lower prices. Europe wants our trade and thinks it worth working for. The United States does not seem to care."
Every American travelling on the West Coast at present is puzzled to know why we in the United States have been talking so much about getting South Ameri- can trade and at the same time reveal such indifference in actually securing and keeping it, when we have, as at present, the greatest opportunity which has ever been afforded to us of building up permanent South American business.
The attitude of American business is in certain sec- tions, at least, undergoing some change at present, and it may be timely to add some detailed suggestions re- garding ways and means of securing and conducting foreign business on the West Coast of South America.
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 201
In response to a question to Mr. V. L. Havens, re- cently the United States Commercial Attache to Chile, regarding the various methods of entering foreign mar- kets, the following statement was made:
"The first method, and undoubtedly the one that is the primary step that every manufacturer has taken when considering the export trade, is by correspon- dence. In the event that any interest in his product is developed, he has the option of handling the business through export commission houses, who at times are the real cause of the development of the manufacturer's interest; then sending out travelling salesmen; using native houses as agencies; establishing resident Amer- ican agents; or opening branch houses.'*
As the foremost question of the manufacturer or American business firm is concerning the cost of start- ing his foreign business in a country like Chile, I asked concerning the expense of the first step to be taken. Mr. Havens replied :
"The manufacturer will doubtless select the cheapest method of getting acquainted, and that method will probably be by correspondence. Even this method will cost something, and will probably demand the em- ployment, or the assignment, of a clerk or expert secre- tary to that duty. It would seem that the average cost to the average factory, providing there is assigned to the work a man conversant with the language of the territory with which business is sought (and there is absolutely no use in trying to use English in this field) , and a man who is intelligent and has initiative, would be something as follows:
202 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
|
Clerk hire $] |
[,350.00 |
|
Literature |
500.00 |
|
Postage and stationery |
500.00 |
|
Samples |
100.00 |
|
Advertising in export and in some |
|
|
foreign newspapers |
200.00 |
|
Purchase of text books, govern- |
|
|
ment publications, extra credit |
|
|
service |
200.00 |
|
Firm membership in some export |
|
|
ass'n. |
150.00 |
Total $3000.00'*
It was further suggested in connection with this first move in establishing foreign business on the West Coast that an energetic export secretary might be able to present a knowledge of the firm's products to six thousand possible purchasers during the year, with an average cost of fifty cents given to each potential client. When the firm, as a result of this work, has a list of one thousand or even five hundred Chilean business houses who are really interested in the manufactured article, the advisability of sending out a salesman may well be considered. Business men here will usually tell one that the selection of the expert secretary, if he has been carefully chosen as a capable man, and has made himself familiar with the products of the factory, will be the best man for this salesman's work, since he is familiar with the correspondence. It is thus important that the employer himself shall use his personal and best selection of this man who is to be the forerunner
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 203
of this important branch of his business in a foreign land. It is usually considered that the careful choosing of an efficient man for this work of initial correspond- ence would practically bring in sufficient orders in advance to meet the expense of this agent's first trip abroad.
In all this prior correspondence, if the letters are not signed personally by the manufacturer himself (and not with a rubber stamp) , the secretary should be given a title, which would be added to his own personal sig- nature such as "Foreign Sales Secretary" or "Sales Manager." This first step in gaining foreign business may seem an unimportant detail, but experience on the field proves absolutely the necessity of devoting to it the most careful thought and attention.
The travelling salesman brings to all business that element which is so essential in the accomplishment of results, namely, personal contact.
In South America, especially, he is probably the only man connected with the interests in the United States whom the retailer sees, and his appearance, personality and character will form the mental picture in the minds of the client regarding the firm represented by the salesman. As he makes friends with the customer, so will the firm, and if the traveller creates unpleasant sentiments, the firm will suffer in consequence.
There are many things to be taken into consideration regarding the salesman coming to the South American republics, but the first is that he should know his busi- ness and be of a pleasing personality. The next is that he should speak the language of the country, which, with the exception of Brazil, is Spanish. With-
204 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
out this knowledge he will be handicapped and can only- talk through an interpreter, and it is well known that any argument passing through two languages always loses in force.
The representative of the house should be an edu- cated man, and be able to conduct himself properly at all times. South Americans are a polished, cosmopoli- tan people, and have an extensive knowledge of coun- tries other than their own. A rather laughable inci- dent occurred at Payta, Peru. An American salesman was leaning over the rail of the boat anchored in the harbour, talking with a cultivated South American who was returning home from an extended trip around the world. They were looking at the dreary wastes of sandy Payta, when the South American said, "This reminds me of Aden," referring to the city on the Red Sea. The American said, "Oh, yes, that's the next port !" The astonished man looked up and said, "No, Aden — Aden on the Red Sea, you know." The American insisted that "Eten" was the next port, and even when the courteous man from Chile explained, the American shook his head. He had never heard of Aden, but Eten was the next port.
The travelling man's business is not in society, but rather with men at their place of business, yet he should always have dress clothes, as it is seldom that he can travel through South America and not feel the necessity of a dinner coat. He will have to dress for dinner on many of the European boats, at some of the hotels, and occasionally at the clubs or theatres where he may go in the evening. He is reducing a year's acquaintance
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 205
to a few days' time, and must be seen always at his best.
One gets the idea that the South American business man will not talk business, that he wishes to discuss the opera or the horse races instead of the price of tacks or automobiles or farm machinery. This is not so at all. It is a fact that he does not spring into the sub- ject at hand with the same speed as does the American, but he is a business man and understands why the salesman is visiting him, and is perfectly willing not to waste his time in talking of outside matters.
The successful men sent out here are not the bluster- ing kind nor the profane kind, nor the kind that think that Broadway is the origin of latitude and longitude and the sum of life. Getting business in Chile or Bolivia is as difficult as it is in Boston or Butte, Mon- tana, with the added difference of language, and a chance for misunderstanding concerning credit informa- tion, transportation facilities, knowledge of shipping, of insurance, and of the commercial laws. There is also the inability of the salesman to see the head of his business and his consequent dependence upon his own judgment.
If a traveller comes to Chile, for example, his fare will be about $225.00 from New York to Valparaiso. His board and room at a hotel will cost from $4.50 to $6.00 per day; laundry work is about fifty per cent higher than in the United States (the destruction of same at least one hundred per cent higher), and the pressing of a suit or an overcoat costs from $1.50 to $2.00. Lunch at a club or restaurant costs about $1.50 to $2.00 and dinner about twenty-five cents more. If
206 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
one has guests it is almost the universal custom to serve wine both with lunch and dinner. It is figured that $225.00 per month should cover the expenses of living and a reasonable amount of entertaining. It will not cover transportation, cables, stenographic help, handling sample baggage, sample rooms, nor any per- sonal entertainment. Railway rates are low, but all baggage is extra, as well as parlour seats. One sales- man, who has recently made a trip through Bolivia, estimated that his travelling expenses, including trans- portation, hotel and baggage (about 200 pounds), was about $250.00 per month. This would naturally vary slightly in each country, as Bolivia is more ex- pensive than Chile in hotel rates. Where the standard of living is higher, the cost of entertaining would nat- urally be more and incidental expenses larger.
There is a great advantage in having the same man cover the territory year after year, as the second trip is likely to be more satisfactory than the first, and the salesman will be meeting with old friends instead of having to make acquaintances in each place. That is one of the complaints of the South American against American firms. He says the salesmen from Euro- pean countries return year after year, and he feels they are his friends, while the American salesman never returns. The average business man resents the neces- sity of having to discuss his business with a new man each year.
There is a vast field in South America for the Ameri- can manufacturer, and he depends largely in opening this new field, arid of retaining the business when once gained, upon the personality of his representative.
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEST COAST 207
The Latin temperament requires study. The "hurry- up" business methods of our American men will not work here with these easy-going people. They do not want an aggressive, hustling salesman to burst into their offices and call them by their first name after the first interview. They want to deal with a gentleman, a man of the world, who can understand their courtesy and return it.
They do not understand the "self-made" man, in love with his Creator, and they believe that although a man is in business, it does not or can not prevent him from being a gentleman. Consequently, American manufacturers who are looking ahead and seeing the vast possibilities of this southern country, should send their best men — men who can fit themselves to new conditions.
CHAPTER XIV
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE
"A right good thing is prudence, And they are useful friends Who never make beginnings Until they see the ends. But give me now and then a man And I will make him king, Just to take the consequences, And just to do the thing."
AN alumnus of Harvard tells the story of a small gathering of Harvard graduates, of whom Colonel Roosevelt was a member, meeting at Cam- bridge for a heart-to-heart talk relative to the things that help men to succeed. When it came to the Colonel's turn to make confession, he is reported to have said that there were two kinds of men who suc- ceed in life ; one because of unusual intellectual ability, and another because of possessing the discernment to see the thing that every one realised should be done, but, while others were thinking about it, this man went forward and did it.
There are many who will agree that Colonel Roose- velt falls into this latter category, but the trait is not Rooseveltian simply; it is American, and he who tries to analyse the historical development of men and con-
208
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 209
cerns in this new world of the West, will find appear- ing, again and again, this virile, prompt acceptance of opportunity, this combination of vision and action, bringing about far-reaching accomplishment.
There are many men in these United States who could be taken to illustrate this principle woven into the fibre of Americans. Among these becoming distinc- tive in world-wide pioneering in the realm of shipping, trading, and transportation generally, certain members of the house of W. R. Grace & Co. are notable. If one doubts this statement, let him ponder the fact that this company's tonnage of steamers, constructed by themselves, and not including the steamers chartered by them, reaches 140,000 tons; that the firm employs in South American offices 2,700 men; that the total em- ployes in the industrial establishment reach 25,000; that the business during the year 19 17 aggregates $250,000,000; and that last year Grace & Co. were the largest shippers of coffee out of Rio de Janeiro and the largest importers of nitrate of soda into the United States.
Those who are looking for significant events in these days, when the country is beginning to take a fresh hold upon marine matters, can find in the story of this activ- ity a subject for thoughtful interest. On the second day of February, 19 18, the Santa Ana, the first ship of a new American passenger line, sailed from a Brooklyn pier for South America. This line has been authorised by the United States Shipping Board to be operated for government account by W. R. Grace & Co. between New York and the West Coast of South America. The sailing marked the fulfilment of a long-desired
210 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
dream. This service represents eighteen days dura- tion between New York and Valparaiso, as against twenty-five days heretofore required by changing steamers at Panama, and Callao, Peru. The passen- gers on the Santa Ana from New York will be able to reach Buenos Aires via the West Coast of South America and the Trans-Andean Railroad from Val- paraiso in twenty-two days, which is virtually as quick as the fastest steamers direct from New York to Buenos Aires by the East Coast route.
This line of steamers was projected and the ships ordered by W. R. Grace & Co., before the war. When all tonnage under construction was commandeered by the United States Shipping Board, authority was given for the completion of these ships as passenger vessels. This was done because it is necessary to maintain dn adequate American tonnage for the carriage of Chile * nitrate so necessary for munition and fertilisation, reserving these new ships for that trade the Shipp ^% Board fills the need for a passenger line to the W t Coast in harmony with the earnest recommendati -ns made by the late Chilean Ambassador, Sr. Aldunate, and the International High Commission, of which Sec- retary McAdoo is Chairman, and Dr. L. S. Row<* of Philadelphia, Assistant Secretary of the Treasur , is Secretary General. At the same time the pass' ger service does not represent an increase in tonnage f the West Coast, for these vessels merely take the pla e of a dozen or more Grace boats commandeered by the United States and British Governments for military service. Some have been sunk by German raiders and
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 211
U-boats, and one was all but destroyed in the Halifax explosion.
On the return trip the passenger ships will carry nitrate, a vital material. All the profits above the charter go to the Government.
One needs to have made the long and tedious voyage from New York to Valparaiso, weaving in and out of the open roadsteads along the bleak coast of Ecuador, Peru and Chile, enduring the distressing de- lays of loading and unloading in each one of these small ports, where modern docking facilities are con- spicuous by their absence, in order to appreciate the significance of this new undertaking.
Hitherto all passenger service on the West Coast of South America has been carried on under the Brit- ish, Chilean, Peruvian, and German flags. Even the United States mail could not be carried south of Pan- ma beneath the Stars and Stripes. The Merchants' ine, operating under the American flag, has consisted ; c freight vessels only. At this period when our at- . ntion is riveted so completely upon the war, such e/ents as the sailing of the Santa Ana are easily ob- scured, but in normal times the international signifi- cance of this sailing could justly have filled the columns of the press from Maine to San Francisco. Secre- tary McAdoo declared that, even while the United St ">es is absorbed in the war, the inauguration of this p; lenger service through the action of the Shipping Be ;rd, under Chairman Hurley, demonstrated the Government's constructive efforts to promote closer commercial and social relations with Latin America. It is one of those remarkable accomplishments achieved
212 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
in times of war, looking forward to a future of peace, when the flag of the United States again, as in the days of the old clipper ships, will float on the sea as well as on land.
It is a significant event for the merchant marine, and for general trade with our southern neighbour, since this line of steamships will carry as freight ni- trates and other South American materials necessary to America's industrial prosecution of the war, and will bear back to the West Coast the merchandise that the United States gives in exchange. The Santa Ana will thus be a symbol of that new reciprocal trade be- tween North and South America toward which so many earnest men in both hemispheres have looked and la- boured for many a year.
Following the Santa Ana will come her sister ship Santa Lucia and then later on in this present year of 19 1 8 the three remaining vessels of the fleet. These "Santa" ships are 5,700 dead weight, thirteen and one- half knots speed, each one possessing accommodations for one hundred first class passengers. These steam- ers will burn oil exclusively, and they have capacity for 5,400 tons of cargo. One notes that the cabins are all on the superstructure, showing that their build- ers had in mind comfortable travel in the tropics. It is expected that after the war a considerable Amer- ican tourist traffic to the West Coast will fill these splendid steamers. The line will be operated as a common carrier, subject to the regulation of the United States Shipping Board regarding rates and facilities of service. As the American traveller has always had a large part in the opening of American foreign trade,
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 213
the strategic value of this progressive achievement can be realised, even by the least imaginative of men.
The importance of the inception of this line of pas- senger boats can be further appreciated by a glance at the picture of the old sailing vessel built in 1873, an American ship of 1,893 tons, with three decks, rep- resenting one of the best of her kind and period. This old ship carried general cargo from New York to San Francisco, sailing around the Southern Continent, and taking from eighty-five to one hundred days. On her long voyage she stopped at ports along the West Coast for guano, and at San Francisco she unloaded her cargo and took on grain for Liverpool. It is well to stop for a moment to ponder the meaning of these two ships, the one representing the flourishing commerce of another generation — then an intervening period of forty years — and now one of the first signals of the renaissance of a new shipping day for the United States, when Americans are beginning afresh to lay the foun- dations of marine intercommunication with the entire world.
There are few more interesting stories of ships and trade than the one connected with the firm whose vision and efficiency have made possible these wide reaching achievements. It is a tale of inspiring accomplish- ment, and like other accomplishments in their begin- nings at least, it is woven about the work and person- ality of a single man.
W. R. Grace & Co., whose activity extends over seventy years of remarkable history, covering nearly every phase of trading, transportation, banking, and the alert acceptance of foreign financial opportunity,
214 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
began its development in the adventurous determina- tion of William Russell Grace, who was born in Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland, May ioth, 1832. His parents were well-to-do Irish landowners. It is said that Mr. Grace received his first impression of America by mixing with American sailors in the port of his home town. There are many romantic stories of his early life, one of which narrates the way in which at fourteen he ran away from home to board a sailing vessel as cabin boy, a vessel that brought young Grace to New York as his first landing place on the Western continent.
During these early years Mr. Grace found his way to Peru, and there, before he was twenty years old, he became manager of the English firm of John Bryce, which later became Bryce, Grace & Co., and then Grace Bros. Co. Mr. Grace's father before him had been trying to colonise Peru, and it was natural that the son's interest should turn in the same direction.
The advent of Mr. Grace in the country of Pizarro was an epoch-making event in the history of Peru, as well as in his own career. His allegiance to the United States was shown early in his work when, during the American civil war, both the English and native houses of Peru decided against extending credit to vessels of the United States Navy which frequently stopped at Callao for naval supplies. Although Mr. Grace was not an American citizen at that time, he unhesitatingly placed the resources of his house at the disposal of the United States Navy, thus bridging over successfully a delicate international situation.
After twenty years of work in Peru, this pioneering
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 215
trader, because of ill health, was compelled to retire from business. It is indicative of the type of man as of his industry, that he returned from Peru with a capital of about $300,000. Branches of the house had been established already in Lima, Callao, Val- paraiso, San Francisco, Santiago and Concepcion. The firm controlled a large share of the foreign shipping trade on the South American west coast, a business which has constantly increased with many ramifica- tions, until now the name of Grace & Co. is as famil- iar as a household word in well-nigh every section be- tween Panama and Patagonia. The traveller to-day is shown a small fishing shanty in Callao which is said to be the site of Mr. Grace's first business house in South America — the humble beginning of more than sixty branches and agencies of the present large for- eign business of this company in Latin America.
The New York branch of the company was estab- lished in the year 1868. Mr. Grace rapidly became financially powerful as director of the Lincoln Bank, the New York and Pacific Steam Ship Company, the New York Life Insurance Company, and as President of the Ingersoll Sargeant Drill Company. He touched all of his enterprises with the wand of success.
In 1880 the famine in Ireland brought Mr. Grace prominently into public attention. His large contri- butions to the Relief Fund called forth deep apprecia- tion from his native land. In the same year he be- came candidate for Mayor of New York City and was opposed by all the newspapers except the Star; as has happened repeatedly in New York, he was elected for
216 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
a two year term without the majority of the press support.
Mr. Grace was a reformer as well as merchant and trader. He was responsible for the passage of the bill depriving the police of control over street cleaning, and examination of the newspaper accounts of that period lead one to believe that the streets of New York for the first time in their history began to take on a semblance of cleanliness. He also reduced the tax rate, and at the end of his term, in the whirligig of political fortunes, he was exuberantly praised by all the newspapers of the city with the exception of the Star, the one paper that supported him at the begin- ning. When General Grant died, Mayor Grace of- fered the parks of the city for his burial ground. In 1884, after being out of office for two years, he was again nominated for Mayor of the city by an inde- pendent democratic party, and in a hotly contested election he carried the city by ten thousand votes.
It is of interest in looking backward to note the in- fluence Mr. Grace played in the election of Grover Cleveland for President. The State of New York fa- voured Hill for Presidential nominee, but Mr. Grace, thinking Cleveland the better man, took it upon him- self to canvass the whole United States and arouse sentiment in favour of Cleveland's nomination. With the arousal of the other states of the Union, it is fairly granted that Mr. Grace exerted one of the chief in- fluences for bringing President Cleveland into the White House.
The far-reaching influence of the founder of this house, together with his strong financial and commer-
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 217
cial leadership, was, from the beginning, important for South America.
During the period of Mr. Grace's political career the business and the scope of the firm were reaching large proportions. During the financial troubles of Peru, when, between 1865 and 1871, Peru had con- tracted a debt with English bondholders amounting with interest to $200,000,000, the Grace firm played an important role. In the year 1887 Mr. M. P. Grace tried to reach an agreement whereby the rail- roads of Peru could be turned over to the bondhold- ers in payment of the debt, offering his services as agent in the transaction. Peru in 1889 accepted the plans of the Grace bondholders' contract, and it was then that W. R. Grace & Co., a firm of only a genera- tion's growth, took upon its shoulders the national Peruvian debt of $250,000,000 in payment of which obligation it contracted to develop the railroads, min- eral, chemical, guano and other resources of the coun- try for a period of sixty-six years.
The assumption of this national debt by the Grace Co. marked the beginning of a new era of prosper- ity for Peru. The war with Chile had left Peru with- out capital or energy sufficient to pay the indemnity levied upon her by Chile, and her credit finally be- came exhausted to such an extent that bondholders began to clamour for their money. At this crisis Mr. Grace offered his services to both bondholders and the Peruvian government, making the contract that can- celled the foreign debt of the country. Under this provision the bondholders released the government "fully, absolutely and irrevocably from all responsibil-
218 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
ities for the loans of 1869, 1870 and 1872." In re- turn the government ceded to the bondholders all the railways for sixty-six years and the products of its guano beds, etc. It was a triumph of financiering, worthy of the highest ability and far-sighted instincts in foreign enterprises.
The house of Grace, always interested in ships as one of the main understructures of its work, started the direct pioneer steamship line between New York and the West Coast of South America in 1892, and the Grace clipper service to San Francisco came in the same year. From this date both of these lines have increased with great rapidity, and their manage- ment gives high promise for the development of the new lines now being projected.
In 1894, all the Grace houses were consolidated into a corporation under the name of W. R. Grace & Co. The firm completed in 1910 the gigantic railroad en- terprise across the Cordilleras, the Trans-Andes Rail- road, thus making a through railroad system from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, which will forever rank as one of the great railroad accomplishments of the world.
Mr. Grace's activities in politics ended when, in 1895, he resigned from the chairmanship of the State Democratic Committee by reason of the condition of his health and the requirements of his growing busi- ness. On March 21st, 1904, Mr. Grace died, leav- ing the mantle of his leadership and responsibilities upon his son and the loyal and capable body of men whom he had gathered about him during these years, when one of the great trading and transportation houses was in formation and development. Among
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 219
the services growing out of this house is the Grace Institute established in 1898, an establishment for the training of young women in business and domestic sci- ence. To this institution Mr. Grace gave a most gen- erous sum for its foundation, and his interest was ac- tive in it so long as he lived. The work is now carried on by his family under the direction of the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul.
A study of this operating company increases the con- viction that foreign trade, while it must have ships, carrying ships for produce and passenger ships through the medium of which men in different countries may become acquainted, there must be laid also a basis for work over wide areas. In other words, it is the busi- ness of such a house to make the trade for ship car- riers; and this the Grace house has accomplished in a manner unknown to those who have not given atten- tion to its wide-spreading agencies.
Apart from the central offices in New York, one will find to-day branches of the company in at least fifteen different cities of the United States, stretching all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast. In the San Francisco branch alone three hundred men are engaged. The service flag of the New York house contains 105 stars, about one employe in five being under arms. In Canada at Montreal, in Central' America and the West Indies; in Mexico, Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba and Jamaica, in some of these countries several branches; on the West Coast of South America; in Chile at twenty different cities and towns; and in Peru at six- teen points the Grace agencies are established. In
220 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
Bolivia, the mountain republic, Grace & Co. is do- ing business with five stations. Ecuador has flourish- ing agencies at Guayaquil and Quito ; Argentina on the East Coast, at Buenos Aires; Brazil at Rio de Ja- neiro and Santos ; and in Venezuela, the traveller finds a branch at Caracas.
The company has reached out into Europe preparing there foundations for its world trade; in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Genoa, Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid and Petrograd, one will meet with the repre- sentatives of this company in branches under various names.
This entire work is served by the three steamship companies owned by this house, the Grace Steamship Company, Atlantic and Pacific Steamship Company, New York and Pacific Steamship Company, Ltd., while it has a substantial interest in the Pacific Mail Steam- ship Company.
In answer to my question as to the general aims of this house, a member of the firm said:
"We are building always: we consider ourselves to be merchants primarily, but the activities of the com- pany are many and diverse. We are industrial de- velopers, steamship men, bankers, nitrate merchants as well as promoters of all kinds of public service and industries — everything in fact that tends especially to the development of South America, where our activities have so largely centred."
In Chile, for example, there is need of a woollen mill, a cotton mill, or a large sugar development, or trolley lines. The company sees the opportunity and is ready
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 221
to finance and develop the enterprise. Water and light are required for the towns far in the interior, and the agents of this firm become the pioneers of civ- ilisation through large areas isolated from the modern world. It neither seeks nor operates concessions from governments.
The nitrate properties of South America developed and carriecl on by this company form a large foreign business by themselves. There are eight or ten of these properties, employing fifteen thousand men.
A portion of the terminal facilities, about one-tenth of all such facilities along the West Coast of South America, in places like the big nitrate port of Anto- fagasta, for example, are owned by the company, as well as the wharves, the launches and the tugs. There is no more familiar sight in the frequent stoppings of the Chilean and Peruvian steamers along the West Coast than the Grace launch.
In Bolivia one finds large lumber mills, as along the coast of Peru he visits the guano estates and branch houses dealing in nitrate of soda in Chile. There are three big cotton mills back of Lima that correspond in size and work with like institutions in any part of the world. I visited some of these and was amazed, not only at the large accomplishments, but also at the equipment in modern machinery and the organisation of the workers.
One soon learns that the common idea that this com- pany is simply a big commission house, is a most in- adequate description of this enterprise. This was only an early stage in its progress. Its activity now is that of the merchant, buying and selling, and transporta-
222 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
tion in ships. Not long ago the Government of Chile required a new railroad shop, repair shops, and every- thing going with the equipment of machinery and fa- cilities; the Grace company contracted to bring the entire plant into being.
Through the leadership of Mr. W. R. Grace the firm figured in the early attempt to build the Nic- aragua Canal. In 1897-98 Mr. Grace gathered twenty-five men into a syndicate which raised a fund of five hundred thousand dollars, spending $400,000 in the early plans for the building of the canal. Going to President McKinley with his project, Mr. Grace re- ceived the following answer from the President:
"This is interesting, but how are you going to get the money?" The merchant answered, "I will raise one hundred million dollars and shall expect the United States to put up another hundred million at a low rate of interest. Our syndicate wants to build the Nic- aragua Canal and we have shown our practical desire by already expending nearly half a million dollars."
(This undertaking more than twenty years ago should not be confused nor connected with the War- ner-Miller episode or with such attempts as the one with which Senator Morgan was associated.)
After some thought about the matter, President McKinley informed Mr. Grace that the Government wished to build the Panama Canal. The merchant asked what would be done to reimburse his associates for the half million dollars already spent on the proj- ect, at which Mr. McKinley answered:
"You men are all wealthy and can afford to lose the money."
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE
Mr. Grace cheerfully accepted the decision and went on with his other work.
In my contact with this house in various parts of South America I have been impressed with what is called the "Grace spirit." The attempt is made, suc- cessfully for the most part, to show the various agents and men connected with the company that the house represents a great American enterprise, and that each representative stands for something more than a mere business agent, that, in fact, he reflects the ideals of the nation behind him.
I was much interested in the club or the mess, as it is often called, where Grace men live together in South American countries. A house is rented and made homelike as a place for the men without families. A steward and treasurer are elected, and the house is equipped with reading matter, billiard tables, pianola, and other conveniences for producing a homelike at- mosphere. Many of the plants are situated far from the cities, and these clubs are virtually oases in far away sections of Peru, Bolivia and Chile, where the comforts and amenities of civilisation have not yet penetrated.
In a great nitrate community in Chile, for instance, there may be only a small circle of Americans repre- senting the officers, possibly half a dozen or nine men who are responsible for running an enormous plant. Outside is the camp for the workmen. The evenings for Americans in such localities are likely to be a nightmare of loneliness. There is lack of companion- ship and social opportunities such as those to which the men have been accustomed at home. The company
224 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
has been quick to appreciate this fact and to provide, not only comfortable quarters, but to establish customs intended to give the officers a life by themselves, and to prevent such unfortunate mixtures with the camp community as would disrupt discipline and morals. I found it the custom for every one of the official staff from the manager down, after work was over, to don a dress suit or dinner jacket preparatory for dinner, while afterwards, opportunities were offered for games and amusements in the club. As one man put it, "None of us are inclined to find our way down to the camps in a dinner jacket. When you put on the dress of a gentleman you are inclined to act like one."
On the big sugar estates at Cartavia, in Peru, a church has been founded recently, also a schoolhouse, a hospital and a moving picture theatre. The influ- ence of these organisations has been manifested di- rectly upon the community of workmen. Formerly it was customary during the holidays for "every one to get drunk for a week," according to the statement of one of the men. One of the dealers in chicha, the Peruvian national drink, stated to a manager not long ago, that as a result of the church and theatre busi- ness, he had been obliged to go out of business; for while he had been accustomed to sell ten barrels of chicha during certain holiday periods, it was now im- possible for him to get rid of more than one barrel. It has further resulted that instead of several days of shut-down on account of the dissipation of the holi- days, there is rarely more than one day of stoppage on the estates through any inability of the men to work as a result of excessive indulgence in drink. The
PIONEERS IN SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE 225
Grace Institute has helped in making these isolated plantations and estates enjoyable and livable. Last year two hundred presents were sent down to this par- ticular sugar estate at Christmas time, with several hundred boxes of candy and other gifts. Such work, as one man said, "has put Christmas on the map in this community."
A glance at these efforts toward the building of for- eign trade impresses the fact that the United States, through the medium of its business men, is confronted with a diverse problem relative to the enlarging com- merce with other nations, and especially with South America. There is no doubt that the merchant ma- rine comes first as a primal requirement, but ships are only one part of the problem. They are carriers only, and the development of trade depends upon a variety of agencies such as are here outlined, — agencies that have been wrought out through seventy years of ex- perience by one American firm. What Grace & Co. have done in South America, other houses can do, and doubtless will do in the coming years. It will be eas- ier, furthermore, for American traders and merchants and steamship men to plant their work in the foreign soil of Latin America because of such far-sighted and efficient pioneering. Grace & Co. is one of the Amer- ican houses which have successfully led the way. These men have revealed, for Government and for manufacturers and shippers generally, some things that can be done.
The insistent question which every enterprising business house of our country must face to-day is this: "How can our particular house most quickly and
226 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
efficiently fall into line along the great trade routes that lead to South America, thus casting out a sheet anchor for our future, and adding the commerce of the seas to business at home?,,
CHAPTER XV
THE ARGENTINES
AFTER months of travel and mingled experiences along the west coast of South America, where one has found the months of June, July and August as cold as November in the United States, the traveller is possessed with a sense of relief as he finds himself sliding down the eastern side of the Andes into the great vineyards and smiling gardens of Argentina. It seems hardly credible that one day's ride on the Trans-Andean railway is sufficient to bring one out of the region where furs and steamer rugs are quite ac- ceptable, into this vast land of seemingly endless plains, marked with all the signs of the temperate zone.
In many respects Argentina impresses .one as being a different world from that of the more mediaeval and less progressive agricultural and industrial republics west of the Andes.
Mendoza, the first large Argentine town one sees after crossing the mountains, is like a patch of Cal- ifornia with its wide orchards, its extensive vineyards and its acres of melons, peaches, apricots and fields of maize. The train whirls one through great planta- tions of fruit trees, and you are told that Mendoza alone has more than 3,000 acres of such orchards as well as 140,000 acres of irrigated land, producing
227
228 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
grapes. Already the fruit from this section is find- ing its way into the New York markets, and larger ar- rangements than ever before have recently been made to ship Argentine grapes to the United States next autumn. As this fruit supply, unequalled in quality even in California, will reach North America in the off season for grapes, this export business, which is a comparatively new thing for Argentina as regards fruits and vegetables, is rich in promise.
It is, however, when the traveller has made a night's run from the strictly mountain towns and wakens to look out of the windows of his sleeping car to behold the vast pampa of level and productive plain unrolling before him on all sides, that the real Argentina begins to be tangible. It is like sailing on almost a perfectly level sea that bends away to the horizon, with naught to obstruct the vision save here and there a clump of poplars, which signifv the ranch buildings of a big "estancia."
One is struck with the absence of woods, but as one proceeds and studies the landscape he sees great herds of cattle, immense flocks of sheep and here and there grey patches, which on nearer view are discovered to be composed of Argentine ostriches. Then there are the stretches of grain fields which seem to reach every- where and have no boundaries — thousands of acres of wheat and corn. One has reached the country where farms are measured not by acres but by square leagues, and if you ask the size of a farm, the answer will often fairly appal you — for these vast feudal "estancias" comprise all the way from 12,000 to 200,000 acres each, and agriculture is on a scale that would seem
THE ARGENTINES 229
fabulous even to the farmers in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas.
One of the stations one passes through early in the day is called "Open Door." It seemed a fitting title to this resourceful country of incalculable potentiality, where the national domain still consists of upwards of 200,000,000 acres of undivided land suitable for cul- tivation, when properly irrigated.
The element of contrast between this progressive agricultural country and the republics on the west coast is decidedly impressive. The differences are so great that the attempt to generalise regarding the people or the resources of the South American republics usually ends in showing but one side of the picture. How could one, for example, speak of the small patches of cultivated land, in the mountains of southern Peru, upon which the Indians eke out a scanty existence, in the same breath with these vast Argentine farms sup- plied with virtually every modern convenience of steel and iron? These ancient descendants of the Incas driving their herds of llamas and alpacas on the sides of the Peruvian Cordilleras, would find themselves in a new world and strange here in this immense country wih its 30,000,000 head of horned cattle, its 70,000,- 000 sheep and 8,000,000 horses, a country that esti- mates its live stock capital in terms of wealth amount- ting to $650,000,000.
The very stature of the people, together with their vigour and independent initiative, are changed as soon as one crosses the great divide and comes into con- tact with the railroad officials of this rapidly growing republic. It is much more like the United States here
230 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
in Argentina, and modernity confronts one on every side. The labouring man is no longer a dark-skinned chola or a picturesque Indian bending beneath an in- tolerable load, with his eyes on the ground, trotting along with that peculiar motion characteristic of the human beast of burden; here rather he is an upstand- ing, self-respecting labourer, alert — and looking for the new and rapidly opening doors of opportunity in his progressive republic. He is, indeed, for the most part of European stock, from Italy, France and Spain, and he has come to Argentina as Europeans have been coming to the United States for the past thirty-five years, to make for himself a home. The immigrants to Argentina, furthermore, have been as a rule superior to those who have come from Italy to the United States. The Argentine Italian is not usually from Naples or Sicily, but from the northern provinces, and he comes here to engage in commerce, even more than for labour upon the land. One notices the difference in the family life, the women and children looking far more prosperous and well fed, while the homes are better as compared with those found in the United States in industrial communities, where the immigrants from southwestern Europe are herded together.
It has been well said that here in Argentina the Latins of Europe are blooming again and economic opportunity and prosperity have awakened within them a new hope.
This first impression of contrasts between the west and the east coast is amplified as one's train pulls into the beautiful city of Buenos Aires with its 1,700,000 inhabitants, revealing a type of life as cosmopolitan
THE ARGENTINES 231
as can be found perhaps in any city of the world. One is first possessed with the realisation that he is again in a great modern capital surrounded with all the marks of material prosperity that men of the twentieth century have learned to utilise.
One is whirled through the streets of shining mac- adam in high-powered motor cars, and is told that there are in the city more than 4,000 privately owned automobiles with 2,000 motor carriages for hire. Buenos Aires breaks upon one, whose eyes have been accustomed to a long day's ride of level plain, as a kind of dream city, with its great plazas, immense houses and public buildings resembling so closely, with their elaborately ornamented fagades, Paris or Berlin that one needs almost to rub his eyes to make sure that he is not upon the other side of the Atlantic. This greatest city of South America has been called "A plaster imitation of Paris," but if one can judge from the first impression of bustling commercial activ- ity, and the large reconstruction projects which are now undei way, to make the city more capable for the ever-growing trade, this city of the plains is some- thing quite other and different than the Parisian capital.
To be sure, when one walks down the broad Avenida de Mayo, which is said to resemble closely a street of Paris, and especially when at night the sidewalks are filled before the large cafes and restaurants with small tables around which sit the Argentines, one can readily think he is on the Boulevard des Italiens.
But if on the other hand one could arrive in Buenos Aires, as did the writer, during the progress of the
232 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
big cattle show, when the hotels were filled with land owners and farmers from the big "estancias," he would secure an impression quite different than that to be realised in Paris. He would feel a more virile, agri- cultural strain running through the activity of this whole city. He would sense a patriotism rising from the land, for this country is an agricultural country first of all, and in this industry and about it the patri- otic and national pride of the people centre.
To be sure, the great land owners come to Buenos Aires and spend their money upon the glittering boule- vards, and this makes the city an abnormal one and in a sense a false guide to the characteristics of the people and the country. Argentina, however, is slowly but surely gathering to herself out of the polyglot nations of Europe which compose her, a spirit and individuality of her own, as free and unique as is the air of her boundless prairies. At present she resem- bles more truly the old world than does the United States, which has had so much longer time to develop a modern particular civilisation all her own; yet you can hardly insult an Argentine more readily than to say that Buenos Aires is merely a copy or tinselled imi- tation of a European capital. He sees in it his own expression, and although he will tell you that to know the country correctly the North American must read the history of the United States fifty years ago, he is nevertheless deeply confident that Argentina has a fu- ture quite different from either the United States or a European nation, or, in fact, any other South American state. One imagines that the longer one remains in the country the more surely he will be inclined to
ALVAER AVENUE IN BUENOS AIRES. A SUPERB RESIDENCE STREET
THE ARGENTINES 233
agree with the inhabitant of this great land, where are being gathered forces and population, in an agricultural area nearly half as big as the United States, possessing resources in many senses more uniform and prolific than are to be found in any other one commonwealth on the face of the earth.
Another contrast which strikes immediately the ob- server coming to Argentina from the west coast, is that of the absence of a large number of churches of the mediaeval type. One will be told both in Peru and Chile by the adherents of the prevailing Roman Cath- olic faith of that section that Argentina is rapidly becoming agnostic, and that she has become dazzled by the blaze of her material prosperity.
In a sense this impression would seem to be borne out by one's early investigation and conversation with the inhabitants. To be sure, the government is still connected with the Roman Catholic church to the ex- tent that it appropriates money each year for the na- tional religion. The families of wealth and distinc- tion here also, as on the west coast, are quite closely allied with the Roman Catholic church. But a great difference is seen in the character of that alliance. It seems to be more a matter of politics, of fashion, and lacking deep roots in the religious and ecclesiastical nature of the people. The women also are very much less often seen in the churches, and the poorer classes do not seem to be interested in religion to any great extent. As far as the educated men and women are concerned, indifferentism, if not in many cases agnosti- cism, seems to be the ruling characteristic.
Buenos Aires impresses the newcomer with its heavy-
234 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
laden and sudden materiality. It is like a child who has received a lap full of bon bons, or a shop full of toys, to which it has been unaccustomed, and has not yet learned to use altogether wisely. Its avenues and main streets are simply clogged with these evidences of new riches, — wonderful shops filled with the most costly manufactured products from every land; win- dows ablaze with jewels always somewhat larger and more costly than one would expect to see displayed. Its clubs are marble palaces, filled with paintings and statuary and ornate decoration far beyond what even necessity or good taste would demand. One finds it hard to distinguish what the Argentine would call an ordinary dwelling from a public building, so great is the penchant for magnificence and display, which is easily carried out in modelled stucco. It is the land of the high cost of living as well as the high cost of everything. It would seem to be one of the most diffi- cult places in the world for any one to live with simple tastes, and still with respectability. Things are rankly external. All seems to be for show. A gentleman who advised a visit to a state building said, "Be sure to drive up to the building in a motor car. It will make a great difference in the attention which the officials will show you."
The great annual stock show at Buenos Aires is a national event, and people of all classes and grades of society are in attendance. Everything about the fair is of intense interest, and there is a knowledge dis- played regarding the many kinds of modern machinery and a fascination about the stock yards where the blooded cattle, sheep and horses are on exhibition,
THE ARGENTINES 235
that is unknown even in the United States, which com- petes in land values and stock farms with this republic.
This year, three expert stock judges from North America are present at the invitation of the Argentines, and the daily press speaks in the most complimentary terms of the decisions made by this committee. In re- gard to their cattle these people are as extravagant with their wealth as in other ways. No expense is spared to .import the best breeds- from Europe and any part of the earth, and a prize- bull was sold this year for $20,000.
One cannot but think that it would be good for the country if more attention was given to the distribu- tion of lands and the welfare of the colonists, and less to the fancy blooded stock which, like the rich buildings in Buenos Aires, are subjects for public pride more than for utility. However, the glory of this great yearly exposition, where Argentine society ap- pears alongside of Argentine labour, helps to keep the minds of the people riveted upon the fact that the republic, more perhaps than any other large state, is almost utterly dependent upon the land and its prod- ucts for existence and growth.
In few countries have there been such rapid advances in the prices of land. In the year 1885 it was pos- sible to purchase land in the city of Buenos Aires for 75 cents a yard; now it costs $1000 a yard, and the market quotations are still showing rising prices. Twelve or 15 years ago a suburban lot, 60 by 20 yards, could be purchased here for $25; at present the pur- chaser would find it necessary to pay at least $750 for the same property. Good farm land brings $500,000
236 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
a square league, and it is the possession of these lands in large quantities that makes it possible for the mil- lionaire Argentines to whirl down the Avenida de Mayo in their $10,000 automobiles and spend the long vacations in Europe, making their Capital city the last word in the display of wealth of luxury.
Even New York would be amazed at the prodigal use of money in Buenos Aires. A gentleman was show- ing a visitor about a public building recently, and, open- ing the door into a servant's bathroom, drew his at- tention to the carved panels and ceiling, the wood be- ing imported for the purpose with the other choice wood with which the building was decorated. One is told that the officers, during the wars of Argentina with her neighbours in former years, were paid their salaries in part at least in land; with the later advent of railways and an absence of revolutions and wars, the prices of these tracts have soared to fabulous amounts and these men are now millionaires. It is said that in proportion to its size this South American re- public has more millionaires than the United States — it is a country of land-fortunes.
In this immense grain- and cattle-producing country of 776,000,000 acres, 80,000,000 acres are suitable for wheat raising. Yet only about one-fourth of the land is now under cultivation, and there are only six persons to the square mile. Of this population of 7,000,000, about three-fourths are Argentines, or peo- ple born in the country. There are half a million Italians, a quarter of a million of French, 25,000 Brit- ishers, and a melting pot of almost 'every nation under the sun in smaller numbers.
THE ARGENTINES 237
It is stated that each person in Argentina not only produces food sufficient for his own needs, but sends each year $40 worth of food to other countries. Great Britain has been depending on this republic for nearly one-fourth of its food products, which is rea- son sufficient for the intense interest the Britisher is taking at present in the intricate and puzzling matters of foreign trade.
In Argentina, furthermore, the question of land is always connected with the subject of labour, and labour in turn usually calls up immigration matters, than which few subjects are of more vital moment to this republic. Like the United States, Argentina has been receiving in recent years a flood of immigrants from Europe, and like the United States, she also has not found the process of assimilation easy or her immigra- tion-agrarian system a model of perfection.
One of the difficulties in this southern republic has been the double stream of immigration. While there has been an increase in recent years previous to the European war of approximately 250,000 inhabitants through the stream of immigration, this does not tell the whole story. Many thousands more have come to this land of opportunity, but for various reasons have made but a temporary sojourn here, and, returning to Europe, have carried away a vast resource of the land both in money and men.
Between the years 1905 and 1907, for instance, there was an immigration into Argentina from Europe and Montevideo of 781,796, and in the same period 324,687 persons left the country for their former homes, leaving only a total of 457,108 in three years.
238 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
According to the estimates of the Department of Im- migration, each of these emigrants from the republic took with him out of the country on the average $150. During these three years the republic lost in this way $50,000,000. This reveals grave disorder somewhere in the assimilative faculty of the nation, and it has aroused the people to renewed attention to their laws for immigrants. The reasons which appear to explain this loss involve a faulty distribution of soil, poor ad- ministration of justice as regards the new colonists, and especially the difficulties immigrants have experi- enced in securing individual and desirable holdings that would attach them to their land and enable them to build homes in their adopted country. The operations connected with the purchase of land have been sub- jected to long and wearisome formalities which have exhausted both the purse and the patience of newcom- ers. Unwise laws promulgated formerly have enabled the rich absentee landlords to hold enormous tracts of property, and the immigrant has found it difficult to get land that seemed to him most desirable. To- day, therefore, Argentina faces the serious problem of a division @f lands or a continuance of temporary immigration.
Here is a country capable of supporting 100,000,000 people instead of the present 7,000,000 with vast pub- lic lands still undistributed. In a republic where the colonisation problem is the immigration problem, this matter is a momentous one. Argentina is a paradise for immigrants with its softness of climate, richness of soil, its extent of arable territory, inland water- ways, its easy commercial access to markets and pote?
THE ARGENTINES 239
tial wealth. It is still, outside of its abnormal capital with its trail of overdone luxury and materiality, a desert-nation. One rides for hundreds of miles over the level pampas in almost primeval isolation where the broad prairies are as bare of signs of civilisation as Buenos Aires is redolent with the atmosphere of gorgeous modernity. Santa Cruz, for example, with its 58,590 square miles of land, capable of supporting a vast industrial and maritime population, contains scarcely more than 2000 persons. The call of the land in this remarkable republic is pathetic.
That the country is beginning to awake to its delin- quency and possibility is revealed in the following statement taken from the "Notes on the Land Laws" of M. Eleodore Lobos, who, speaking of the need of colonisation by immigration, says:
"Our failure is an incontestable fact and must be at- tributed not only to economic, administrative and political conditions, but also to the freedom with which the soil has been divided into lots of enormous area, and the obstacles opposed to the easy and secure acquisition of small properties.
"In other terms," he continued, "our politicians have affected the very reverse of a rational colonisation, and have established a system of large properties instead of subdividing the land between the colonists accord- ing to their productive capacities."
Argentina in her land troubles is reaping the sowing of a bad start, and like many another South American republic, she finds it difficult to dissolve the hard metal of the early racial consciousness dug in the old Spanish world, in her new modern melting pot. Traditions and
240 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
standards closed down upon wrong ideals here in these lands where the founders came first to exploit and not to colonise.
The new type of conqueror now invading Argentina is in many cases from the same lands whence came the early adventurers, but he comes to-day with differ- ent motives. He wants to get his gold by industry and not by theft. He seeks a land of opportunity for work and not for play. He seeks the simple and unostentatious life of the country, close to the land. Argentina's future land of promise lies not in the blaz- ing lights of her cosmopolitan Avenida de Mayo, but in the bone and sinew of these latest conquerors who ask only the worker's meed.
Although Argentina is a ' new country, there are already certain bodies which have come to assume the air of fixed institutions. They are like the Statue of Liberty, or the Taj Mahal, or London Tower — things that act as departure places for travellers, and the person who visits the countries containing these famous guide-posts and cannot afterwards speak know- ingly concerning them, is at once branded as an in- expert traveller.
In Argentina there are several such notable insti- tutions. There is the Colon Theatre, where the wealth of the metropolis disports itself and pays huge prices to attract the most highly prized artists of song and the art histrionic. The far-famed Jockey Club of Buenos Aires — that super-gorgeous meeting place of the new-rich men, where the owners of great "estancias" pay thousands of dollars to enter, as members — must be on the visitor's programme. Another really national
THE ARGENTINES 241
institution is the newspaper, La Prensa, of which every Argentine is quite justly proud, one of the newspapers of South America, nearly a half century old, and com- bining journalism with a sort of artistic and philan- thropic paternalism.
To'be sure La Prensa cannot claim precedence in age among the journals of the republics south of Panama. The Standard, an English newspaper of Buenos Aires, claims a considerable priority as far as age is concerned, while the devoted admirers of El Mecurio in Chile will tell you that with the exception possibly of a small Brazilian sheet, their paper was the first one organised among these republics.
La Prensa, furthermore, is by no means the only journal in Argentina. The country boasts of at least 189 daily newspapers and periodicals printed in Buenos Aires alone, 157 being in Spanish, 14 in Italian, 2 in French, 8 in German and 6 in English. Many of the discerning will inform one that La Nacion, the news- paper of the Argentine Capital — devoting itself par- ticularly to authentic political news — is not only more dignified but also more reliable; while the clever El Diario, La Razon, and half a dozen other papers that the newsboys shriek into your ears on the tram cars and through the restaurants, are sheets worthy of any of our modern cities.
The news-stands of the cities and towns in this pro- gressive land are also filled with many illustrated jour- nals, a number of these having a corresponding Eng- lish edition published in the United States. One does not live long in this, part of the world without discov- ering that the Latin American is as facile with his pen
242 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
as with his vocal organs, and in the amount of literary and journalistic output of the present day Argentina is quite amazing. It must be added also that to the American journalist much of the South American journalism would seem to be superfluous, so indirect and generous are the writers in presenting their facts and opinions. If it is true that there are at least half a dozen ways for the Spanish American to say the same thing, it is equally patent that there are quite as many methods of writing the same thing, and the aver- age writer seems inclined to use them all.
La Prensa, however, easily holds the throne of pres- tige and general popularity among the newspapers, if the circulation lists and elaborate office equipment are signs of press royalty.
This journal occupies a building which is purported to cost, with its land and equipment, more than five mil- lion dollars, and the ''newspaper office" would impress the American as a cross between a State Capitol, a Car- negie Library, a Metropolitan Museum and the Bos- ton Conservatory of Music, This is the chief first impression of the visitor who learns later that inci- dentally in this luxurious, eleemosynary atmosphere is published a newspaper in Spanish, twenty-three pages in extent, with two daily editions, and boasting of a certified circulation of 220,000 copies each day of the year.
Here is a type of dignified journalism par excellence. There are no glaring bill-boards, no coloured supple- ments, no letters a foot high on the first page to delude the trusting public for the Benefit of the newsboys. In- stead there is a small electrically framed newsboard
THE ARGENTINES 243
at night, not more than two feet square, speaking in authoritative Castilian of such momentous facts as, for example, that Roumania and Italy have declared war on Germany.
The offices of this paper are all upon the de luxe plan. An average reporter in the "States" who found himself installed in one of these beautifully furnished rooms, equipped with mahogany desks and with floors laid in marble mosaic, velvet curtains at the windows and cherubs flying over him in the frescoed ceilings, would be inclined to lose his American "punch." He would quite likely feel more like taking off his hat and speaking in a whisper, as one suddenly translated into the midst of royal surroundings. La Prensa, however, is really not a cathedral nor a throne room, although it has marble enough in it to make for a king a palace. It is, for a fact, a marvellous newspaper building, owned by a single Argentine family whose name is Paz, with real Hoe presses and foundry, hidden away in the basement, and twenty-one linotype machines that make all the noise expected of such instruments in working hours.
We had the privilege of an introduction to one of the members of this family, renowned in Argentine journalism, a gentleman of rare manners and travelled culture, who gave us the impression that the chief busi- ness of his life was to be of service to such investi- gating visitors as ourselves. We discovered later that this gentleman was by no means an idle rich man, but a very assiduous newspaper expert who knew how to wield the blue pencil quite as dexterously as the aver- age city editor in the United States. From his cour-
244 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
tesy and equanimity you would scarcely have dreamed that the days held aught for him other than the charm- ing leisurely conversation of a man at a social club. Such is the subtle mystery of Spanish etiquette.
A tour through this ingeniously arranged building, built on the plan of the old Spanish house with a beau- tiful open patio in the centre, is quite an unforgettable experience. One is shown through the large and well- equipped free library, where enquiring students may read and write. A music school is also included where 220 pupils get musical education gratis. There is a Concert Hall, with Gobelin tapestry on the walls, and paintings of renowned artists upon the ceiling; here the official staff and invited guests sit in gilt chairs, gorgeously upholstered in rose-coloured satin, to hear the operatic stars sing portions of their librettos in advance, to show La Prensa that they are worthy of that institution's support and vivas. To this rostrum also come distinguished lecturers who, as they look down upon the faultlessly dressed men and women of Argentina, are united in their verdict that there are few, if any, more luxuriously appointed private theatres in existence.
The visitor is led from the fourth floor of the build- ing by a spiral staircase to the roof, where he looks off over this freshly-made metropolis, just learning the skyscraper habit, and is then plunged down one of the four electric elevators to inspect the private power plant, and the newspaper machinery, much of which is made in the United States. It takes liter- ally hours to thoroughly inspect the many features of this ingenious building, and in every room one
THE ARGENTINES 245
receives the same impression, namely, the lavish prodigality of wealth to make these offices the apex of luxurious equipment. From its mosaic floors, its walls panelled with rare carved woods, its frescoed ceilings, its embroidered velvet draperies, its ornate chandeliers (some of elaborately wrought bronze and others of crystal), its statuary and paintings, one dis* covers a characteristic of the Argentine — ostentatious display.
Through it all, however, there is a very real line of utility. In the modern telegraph and wireless op- erating rooms, in the department of photography, and in the up-to-date grill room for the reporters, one reads the indication of modernity. Although the offices of the chief editors resemble more nearly a string of apartments in a President's palace, the air of effi- ciency is not absent, and when the accountant tells the visitor that La Prensa pays annually for customs duties, government taxes, municipal contributions, and for paper, ink and other supplies an average of $240,- 000 gold, he realises that this is a business as well as an art institution. One is also told that the telegraph service costs La Prensa $20,000 each month, and that the paper pays its correspondents and agents $33,000 yearly. Every month there are 80,000 small adver- tisements published, and the advertising manager, who has for many years been at the head of this depart- ment, is a fitting example of the practicable possi- bilities wrapt up in the romantic Latin American.
In the midst of its many practical newspaper ac- tivities, La Prensa finds time to be of real service to the public in many unique ways. The paper conducts
\
246 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
a law department, where three lawyers serve the pub- lic free of charge, daily; there is also a medical sec- tion, where four physicians deal out free medical ad- vice to all who apply. There are also conference rooms, richly appointed, where any group of persons may hold a meeting at any hour of the day or night, when it suits them to leave their street discussions and retire to the comfortable environment of a hall provided for such purposes.
A meteorological observatory, where weather re- ports are made, has not been forgotten, while there are departments for distinguished visitors who are enter- tained by La Prensa without money and without price. Prizes are given by the newspaper for altruistic acts consisting of artistic gold medals and a subscription to La Prensa for a stated period or for life. To stimu- late education, La Prensa offers a permanent prize of $1,500, which is annually awarded to the person who has taught the greatest number of illiterate people to read the national language within the boundaries of the Republic, during the preceding year. There are also literary contests held, money prizes being given for the best articles and stories written, and an in- formation bureau is carried on for the benefit of the public. The interest in Argentine land is not omitted by La Prensa, in whose offices there is found an indus- trial and agricultural bureau; this department of free service has contributed considerable benefit both to the agriculturist and also to the business community.
One of the most striking advertisements of La Prensa, which is not without its public utility, consists in the method of conveying news of extraordinary
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events through a powerful syren whistle which can be heard to the utmost limits of the city and suburbs. During the progress of the European war, the news is conveyed by a system of signals, flags by day and elec- tric lights on the top of the edifice by night.
From every point of inspection one is certain to be impressed with this unusual exhibition of enterprise in modern journalism. Its cosmopolitan presentation of news, its virtually unbiassed attitude in relation to poli- tics, its conservatism and dignity in conveying the news to the public, and in its unexampled expenditure of at- tention to the welfare of the nation, La Prensa is one of the most worthy examples of the progressive genius of this South American republic.
CHAPTER XVI
BUENOS AIRES, THE CITY DE LUXE
It looks gold, it smells of gold, . . . Yea, the very waves as they ripple past us, sing of gold, gold, gold.
Charles Kingsley.
THESE words of Charles Kingsley were not in- tended to be used in connection with Buenos Aires, but they came to our mind as we alighted from the Trans-Andean train one recent autumn eve- ning and were whirled to the hotel through the brilliant streets of the Argentine capital. For sev- eral months we had been wandering through the ancient mediaeval-like towns and cities of the western coast of South America. To a traveller thus inured to scenes where modernity struggles painfully with dilapi- dation and decay, the new and dazzling Buenos Aires, with its stretches of shining macadam along Parisian- like boulevards, its regal mansions and its general air of twentieth century de luxe, is like a gorgeous electric- lighted room after semi-darkness.
Buenos Aires is, indeed, a startling city; it might be called "The City of Amazement." This unanalysed wonder of the traveller is likely to continue for sev- eral days, as he is piloted, perhaps, through the rich and gorgeous rooms of the aristocratic Jockey Club,
248
BUENOS AIRES, THE CITY DE LUXE
the income of which organisation amounts to millions of dollars a year by reason of its connection with one of the finest race tracks of the world, or, should he be fortunate enough, as he sits as guest in the drawing- room of an "estancia" prince. One's first days in this city of the River Plate are a kind of orgy of resplend- ent vision as he passes through a phantaismagoria of varied riches. There is the Colon Theatre, said to be more expensive and beautiful than any of its Eu- ropean rivals, with its onyx and rose and gold. Even the ornate marble and granite cemetery, where Buenos Aires buries above ground its dead, speaks of a land flowing in wealth.
As one gets away from his early sight-seeing trip, he is almost inclined to believe that this magnificence, which momentarily warps one's judgment, was a pre- conceived plan on the part of these progressive and vigorous folk whose first ideal seems to be Progress — Progress beneath the aegis of the gods of gold. It is also extremely different from the West Coast cities — so extravagantly costly — so supergorgeous — so Baby- lonian-like. One is not surprised that a certain Eng- lish author chose as the title of his book, "The Amaz- ing Argentina."
This element of marvel seems to highly please the inhabitant. They like to see the traveller amazed. Furthermore, they outdo the wonder of their build, ings in the narration of statistics concerning their city, which figures are hurled from all sides on one's un- suspecting head. The visitor will be told almost in one sweep of breath that Buenos Aires, the Queen of the South Atlantic, has a population of 1,700,000, and
250 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
is not only the largest city in South America, but the second largest Latin city in the world. One will hear how the area of the Argentine metropolis is eighty- two square miles, and thus larger than Paris, Berlin, Hamburg or Vienna ; that it is one of the most, if not the most, cosmopolitan city on the face of the globe; and that its subway, the most luxurious and best in existence, carries 400,000,000 passengers each year. But this is only a beginning of the history of this new town whose story reads like a tale of the "One Thou- sand and One Nights." It possesses, as you learn, 500 periodicals, 4,000 private motor cars, one of the big- gest banks in the world, the most luxurious club- house, 97 of the most modern and beautiful parks, 34 public markets, 435 miles of car tracks, and withal more millionaires according to population than New York City or any other metropolis that one might happen to suggest. It is small wonder that after the first few days in the Capital city of the great cattle republic, the traveller feels that some one has been handling Aladdin's lamp, and his first inclination is to get away from all the splendour to some quiet nook 'in order to get his perspective and reason out this mighty piece of modernity.
When the enthusiastic and loyal Porteno has got these facts and a hundred others out of his system, he will turn, as a rule, dramatically towards you and say, "Now, what do you think of our city?" He likes to see you gasp for adjectives with which to endeavour vainly to express your wonder at all this material im- mensity. Then he leads you off to see some great public buildings with marble steps and mosaic floors, with
BUENOS AIRES, THE CITY DE LUXE 251
statues, bronzes and paintings, of which he tells you the price but does not give you time to admire their beauty; for there . are other things even more remarkable to see, like the richly appointed shops on the Calle Flor- ida, and the more richly gowned people along this promenade where all the world goes to stare at each other in the afternoon; not to speak of the newspaper magnate's palace on the Plaza San Martin, which you will be told cost more than the American White House.
After a week or so of this paralysing business, if the traveller has successfully dodged the motor cars and vehicles driven at breakneck speed by the Argen- tine Jehus, and escaped with life and limb from being run down by street cars on the narrow business streets, where the trams come perilously near taking the side- walk, the visitor gets a bit hardened to architectural magnificence and stunning statistics and begins to try a bit of visualisation and analysing on his own account.
The reaction from all this blaze of impression be- comes so sudden and intense with some that they go to the extreme of saying that Buenos Aires is, indeed, in a class by itself, but on this statement they do not intend to be especially complimentary. Some will utter the conviction that this new city, being without aris- tocracy of birth, has proceeded to form an aristocracy of extravagant display of wealth, that it is, in fact, a city of frenzied finance. Others have called it a city of sham — stucco houses made to look like marble, ostentation to cover a poverty of ideas, a neurotic Orientalism wearing the garb of culture and mediaeval chivalry to womankind, or — speaking of the Portenos as children — playing house at being Paris, but affect-
252 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
ing only a "plaster imitation," lacking the spontaneous gaiety and ability of the Parisian.
But such extreme and harsh detractors would secure a very small audience of sympathisers from those who have stayed long enough in Buenos Aires to out- live their reactions. The foreigner who makes a tem- porary visit, especially if he does not understand Span- ish, and is obliged to receive his information in a roundabout way through interpreters, or sit through theatres or public gatherings whose significance he can only guess, is quite sure to come away with a feeling that all this playing up of externals is a kind of in- genious method of showing off. He must remain longer and get below and beyond these confessedly specious introductions, to the heart and soul of a city which has sprung up almost in a night on the muddy flats of the River Plate, literally in a single genera- tion. To such a student of Buenos Aires there will come indubitably a consciousness of vast values both in the way of progress and of individual personality.
The people, or the Portenos, as the inhabitants of Buenos Aires are known locally, are of primal interest to the student of modern civilisation. Who are the people of Buenos Aires? Where did they come from? Why are they what they are?
Unless we begin in some such fashion the South American is an impregnable puzzle to the Anglo-Saxon, and anything like mutual understanding will be quite impossible.
He who visits Buenos Aires may have already learned that Argentina was discovered in 1516 by the Spanish navigator, Juan de Solis, who, in search of
BUENOS AIRES, THE CITY DE LUXE 253
a passage to the Pacific Ocean, was the first European to sail up the Rio de la Plata. He has doubtlessly learned already that in 1536 de Mendoza founded the city "Santa Maria de Buenos Aires," and that the Viceroyalty of La Plata, including Argentine, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay of to-day, was broken in 18 10 by the people of Buenos Aires, who declared their in- dependence under the leadership of the famous names of General San Martin, General Belgrano, and Ad- miral Brown; and that in i860 the country adopted the name by which it is now known, "La Nacion Argen- tina."
It would be natural, therefore, to suppose that Bue- nos Aires, being of Spanish origin, would be identical in character and customs with other large South Amer- ican cities, like Santiago or Lima. This supposition 19 soon frustrated as one learns that one-fifth of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires are Italian and at least half the population are foreign born, and that while according to very recent calculation it is reported that Chile has one per cent of foreign population, the re- public of which Buenos Aires is the capital possesses 85 per cent of inhabitants who either came themselves from alien lands, or whose immediate ancestry was foreign. It will also be found that some of the largest enterprises of the Capital city are in the hands of British, Germans and Americans. Great Britain alone has invested $1,250,000,000 in Argentina and has put 700,000,000 of these dollars in railroads, which she controls largely by her representatives linked with their offices in London.
It is also an illuminating discovery that the people
254 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
who dwell in these wonderfully rich homes on the Avenida General Alvear (and there are few cities anywhere in the world where the motive of beauty is more prominent in palatial and luxurious houses) are the old Argentine families who own estancias. These people have made their money, not through industrial enterprise, as is the case so often in the United States, but by reason of the fact that a generation ago they were enabled by what would seem to be a short-sighted government to buy land at three cents an acre, and have since seen their rich farms increase in value a thousandfold and more.
Argentina has not been favoured with the "home- stead" system. Pedro Luro, a Basque immigrant, will be pointed out as an example of what has happened. He received a hundred square leagues, or 625,000 acres of good soil, when the government was glad to dispose of it at three and one-half cents an acre. He secured fifty Basque families to assist him with his grant, and several millionaires resulted; the land is valued to-day at five hundred times what Luro paid for it. This immigrant, who landed at seventeen years of age in the year 1837 at Buenos Aires, having only a few shillings in his pocket, died a short time ago owning a million acres of land in addition to half a million sheep and one hundred and fifty thousand cattle.
With this advantage in land, it was comparatively easy for these Argentine pioneers to sit in their homes and see railroads and harbour improvements arrive under the impulse of foreign capital; watch the floods of immigration, adding to the country's importance in agriculture as well as in cattle, exchanging meanwhile
BUENOS AIRES, THE CITY DE LUXE 255
their primitive tools for modern steam-driven farm machinery, assuring the material prosperity of them- selves and their posterity for generations to come. In a country where political influence and military record were so closely allied to the obtaining of land at trifling cost, one can readily see how the pernicious "latifun- dia" system fastened itself upon the republic. Al- though the mistakes of these early years have since been recognised and partially rectified, the results are still manifest in the abnormalities of this Buenos Aires de luxe, which has been significantly styled "a pre- tentious Capital in a pastoral republic."
One is still amazed to find that these great rural and almost feudal aristocrats of land who spend their wealth in the capitals of Europe when they are not liv- ing in their expensive Buenos Aires homes, still hold their lands comparatively free from taxes, while the poor Italian pushcart man, and the later immigrant who owns but fifty acres, must pay his taxes to the uttermost farthing. To be sure, there are laws re- cently made which make for equal division of property among the children, when the head of the house dies, and some of the large estates are thus broken up. Un- til more favourable terms of owning property can be arranged for the present-day immigrant, this richly resourceful country will lag behind its possible prog- ress. At present the sons of these men of wealth of the Capital city do not reveal a taste for industry or hard work. It better suits their taste and temperament to choose law or politics as a profession, rather than commerce, leaving the brunt of the burden bearing, and emoluments as well, of industrial and economic
256 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
development to foreigners. They have been brought up in a school where men are seldom referred to as possessing so much a year. Income is not a subject of interest with the Buenos Aires plutocratic scion, but property and social standing are judged by capital.
These men of wealth have rather turned their at- tention of late to the breeding of blooded cattle, sheep and hogs, which they have imported from Europe at fabulous prices. The stock show and breeding business has become a kind of mania with the estancia aristo- crat. Prices are paid for breeding animals quite out of proportion to their value. One cannot but feel that in spite of certain real advantages secured, the tend- ency at present is to make this business a fad for the rich and fashionable. The man who fails to get him- self before the public as a politician, or in any other way, can accomplish the feat and have this whole cattle country ring with his name before night by paying $50,000 for a prize bull.
Besides this hobby, horse racing is by way of being a national institution, and the course at Palermo is a notable sight. All Buenos Aires turns out to attend these races, and the Avenida Alvear, which leads out to the track, on the day of a fashionable meeting, is a vivid motion picture, in which hired cabs and victorias jostle smart private carriages and speeding motor cars. Among the imposing array of great white stands and stables, the private stand and enclosure of the Jockey Club deserve particular mention. White marble has been generously used in its construction, while the ter- race before it is made beautiful with flowers and small trees, as is also the great field in the centre of the track.
BUENOS AIRES, THE CITY DE LUXE 257
The racing itself is said to equal its setting, and the Jockey Club, which controls the Palermo course, re- ceives from it its chief revenues.
The Matadores is another sight which makes a journey to the suburbs worth one's while. Here is brought most of the live stock that forms such an im- portant source of the city's prosperity — for sale and for slaughter. Three or four thousand head of cattle are disposed of daily at the Matadores, and the place forms a well-sized settlement, in itself, of cattle yards, auction rooms, office buildings and laboratories. In these last a careful watch is continually kept to guard against possible disease among the animals, which, if not checked at the very outset, is likely to mean an enormous loss; this loss would be felt not alone in Argentina, but in the United States and Europe, both of which have come to depend more and more upon this source of supplies.
No article in this city would be complete without mention of the Argentine women ; and it must be said, furthermore, that the women of Buenos Aires, both by their beauty and feminine charm, live up to the artistic standard of the Capital's homes and general magnificence. No longer do you see the "manta" of Peru and Chile. These women dress in the height of Parisian fashion, and they wear their clothes with a style that one sees only on the Rue de la Paix. Lady Argentina is perfectly coiffed, perfectly gowned, per- fectly shod, and as she passes before you she is the acme of well-groomed womanhood, but — she lacks animation, she seems more like a beautiful doll. Yet she lives up to what is required of her by her men.
258 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
The Portenos want their women feminine in the ex- treme; they want them demure and restrained, as if still beneath the spell of old Spain. They want them to be good housekeepers, devoted mothers, and they are both of these in a superlative degree. They also hold the key to religion in their hands, especially those of the upper classes. In activity they differ from the women of the United States so far as expression of their mental abilities is related to anything outside of the home, in the realm of social or public endeavour. Their intelligence, however, is undoubted, and many would contend that the Argentine woman is more than an equal for her husband in this regard.
Slowly the women of Buenos Aires are breaking away from the Spanish exclusiveness, which has kept them Orientally shut away from the world. It is doubtful whether this beautiful type of femininity will join the ranks of the suffragists in this or the next gen- eration even, but through travel and increasing contact with other nationalities (she speaks, as a rule, several languages fluently) she will doubtless be the first woman in South America to join the standard of fem- inism which is now advancing so rapidly around the world.
What kind of future awaits this city de luxe, with its intelligent and modern men and women, its prodi- gal expenditure of wealth upon municipal improve- ments, its educational system that will bear comparison with any other land, and its ever enlarging scientific , hold upon its landed industry?
Racially there is a purity of Caucasion blood here hardly to be met with elsewhere in South American
BUENOS AIRES, THE CITY DE LUXE 259
cities. There is, indeed, less than five per cent of non- Caucasian blood in Argentina, according to recent sta- tistics, while the United States has eleven per cent. With the exception of the Canadians, possibly no peo- ple in the Western Hemisphere are so truly European as these inhabitants of Buenos Aires. Northern Italy has been contributing in large numbers her firmer stock to the commercial life of the city and country, and in the expanding economic progress the Latin race seems here to be taking fresh hold upon life and opportunity. Activity and growth are the words belonging to the new Buenos Aires. "One day," said a Porteno, "our city will be the Capital of 100,000,000 people, whom our wide plains can easily support.',
With a government growing more and more stable, a trade with outside nations becoming increasingly ex- tensive, and with the possession of a boundless faith in itself, Argentina, like the United States, is a land of to-morrow. Like her northern neighbour, also, she has her foes lying in wait for her in the form of plu- tocracy and the dead level resulting from irreligion. It is not in material magnificence that this fair city of La Plata will fail, but more likely by reason of her failure to cultivate the unseen but no less real life of the spirit. Like many another New World city, filled with utilitarian gods, Buenos Aires, especially in her ruling classes, needs to invite to her aid Ruskin's three guardian angels — Conduct, Toil and Thought.
A professor in the University of Buenos Aires said to me:
"My great life aim is to rid my country of two of her arch foes, socialism and religion."
260 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
It is conceivable that Buenos Aires and the country over which she is the beautiful presiding mistress, might with profit change the form and even the spirit of her faith, but that she should abandon religion al- together would seem impossible of belief. Repeatedly one hears from her most serious citizens the statement that Buenos Aires at present needs men of character and power of will. When this City of the South be- comes truly convinced of this, she will have little to fear as to her future destiny.
CHAPTER XVII
THE SOUTH AMERICAN COWBOY
Cattle and the hose have determined the habits of the Ar- gentine and the Uruguayan. — Lord Bryce.
THE inhabitant of the United States who visits the pampa sections of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, is reminded repeatedly of the history of the plainsman's life in his own country. To be sure the days of the Wyoming and Texas cowboy, together with the menace of the Western Indian, have passed in North America, and these adventurous and reckless frontiersmen are now met only in books or in the tales of the older inhabitants. Yet there is something fasci- nating and attractive in the audacity, the frankness and the ostentatious display of these men of the West who were always associated with their horses, cattle, and hair-breadth escapes. Even to-day the "Wild West Show" forms one of our attractive annual events.
The romance of these cowboy days of the United States finds its reflection in the gauchos of South Amer- ica. Indeed, the Argentines fifty years ago were for "the most part men of this class, and the bravery and daring of these men as fighters with their open-air, active and lawless ways marks an interesting epoch in the history of this republic.
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The railroads, the harbingers of enlightened prog- ress but the destroyers of primitive romance, began half a century ago to pierce their paths through the leagues of pasturage surrounding Buenos Aires, where flocks and herds wandered then to suit their fancy on the unfenced prairies. The railroads were a greater menace to the lawless frontiersmen than were the In- dians whom they fought so persistently. These roads reached beyond the cultivated camps to those interior regions where the moving tents of the South American Indian receded before the iron march of civilisation. These were not the Cuzco Indians, industrious, and giv- ing themselves peacefully to a settled life, but the wild tribes to whom the white man's regime was as much a mystery as a menace. Their only safety was in flight, fighting as they went, to more desolate regions.
In the wake of the Indian came his rival, the gaucho. This picturesque individual has been intimately asso- ciated with the ruling industry of Argentina, the cattle business, and the story of his life always connected with his horse, his lariat, his games, his poetry, and his fierce scouting expeditions on the broad plains, casts about one the spell of bygone days.
At present a progressive modern civilisation seems to be getting too strong for him, and in Argentina, especially, he is being pressed back farther and farther into the remote wastes of the pampa, driven before a machine-made culture which he can hardly understand. Many indeed have left the plains to become policemen in the cities or cuirassed members of the President's guard. Still, in such sections as the Province of San- tiago del Estero, and then farther west and north,
THE SOUTH AMERICAN COWBOY
where the breath of the modern city is rarely felt, you will still find the gaucho, a potent factor in the rural life.
Here this pioneer of other days possesses the chief characteristics which have always associated him with a magic and imaginative existence. His eyes are dark and dreamy and flashing often with anger; his skin is bronzed with the sun ; his hair is worn long often and sometimes it is plaited; he is always associated with his mate, the aromatic beverage prepared from the leaves of the mate tree, and roasted beef, as our American cowboy depended upon his beans and coffee. He always carries the long knife which he uses at his table d'hote, and as a weapon of offence and defence in place of a revolver. lfie reminds you somewhat of the old Cossack of Southern Russia ; few horsemen surpass him in his ability to ride) His dress is in some respects similar to that of the Indian, consisting of a poncho, which is a square piece of cloth with a hole cut for the head to pass through, and the trousers, among the Ar- gentine gauchos, tight-fitting, and often covered with "chaps." The ponchos v( often resemble in variegated colouring, the Navajo Indian blankets, , and when a crowd of gauchos come together for their games or festivals, the colour picture is a striking one. The gau- cho is devoted also to his sheepskin saddle, which he uses at night on the pampa as a pillow, while his pon- cho serves as a blanket. Many of these saddles are inlaid with silver and cost a small fortune; they are also the causes of many personal feuds among the plainsmen.
The lasso, which the gaucho uses as his chief weapon
264 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
against both cattle and men, has a ball attached to the end of it, sometimes of metal and often of stone. It is so hurled that it coils itself around the legs of the victim. These, however, are not so commonly in use as in former days, but the lariat is seen usually coiled at the cowboy's saddle bow.
Racially the gaucho is of mixed element. The Spanish adventurer and Indian maternal ancestry are mixed with the romance and the mystery of the Moor who figured so potently in the old brilliant Arabic days in Spain. Mr. W. H. Koebel, an English writer, speaking of the gaucho, says :
"There is a certain poetry and picturesqueness about the race, as about the Moors of Castile, which almost makes' one regret to see pass away a fellow who will sleep on his saddle at your doorsill, like a faithful dog; who endures heat or cold, hunger and thirst without ut- tering a complaint, who rides five hundred miles on end at your bidding, sleeping in the open air, providing his food with the lasso and disposing of it by the simple appliances of his knife, flint and steel, with bones or dried reeds as fuel; who would take cows or horses of any one but his patron; who, perhaps, might knock a man off his horse and cut his throat for his spurs and stirrups, if so it took his fancy, but who, in his patron's service, could with perfect confidence be trusted with hundreds of pounds to go as many leagues to purchase and bring in cattle ; who moves with grace, speaks with courtesy, asks after all the family in de- tail, sends his compliments to the patrona, or com- pliments her if he has the opportunity; who marks on the ground the different brands of horses or cattle of
THE GAUCHO AS A WANDERING MINSTREL
A FINE GROUP OF GAUCHOS AT A COUNTRY ESTATE
THE SOUTH AMERICAN COWBOY 265
numerous owners, and traces stolen or strayed animals over thousands of leagues — such is my friend the gauche"
This pioneer of the plains earned his semi-magic reputation, which still clings about him, by an almost un- canny intuition resulting from his long acquaintance with the open spaces of nature. One is told that these men can never get lost in the pampa's wide immensity, and that every sign like a bird call, the bruising of the blades of grass, or the pricking forward of the horse's ears, has a meaning for him. The eyes of the gaucho can distinguish among a galloping troop of hundreds of animals, we are told, the young horse which the year before, as a foal, had been singled out for his own future use. His ears are so acute that he can tell from the thunder of hoofs on the hard pampa, while the animals are still far out of sight, whether a stampede has been caused by threatening weather or by an attack of Indians. He can count the units which compose an approaching troop and know whether these are mounted and by what kind of men, accoutred soldiers or half-naked savages, all through the sensitiveness of his trained hearing.
The gaucho belongs to the great "estancia" life of Argentina, and these "estancias" with their big houses, each with its semi-covered patio and flat roof, and placed in the midst of a desolation of monotonous flat- ness, save for the few trees that surround the house, form the centre about which his activities are engaged. A short distance from the ^seigniorial 'mansion one found in former days the hut-like ranches of the peons and shepherds, who also lived the gaucho life.
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It was to the great festivals when the dividing of the flocks and herds occurred that all gaucho society assembled on its respective lands to eat the gsa do came con cuerd, a beast roasted whole and in its hide., [ It is here that occurred the exchanges of jokes and wit of the keen herdsmen and horsemen, and it was here also that the native minstrelsy was born and practised a kind of a folklore that fitted the free and untrammelled life of these prairies. >
The guitar was and is the musical instrument of the gaucho, and the slow measured dance and the soft singing of the "payador," or minstrel, who was re- nowned far and wide in the pampa world was a notable part of these celebrations. These songs were filled with all the sentiment and sadness of the Spanish- Indian stock, and they spoke of love and danger^ often ending a fierce combat between two rival minstrels^
The gauchos of Argentina to-day are fond of tell- ing about one of these poetical tournaments which seems emblematical in its delineation of the present-day con- dition of the members of this picturesque race of men. ^ Santos Viga, who is to the gaucho the Homer of the pampa, entered into the lists of minstrelsy against Juan Sinropa, who is known among the plainsmen as the Devil. As the story goes, Santos Viga, overcome by his opponent and unable to bear the disgrace of de- feat, mounted his horse and disappeared into the boundless level wastes of the Argentine prairies never more to return. It is said that the shepherds of the plains often see in fancy this ancient minstrel mounted on a dark steed and galloping over the pampa in the
THE SOUTH AMERICAN COWBOY 267
chilly moonlight, holding a loose rein on the mane of his mount, and bearing his guitar on his shoulder.
It would seem less illusory to recognise in this pampian Mephistopheles, as one modern writer has done, the modern spirit of the new Argentine city, which has come to meet the gaucho face to face, armed with no primitive lariat and weapon, but equipped with all that modernity and industry can furnish. Even the bravery of the gaucho can not stand single-handed be- fore the march of the world's science. He has ac- cepted defeat and quietly withdrawn from the unequal contest. In another quarter of a century it will be as difficult to find him in Argentina as to-day it is difficult to find the North American frontiersman, like Daniel Boone, Kit Carson, and their reckless, audacious fol- lowers. As he passes he will leave a chapter of in- teresting frontier history for future generations, and in his nature he will furnish a mirror in which is reflected clearly some of the outstanding characteristics domi- nating the primitive stock from which the modern de- scendants of the progressive South American republic have sprung. &*
The Uruguayan gaucho resembles his neighbour in Argentina and Brazil, especially in his love for blooded horses, his audacity and the power of endur- ance stimulated by his ever present mate. His fighting instincts have been more fully developed, for it was men of this class who fought under the leadership of Artigas, the hero of Uruguay, for the independence of this republic. These plainsmen have been in many bloody encounters with neighbouring States, and their
268 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
patriotism and sense of honour and hospitality are un- questioned.
As one travels northward the gaucho type becomes finer, and in South Brazil he is hardly distinguishable at times from the landowner and the big fazenda pro- prietor, who often assume the poncho, sombrero, and the baggy trousers (bombachas) of the Brazilian cow- boy. The inhabitants of the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul are fond of calling their State terra gaucha — the land of the gauchos. Here the cowboy is coming into his own as the great section is beginning anew its modern industry of freezing meat, and breed- ing cattle, sheep, and horses on an enormous scale. He is still the dashing, picturesque figure which one sees in the countries farther south, though not afraid of civi- lisation, and destined to become an important factor in the development of the huge cattle-lands of Matto Grosso, Minas Geraes and Rio Grande do Sul. His food is the Brazilian xarque — dried beef — the mate of Parana, black beans and mandioca. The cattlemen are called sometimes "vaqueros" in Brazil. Their future is filled with promise, and South Brazil with its rolling plains : their paradise.
CHAPTER XVIII
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS
THE visitor to the Republic of Uruguay is quite likely to ask among his first questions why this small but progressive state is known as the "Oriental Republic." He will be told that it was simply be- cause Uruguay represented the eastern section of Ar- gentina before the two republics were separated. That, however, the republic of one and one-half million in- habitants which established its freedom and indepen- dence in 1830, and prides itself upon many unique and individual enterprises, possesses any more of the traits Oriental than any other South American republic is not readily discerned. Uruguay, on the other hand, especially in the construction of its constitution and in the promotion of its government, reminds one often of the United States, from which country this "graz- ing" land has taken many of its principles.
A foreign gentleman in the city of Buenos Aires told me upon my departure for Montevideo that Uru- guay was simply looking through the small end of the telescope, as compared with Argentina, that, in fact, this small republic, which depends almost entirely upon its cattle and sheep for its sustenance, was considerably an imitator of its larger and nearest neighbour. My own study gave me a somewhat different conception. I
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found here a republic keenly alive to originating laws and conditions directly adaptable to its own popula- tion. One finds peculiar laws relating to the labouring man, such as the one making it possible for the work- man to toil not more than eight hours daily for six days in the week, and carrying this injunction to the extent that no man shall labour more than forty-eight hours a week. The labourer is allowed to work more than eight hours in a single day, but the sum total of his weekly toil must be kept within the forty-eight hours, assuring a rest day. As a Uruguayan expressed it, "We believe in a rhythmic round of toil which makes it possible to have five-sixths of the population working every day in the week, and one-sixth resting."
I found the independence of this nation asserting itself in the new improvement works relative to the docks at which the numerous vessels discharge their cargo. Because of the lack of wharfage it has been customary for boats to discharge their cargos by means of lighters, and the lighterage company for many years has been doing a large and lucrative busi- ness with a four million dollar investment in this ex- cellent port. The Government with one brave stroke has spent recently twenty-five million dollars for the construction of new dockage which will accommodate fifteen vessels at one time. A severe fight was brought on thereby with the lighterage company, and the con- test was carried as far as London, a kind of boycott being installed against this port for a time with the hope that the Government would yield to the powerful arguments of the rich lighterage company.
During my interview with Dr. Viera, the republic's
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS 271
President, I learned of a unique arrangement in this country by which a student can pass from the kinder- garten stage to the last moment of graduate work in the best technical school or university, without paying one penny for his tuition, — text-books even being pro- vided by the State. On this question of education President Viera revealed much enthusiasm, being justly proud of the nation's schools for adults founded in 1907 and placed under the public school administra- tion, also gratuitous and open both day and night, the school for backward children, and the school for the professional training of working girls, directed by teachers educated for the purpose in Europe and North America. The national school of arts and trades is Carried on directly in line with the national industries; there is also the department of secondary and preparatory instruction exclusively for women (all of the professors are women) ; there is, too, the de- partmental lyceum in the eighteen departments of the republic, including the special public lecturer, serving a public lecture plan similar to that in connection with the public schools in the "States," in addition to the regular educational features. Our attention was also called to the national orchestra, consisting of sixty mu- sicians who during the months of April and May, give daily concerts in one of the principal theatres of the Capital, and in addition visit cities of the interior for concert work. The original value of this orchestra is aimed at the development of creative activity on the part of national composers, whose works are especially used by these musicians. An experimental school of dramatic art, founded by the Italian actress, Jacinta
Ti% UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
Pezzana, renders four performances a week, each of which is free, the expenses being borne entirely by the State.
There are oth^r things interesting to the foreigner concerning the President of the Republic of Uruguay in addition to his loyalty to education.
One's first impression of this gentleman is to the effect that he is one of the stoutest gentlemen one has ever seen in his life. In fact, he is often compared with Ex-President Taft in this regard, though we doubt much whether Professor Taft, even before his success- ful activities in reduction, equalled President Viera's physical proportions.
Since it is a law in Uruguay that the Chief Executive of the Republic cannot succeed himself without an intervening four years, the visitor will be told that the former President of Rooseveltian energy and tenden- cies, Jose Battley Ordonez, searched among his friends for a man sufficiently adaptable to carry out his plans and hold his seat until he could again be elected as President. In Dr. Viera he fixed upon a man who proved capable, not only of fully occupying the large chair of state in the Government palace, but who also has shown signs of individual independence which it is said is not altogether pleasing to the former Executive. Dr. Viera's present popularity with the people has led those politicians who seemed to desire him simply as a figurehead, to become somewhat nervous. During my visit to Montevideo I was invited to attend in one of the large theatres a meeting of appreciation ar- ranged in honour of the President, at which hundreds of Uruguayans gathered to hear speeches and unite in
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS 273
vast applause on behalf of the republic's present leader.
The discrimination of Dr. Viera came out when I asked concerning his attitude towards immigration and the labour problems of his country.
"To be sure we want immigration here, but we want additional population of the right kind. Uruguay does not possess facilities and resources for manufacturing because of her lack of coal, wood and iron. The republic has on the other hand tremendous resources for the raising of live stock and also for agricultural development. It is necessary to have our recruits chosen with a view to the kind of work which the na- tion needs. We do not require the vast influx of labour- ing population which Argentina and the United States, for example, have been receiving, since the time is not ripe for them, and furthermore they would find little congenial to their abilities in Uruguay."
As I had been impressed with the lack of horses or horse raising in Uruguay, which we had somehow con- nected with this republic, I inquired as to why Uru- guay did not devote herself to the horse-raising in- dustry. It was brought out in reply that in the time of revolutions, of which Uruguay had had her share in former days, but which were now things of the past, the revolutionists who were successful had a disagree- able habit of seizing the horses as a legitimate prey, which was naturally a discouragement to the farmer along this line of industry.
A somewhat unique feature of government is brought to the attention of the investigator in Uru- guay in the Collegiate Presidency. This plan, which
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was strongly promulgated by Dr. Viera's predecessor, called for seven presidents instead of one.
"What," I inquired, "was the advantage which was expected to accrue from such an arrangement ?"
"The idea was to prevent the usurpation of power by one man whose views and procedure were practic- ally unknown to the electorate previous to his occupa- tion of the Presidency. For example, the present President of Argentina is somewhat of an experiment, the people hardly knowing just what is going to hap- pen when the untried man of a new party comes into power. This creates an uncertainty in business, and it is thought that if several men had the executive leader- ship of the country, the plan would make for stability and national certainty."
The first consideration of such a plan impresses one with considerable doubt as to any gain accruing to a republic in the way of unity or certainty by having seven men trying to run things rather than one, and the generally accepted belief that Dr. Viera is a far less firm adherent to this policy than was his predecessor increases one's confidence in his judgment.
I was interested furthermore to ask the President the question which I placed before other Chief Ex- ecutives and business men of these South American states:
"What is your opinion concerning trade with the United States? Will the present business which the Uruguayans are carrying on with America, largely be- cause it is impossible at present to trade with Europe, continue after the war?"
"We like the Americans," responded the President,
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS 275
4 'and we should like to trade with you, but the tradi- tions and customs of doing business here are similar to those in other South American republics, and the man- ufacturers of the United States do not seem to under- stand these conditions, or at least they have not shown signs of adapting themselves to our modes of buying and receiving goods from abroad. There are many complaints at present from our people regarding ship- ments, packing, and manner of payment. It will de- pend largely upon the United States whether the bulk of the trade now being carried on with you is continued after the war. It is my private opinion that unless some radical changes are made, this trade will return to Europe. Our people are by language and senti- ment sympathetically united especially with the French, where the Uruguayans go for their holidays, and the easy adjustments which the Germans and the English have made in our favour in the past have formed tra- ditions and associations of long standing. The Latin- American is peculiarly susceptible to traditions, and his conservatism and loyalty to people with whom he has been accustomed to trade are strong forces."
The President of Uruguay impresses one as being, like most large men, exceedingly agreeable and human. We were received in a most unpretentious manner, and his kindliness was revealed in his desire to do every- thing in his power to acquaint us with the real condi- tions and facts making for a more thorough and friendly understanding between Uruguay and the United States. One receives the impression that, like the President of the United States, he enjoys the pleas- ures of private life untrammelled with the cares of
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office. One is told that among the President's diver- sions is that of joining a party of friends and going out to a large estancia, where a great barbecue is held. He indulges in the national custom, prevalent here as in Argentina, the other great cattle country, of sitting around a great fire over which an ox is roasted whole, and armed with a huge knife slicing off a generous piece of the fresh roast, which is held in one hand. Then, with a generous piece of the meat in his teeth, the dexterous manipulator of the knife is supposed with one slash to cut this off as close to his face as his nose will allow. One would surmise that the President owed his superiority in this exercise to the fact that his Executive nose is rather flat than long. One plainly observes that this is no game for one of Hebraic fea- tures.
That Dr. Viera is practically well disposed to the United States and to American institutions was brought out by the statement that he was in favour of sending increasingly the students of this republic to the United States for education.
UI am sending three of my boys at present," said he, "to American schools."
It speaks well for the economics of this small re- public that, however Uruguay may have been tempted in critical junctures of her history, she has never defi- nitely repudiated a single obligation, nor overtly made a move which directly resulted in the continued depre- ciation of her credited claims. This statement was made by a representative of the National City Bank of New York, which has already gained an influential standing in the city of Montevideo.
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS 277
"Under the most trying conditions," continued the American banker, "when Argentina and Brazil did not hesitate to reduce their foreign debts by methods which are generally familiar, and when Uruguay had equal or greater provocation to follow their example, the Oriental Republic arranged for the settlement of its liabilities in full, succeeding at the same time in keep- ing its currency uniformly on a gold basis."
It is always a surprise to Americans to realise that in this small republic, not much larger than Belgium, the American dollar is at a discount, being worth three cents less than the Uruguayan peso.
To be sure we find that the country has been oc- casionally delinquent in meeting its obligations, but it has managed in some way to pay its debts in the end. Its chief weakness, which is repeatedly shown, lies in the tendency to encroach on the revenues which are morally destined for debt payments, to the end that the administration may be able to carry out some pro- gramme of expenditure, becoming so involved in the execution of these optional programmes as to be unable to straighten out its finances without temporarily sus- pending its payments.
It has been stated that Uruguay is statistically wealthy but economically poor. The condition of its resources can only be realised when one considers that less than five thousand men own nearly eighty per cent of the land, and one hundred individual owners claim approximately an equal percentage of the capital employed in business enterprises which are not financed by foreign money. Foreigners in this republic own forty per cent of the land and the business capital, and,
278 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
as is the case in Chile, a very large part of the annual earnings is sent to foreign lands, subtracting consider- ably from the country's wealth.
Here in Uruguay moreover, also similarly to the condition in other South American republics, there is noted a feeling of uncertainty and what is spoken of by foreign business men as "watchful waiting/' rela- tive to launching out in investments because of the fre- quent manifestations of the government to encroach on the fields customarily reserved for private initiative.
The economic resources of the country lie at present largely in its grazing enterprises. Uruguay is a re- public which gains its living chiefly by its cattle and its sheep. Formerly horses were also reckoned as a con- siderable item of wealth, but the visitor is told that during the various revolutions the revolutionists had the habit of pre-empting the horses as a part of their legitimate gain, thus discouraging the enterprise.
One will be told by enthusiastic Uruguayans, who by the way are as patriotic and loyal to their state as are other South Americans, that there are many manu- facturers here. Some will tell you that there are at least one thousand different firms manufacturing dif- ferent products, but when closer investigation is car- ried on in relation to these matters, it will be discovered that the enterprises are usually small and compara- tively insignificant. As a matter of fact, because of the lack of native iron, lumber, coal and other fuel, and at present raw materials of any kind, except wool, hides, beef, tallow, and an uncertain quantity of wheat and corn, manufacturing industries are handicapped here; they can be carried on only under artificial stimulus.
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS 279
Because of the fact also that cattle and beef-raising require the use of large areas, small farms are sel- dom seen, and the small immigration gives no imme- diate promise for the likelihood of dividing up the land sufficiently to make desirable holdings on a small scale by immigrants.
I asked a prominent member of the Chamber of Deputies the first need of Uruguay.
He answered, "Population. We have a country that could feed ten million, and we have only a million and a half."
It probably lies near the truth to say that the fear of revolutions has been one of the causes in preventing a flow of immigrants into Uruguay in any such man- ner as they have gone to Argentina. This fear is now groundless.
At present about ninety per cent of all the indus- tries in the republic originate in the raising of sheep and cattle, which activities are responsible for ninety per cent of the exports, establishing the basis upon which ninety per cent of the business of the country is built. It seems at first strange to the foreigner to realise that Uruguay exports practically everything that it produces and imports virtually everything that it consumes. Transportation is greatly needed to fur- ther the development of trade and wealth. The rail- ways cover fairly well the productive territory, but there is still great need within the districts which now embrace them for further transportation; especially is there need of good wagon roads as feeders for rail- ways; the government is showing signs of recognising this need.
280 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
The thoughtful economist will tell you that the coun- try needs a large number of roads built right and left up and down through the territory, but even this im- provement will be almost useless until a source of live* lihood in small farms can be assured for the population.
Notwithstanding its handicaps, Uruguay has been p§culiarly prosperous, though foreign business men seem to think that this prosperity has reached its limit unless aggressive measures are employed to secure a larger number of inhabitants and provide them with the facilities with which to live and to work.
The following description of the economic and in- dustrial life of the country was given to me by a keen student of Uruguay's finances :
"Take part of the cattle-raising section of Texas, covering an area as big as the State of Nebraska, with more or less the same population; put one-third of the population in Omaha, and then surround the whole country with a wall. Require the people either to pro- duce locally everything they need with no resources on which to work or bring it in from other countries at an additional cost equal to a freight haul of 6,000 miles and customs charges of one kind or another, or about fifty per cent of the landed cost. Add extra large profits demanded in order to offset a string of internal taxes and costs of operating on long term credits, and to keep up a system of 'small sales and large profits,' as distinguished from a system of 'large sales and small profits.' Add a condition where five thousand persons own nearly everything. Top it off with a public debt of over one hundred and fifty mil- lion, an army and a navy, a diplomatic service, and an uncontrollable desire to own all the public utilities of the country. Considering the credit standing of
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS 281
Nebraska, with none of the handicaps mentioned, one marvels how Uruguay succeeds in laying claim to the adjective 'prosperous.' "
There is a demand naturally in Uruguay for capital and labour, but the labour problem has not assumed large proportions as yet beyond the practically simple requirements of pastoral pursuits. The need of capital has not been so easily satisfied, and the result has been that a large part of the country's activities is carried forward on credit. It is this matter of credit which constitutes at present the chief potential menace to the finances of this government. As regards the condi- tion of the country's currency the following statement of a prominent foreign banker in Montevideo is il- luminating :
"The Banco de la Republica, owned by the republic, is the only bank of issue. It is required to maintain a gold reserve of forty per cent of its circulation, that is to say, for every dollar in paper in circulation it must have in its vaults forty cents in gold, and, con- versely, for every dollar in gold which lies in its vaults it may print $2.50 in paper. Having printed $2.50 in paper, it may put that much in circulation, and the only practical way in which this may be accomplished is by lending it. In practice, under normally good condi- tions, there is nothing questionable about this proce- dure, but conditions of Uruguay are not continuously good.
"In a broad way, Uruguay has no capital of its own, and must draw on the savings of Europe for its fi- nancing. The bank, which extends credit accommoda-
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tion, operates largely on these European savings, and mercantile credits accorded in Europe are based on these. Under favourable conditions, the exports from Uruguay more than offset the imports into the country, but the balance of trade is wiped out by service pay- ments on the Government's foreign indebtedness, and the transfer of dividends on foreign investments. Oc- casionally, therefore, gold must be shipped.',
By examining the revenues in this country one finds that the revenues from importations consisting of the basic receipts and additional taxes, bearing a variety of names, including so-called Consular fees, consump- tion taxes on imported food, etc., represent between fifty and fifty-five per cent of the value of imports, and close to sixty-five per cent of all revenue. Every mil- lion dollars' worth of imports means something like $600,000 in the government revenues, and when a con- dition arises which results in a loss of one million dollars in imports, there is a drain of over $600,000 on the government treasury.
This inter-relation of the finances of Uruguay with European conditions throws the republic almost entirely upon the stability or instability of European finances, and disturbances across the water result au- tomatically in the tightening of credit in Uruguay. As one has stated it, "In the ordinary course of events, a pistol shot in the Balkans means a failure in the River Plate, and that same pistol shot may play an im- portant part in affecting the government's ability to meet its obligations."
In summary, therefore, it may be stated that the economic conditions in this highly self-respecting re-
URUGUAY AND URUGUAYANS 283
public circle about the resources comprised in sheep and cattle raising, a high gold standard of currency, and ability thus far to secure credit in Europe espe- cially, with a consequent dependence upon European conditions for continued prosperity. The only method by which it would seem that Uruguay can free her- self from her present handicap would be in provid- ing conditions for a comparatively large immigration, through certain divisions of land holding and the building of country roads, which would make feasible and profitable the means of livelihood for a greatly enlarged circle of inhabitants.
CHAPTER XIX
THE MEN OF BRAZIL
There is a great deal of spiritual energy in the Universe, but it is not palpable to us until we can make it up into a man.
Emerson.
AMONG the things which have been said about the greatest republic in size in South America, too little attention has been given to the Brazilian him- self, his personal characteristics, his mental attitude derived from inheritance and environments, and his general point of view of life. In the last analysis it is the man of the country that counts. His institu- tions are but reflections of him. His history is prac- tically his biography, and success in trade or inter- national relations depends quite as largely upon a clear and thorough understanding of the point of view and nature of the people with whom we are dealing as upon any matters of trade.
Perhaps one of the best ways to discover the Bra- zilian is through his own interpretations of himself to the end of discovering what the men of Brazil think of their own characteristics. I asked quite a wide circle of inhabitants for distinctive traits among their con- temporaries.
I find that a man of Brazil is spoken of as "a per-
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THE MEN OF BRAZIL 285
son born in Brazil no matter what may have been the nationality of his parents."
He is a man also who does not lay stress upon the colour line and who is taken upon his worth rather than the colour of his skin. He is a descendant of a race mixture in which the Indian and Portuguese form the main ingredients, while in certain parts of Brazil the Negro strain is quite pronounced. The man of Brazil is a good business man particularly when in business for himself, though he is not regarded as equally ef- ficient in industrial concerns as the American when it comes to organisation and rendering service in large corporations or government enterprises.
The Brazilian is a man of friendship and he is in- clined to devote even business and practical matters to this sentiment. He is generous to a fault and hospit- ably inclined.
While the religion of the man of Brazil is Catholic, with some indications of Positivism, which at the time of the forming of the republic was a strong element in the country, the male portion of the inhabitants are at present more or less indifferent to religion.
Politics take a large place in the Brazilian's life, and the law schools, which combine the college and university training, are perhaps the most popular in- stitutions of the country. As an orator, poet, literary person, with an especially strong penchant for acquir- ing languages, the Brazilian is noteworthy. In dress he is scarcely to be excelled, in politeness and cour- tesy he can usually give suggestions to Americans and the Anglo-Saxon generally, while his devotion to the
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home, his chivalry toward his women, and hic love of pleasure and amusement, are distinctive traits.
The general attitude of the Brazilian of the higher class was quite clearly revealed to me through an in- terview with a large coffee planter.
Joaquin de Souza-Queiroz is the scion of one of the oldest aristocratic Portuguese families of Brazil, whose large coffee "facendo" at Campinos is one of the old- est coffee farms of this republic. Sr. Souza-Queiroz was educated in England, France and Germany, and in personal appearance, attitude of mind, and social stand- ing, represents excellently the type of the wealthy cof- fee-class Brazilian.
I first met this personage on his coffee farm in the State of Sao Paulo in an old baronial-like mansion, looking far away over rolling estates which were clothed with a half million coffee trees, at the time in full bloom. This coffee planter, like others of his clan, spends several months of each year on his estate, dividing his time usually in three-fold measure be- tween his coffee farm, the city of Sao Paulo and Eu- rope. The habit of spending four or five months in continental capitals — Paris, Nice, Rome and Berlin — especially in Paris, is considered the correct life of the men of wealth and family here in Sao Paulo.
When asked if he had ever visited Egypt or the Far East he replied, "No, I have always thought that I would see Constantinople, Cairo and Russia, but somehow, when I get to Paris and the other cities of France and Italy, my four or five months abroad pass quickly and I never seem to have the time or the inclination to go elsewhere.',
THE MEN OF BRAZIL 287
Despite the fact that our Brazilian gentleman was educated, in part, in England, where he learned to speak English very well, he has never visited the United States, and knows North America only through its representatives who have made flying visits to Brazil, and through acquaintance with business men from America who have elected to make the Bra- zilian republic their home. Sr. Souza-Queiroz's fam- ily acted as hosts for Col. Roosevelt when he visited Brazil, and the former President, together with Elihu Root, were the two public men of North America whom our Brazilian coffee planter had met and ad- mired, and whose remarks he quoted frequently.
We asked why he had not visited the United States. To which question he answered :
"I suppose it is because we think of the United States as a new country, something like our own, and we Brazilians are naturally interested in the Old World, which is our mother country. We are inter- ested in its art, its history, its old buildings and its music." Then laughingly he continued, uYou know we Brazilians don't spend all of our time in the Pa- risian cafes throwing gold coins to the dancers as we are reported sometimes to do. Personally I like to go to the Louvre and to the Luxembourg and spend hours among the old masters. It is furthermore a characteristic of our Latin temperament to be pas- sionately fond of music, and we go to the Old World for these things. We feel that you in America have eclipsed us in material achievements, but many of us do not consider these achievements so highly as you do; we admire the artistic and the literary side of
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life, therefore we go to those places where we think we can more easily satisfy our predominating inclina- tions."
However, we found our coffee lord deeply interested in America and eager to ask all kinds of questions re- garding customs in the United States which seemed strange to the Brazilian. For example, in speaking of the Roosevelt visit we found that he was especially impressed with an incident connected with the Colonel's son, Kermit, who at that time was working quietly as an engineer in Brazil. One morning Mr. Roosevelt said that he was going to take breakfast with his son, and for the first time it was learned by this Brazilian family that our Ex-President had a son in Brazil.
"The thing that seemed unusual to us," he said, "was that a son of a former President of the United States could be down here working quietly, 'on his own,' as a business man, and no one knowing about it, and especially asking no favours on the strength of his father's reputation.
"Why," said he, "the sons of our rulers would never dream of taking up careers like this. When they work at all, they choose vocations of diplomacy, but many of them, in fact the great majority of them, seem to inherit the Brazilian disinclination to work, pre- ferring rather the gentleman's life of ease and an assured social standing."
Although this Brazilian, like others of his class, seemed to be a bit predisposed to the empire form of government, this independent characteristic of Amer- ican young manhood to work out its own salvation re- gardless of family connection, impressed him favour-
THE MEN OF BRAZIL 289
ably. Being a comparatively young man, he reveals the characteristics of the mingled sentiment, divided about equally between a love for the imperial manner of life and the new republican ideals which are con- stantly gaining ground in this republic.
It must be remembered that the present civilisation of Brazil is highly tinctured with the characteristics and standards of those three hundred high class Por- tuguese families which the old King of Portugal brought with him to this new land, and of which an- cestry the gentleman Brazilian is especially proud. The visitor will be told repeatedly that Brazil, unlike certain other South American republics, was not set- tled by a lot of adventurers, but that she was favoured in having the best blood of Portugal transferred bodily to this country as a foundation of her institutions and civilisation.
I remarked that the old families of Brazil are said to be very exclusive and that one is told it is very dif- ficult for a foreigner to gain access to their homes, that they live among themselves, intermarry, and form al- most a feudal-like society.
"We do this largely for self protection," was the reply. "We want to keep the Brazilian type, and the Brazilian ideals and blood as pure as possible. If every one intermarried with the other nationalities of the country, the distinctive Brazilian would tend to be lost, as we think. We want to keep the compara- tively few Brazilian families of old Portuguese stock true to the ancient traditions; we have pride in these traditions. Furthermore, we want to be ourselves."
The truth of our friend's statement was exempli-
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fied recently in the city of Sao Paulo when the son of one of the old Brazilian families married the daughter of an Italian multi-millionaire. The young man paid for his independence of spirit by being practically os- tracised from his family, his club, and from all social life in Sao Paulo. This social exclusion is also apparent at the best clubs in this section. At the Automobile Club of Sao Paulo, for example, one of the most dig- nified and well appointed organisations of its kind to be found in the country, a most careful surveillance is kept over the membership. While there are a few select foreigners who are members, the old Brazilian families predominate, and these members will give at length and apologetically the reasons why these foreigners are considered eligible. Furthermore, these Portuguese-Brazilians who will meet the foreign club members at their social clubs, rarely think of inviting them to their homes. It is a comparatively rare thing for a foreign business man to be able to say that he has been a guest within the exclusive Brazilian home. In travelling in many countries we have been fre- quently amused and amazed at the social importance which dominates the minds of every one concerning the value of acquaintanceship with the few great families. In no country have we found the social register so well learned by heart and so often quoted as it is in Brazil. Even the hard-headed American business man, after a few months in this republic, becomes an animated "Who's Who" of information concerning the families who reign in his local social world. Quite likely in Oshkosh he never knew nor cared whether Maria Jones married Josiah Smith, but here he knows to a
OF THE BEAUTIFUL AVENUES OF ROYAL PALMS IN RIO DE JANEIRO
THE MEN OF BRAZIL 291
nicety why Dolores Pintado married into the Quietado family.
Here in Sao Paulo the Paulistas, as the inhabitants of this state are called, consider themselves as form- ing the community elite of Brazil. Even Rio is to them a bit inferior and socially undesirable. In fact, when we left Sao Paulo en route for the beautiful Bra- zilian capital, we were quite inclined to expect that we would meet none but mulattos as the proud Paulista had so often insinuated to us that the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro had been so careless about their associa* tion with the negroes, that one must say au revoir in Sao Paulo to the really white Brazilian. One findsv of course, that this is not the truth about the popula- tion of Rio de Janeiro, although the farther north one travels in Brazil, the greater is the preponderance of the gentleman of colour, until in certain towns in the Amazon section, the traveller might almost imagine that he was visiting a city of the Black Belt of the Southern States.
We next asked Sr. Souza-Queiroz how the republican ideas were working out in Brazil.
The answer revealed the pride of the Brazilian in being an inhabitant of the only South American re- public that can boast of having descended from a real American empire.
"Our Constitution was modelled upon that of the United States," was the reply, "with certain modifica- tions taken from the Constitution of Argentina. Its present weakness exists in the fact that it was taken over whole and without sufficient regard to the par- ticular character of Brazil's population and her con-
292 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
sequent divergent needs. The republican idea works well here in Sao Paulo where the state is modernised and where the citizenship is largely educated. But there are many other states in Brazil where conditions are less advanced, and where the negroes and the unedu- cated element were given the same rights and laws, for the execution of which they were not prepared. In other words, certain sections were given a constitu- tion too soon. As a consequence we have much polit- ical manipulation and what you in the United States call 'graft.' In the days of the Brazilian empire, furthermore, our diplomatic prestige was excellent throughout the world. Of course, we can not tell what this would have been had the empire continued, but it is apparent that we have not advanced greatly in this regard since we became a republic."
Even this modern Brazilian who had, of course, never personally known the late Emperor, shared in the love and veneration which is found commonly, especially among the old aristocratic classes in this country, for Dom Pedro II, who held this country in his firm hand for so many years. This sentiment one finds is not confined to the old families for whose ad- vantage the empire existed, but the common people and the older foreign residents will tell the visitor to-day that, when the old Emperor was exiled, it was neces- sary to take him away in the middle of the night, without the knowledge of the people, who it was feared would rise en masse to keep their beloved ruler in the country. You will be told also that when Dom Pedro died he asked to have some Brazilian earth sprinkled over his grave, and his former loyal subjects
THE MEN OF BRAZIL 293
vied with each other in their desire to fulfil his last request. *
"What attitude does Brazil take regarding the re- cent Mexican complication with the United States?" we inquired.
The answer revealed in substance the attitude which one finds in most of the South American republics.
"You must remember always," said the Brazilian, "that we are Latins, and our sympathies go naturally with the Latin people wherever they are found. We recognise, however, that many Brazilians as well as Americans have suffered business losses by reason of the unsettled condition in Mexico. Yet the attempt by the United States to intervene and control Mexican affairs would be looked upon here with certain sus- picion and regret."
When asked about his opinion concerning the Mon- roe Doctrine, our Sefior was most emphatic in the statement that the attitude of the United States rela- tive to the "A. B. C." diplomacy was greatly pleasing to Brazilians.
"This willingness to advise with Brazil concerning the Mexican matter has been," said he, "the greatest factor in recent years to dispose favourably the people of my country towards the 'States/ It is this kind of treatment of us by your country that helps to make friends for you here in Brazil."
When we came to the discussion of the home and women, the characteristic attitude of the Brazilian, as well as that of most of the South Americans, was ap- parent. Few things are more impregnable to the for- eigner than the Orientalism of the South American
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states relative to women. Here, as in the East, the woman occupies a world apart. She reigns in the home supremely, but outside of the family circle she has little or no place. Women in business, and women in politics, or leaders of social movements are scarcely known as yet in Brazil, though in Chile and Argentina one will find women as clerks and stenographers in business houses and sometimes in the banks. In Sao Paulo we saw two women in the National City Bank as employes; one was English and the other a Bel- gian, but we were told that this was something of an innovation in southern Brazil.
"We do not understand the customs of your women," said my Brazilian friend. "We are amazed at their independence of their husbands and their de- parture from their homes and their children to compete with men in business and in world affairs. With us our women are our home keepers. We like them for their feminine charm, their softness, their beauty, and those qualities which are the opposite to the masculine characteristics. I have been astonished in England, for example, to see the women working and competing with men in offices and in purely mercantile affairs. I have wondered at the lack of chivalry towards women on the part of European men. It seems to us to be a condition contrary to nature."
My Brazilian aristocrat then went on to narrate an incident of an American lady who sought an introduc- tion to him in Paris because members of his family had certain intimate knowledge of the coffee market in the State of Sao Paulo.
"The American lady," said he, "wanted me to give
THE MEN OF BRAZIL 295
her what she called 'tips' on the coffee market. She wanted to invest in coffee stock. I asked her if her hus- band knew of her investments. 'Oh, no/ she replied; 'he is a manufacturer, and interested in entirely dif- ferent lines. I have my own money and am doing this on my own responsibility.'
"As a matter of fact," said he, "I learned later that this lady lost several thousand francs in her coffee speculation. All this seems quite strange to us here, where it is the custom to care for women, and relieve them of all worldly cares and perplexities about busi- ness affairs.
"We like to come home from our business to find a different life in the home," he continued. "We like to work simply in order to live; we do not live to work, and we never carry our business to our homes from the office any more than we would think of doing business in our clubs or over our social dinner tables. Pleasure takes a larger place with us evidently than it does with you. We want life that is as full as pos- sible of enjoyment and of ease, life that is associated with delights. We are temperamentally a romantic people, and the moment women fail to give us ro- mance, they lose for us their charm. Therefore the less that business or things relating to practical affairs are brought into our homes and into our conversation and relationship with women, the better it suits us."
The generally universal sympathies which one finds at present in Brazil for the cause of the Allies, led me to ask the reason for this pro-Ally allegiance.
"We love France," was the reply. "Here again the strain of blood and Latin loyalties are powerful.
296 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
Furthermore, the Brazilian ties to Portugal, together with a large number of Italians in Brazil, add to the preponderance of national sympathy for the arms of the Allies.
"At the same time," said Sr. Souza-Queiroz, "there are many reasons why we in Brazil should favour the Germans. We have never had any diplomatic con- troversies with Germany as we have had with England and the United States. We have excellent colonies of Germans in our country. These people have showed peculiar adaptation to us in commercial ways. There are certain imperial sympathies with Germany still alive here, due to our comparatively recent Brazilian empire. Our army moreover has been in close touch with Gemany both in training and in the use of Krupp guns and ammunition. Many people also think here that this is a trade war, and that the causes lie deep seatedly in commercial competition and prejudice and that Germany had cause to fear Russia's preparation and coalition against her with France and England. ,
"Yet, somehow, we do not like the Germans in these war times, and this is not because we care for the Eng- lish specially, for favourable sentiment to the English is not universal amongst us. The English have never been to us especially 'simpatico,' either in their will- ingness to learn our language or to adapt themselves to our ways. Yet, our Latin temperament rules us; it rules us often against our judgment, and it is com- mon to hear it said here in Brazil of Germans who have formerly held high positions in the country, 'He is a German !' and the people say this in a tone which is not intended to be complimentary.''
THE MEN OF BRAZIL 297
As to the matter of the outstanding needs of Brazil at present in the way of immigration, we were told by this Brazilian that in his judgment the country was at present too lax in its immigration laws, that Brazil let any one and every one come into the country quite regardless of their character or the particular needs of Brazil. While the crying need of the republic is for population and capital, there are many of the older and more powerful classes who fear the influx of a heterogeneous herd of foreigners from various na- tions who do not understand the ways and the spirit of the Latin race. In other words, the slogan of the conservative loyalist is, "Brazil for the Brazilians," a modern republic to be sure, but one differing in many ways from the type which the United States has learned to conceive as the most desirable. It is above all a Latin republic, built, in part at least, upon im- perial sympathies and tinctured with a strong strain of Orientalism, influenced deeply by heritage*, climate and traditions.
CHAPTER XX
BRAZIL — AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER
Names have a greater importance in our American inter- course, than figures and statistics — and these (statistics) un- fortunately seem to be the only branch of South American literature that appeals to the practical mind of the student in North America. But even the practical mind may make the mistake of entering into the consideration of facts without a sufficient knowledge of their factors, and these factors bear names or have names connected with them. — Dr. Domicio da Gama, the Ambassador of Brazil at Washington.
THE Brazilian, Dr. Amaro Cavalcanti, has been for many years an influential factor in the shap- ing and development of this newest of South American republics. He was one of the men selected for the preparation of a new Constitution when the new re- public was inaugurated. He has held many of the highest offices, political, judicial, educational and diplo- matic, in the gift of his country. A former Justice of the Supreme Court of Brazil; the general Inspector of Public Education; a Federal Senator; the Minister of Justice and the Interior; Minister Plenipotentiary; Councillor for the Ministry of Foreign Relations; dele- gate to the Third International Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1906 — also delegate to fhe South American Financial Conference at Washington, 19 15 — Presi-
298
BRAZIL— AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 299
dent of the Brazilian Society of International Law, and the author of many works on jurisprudence, fi- nance, politics, education and Pan-American questions. He is at present the Prefect or Mayor of Rio de Janeiro.
It was my privilege to receive from Dr. Caval- canti a most frank opinion relative to the present needs and conditions in Brazil. It was my special desire to get this gentleman's opinion relative to the needs in political life which in his judgment were as fol- lows:
i. Revenue Reform.
"It is necessary," said this Brazilian judge, "to unify the revenue laws so that the revenues of the various states in exports and imports may agree more nearly with the Government or Federal revenues."
2. "Certain revisions of the Constitution are also needed, especially in relation to the election laws in the States. At present the Governors have far too much control in their own hands and can decide their elections through their partisan appointees."
According to Judge Cavalcanti the abuses of the electorate in Brazil constitute the chief weakness in this republic at present.
A new and better Civil Code has been introduced, taking effect in 19 17.
It was also stated that there was very much needed between the different states an uniformity of judicial procedure and a better distribution of responsibilities between the States and the Brazilian Union. It is evident that many of the problems which the United States of America has had to fight out relative to
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state rights, and state relationship to the Union, are arising to-day in the ever enlarging life of the Bra- zilian Republic.
In relation to the Monroe Doctrine, which is more or less a common subject of conversation in this part of the world, Dr. Cavalcanti stated that those who seemed eager to give the impression that Brazil was prejudiced against this doctrine, were not well in- formed or they did not know Brazilians.
"You must remember," said he, "that the United States first recognised the independence of Brazil, and since that time there has never been hostility on the part of our countrymen towards your northern re- public; on the contrary, I have noted throughout the years, since republican government was established here, the best feeling always among our statesmen rela- tive to America. Do we not have the Palace Monroe in the most prominent place on our Avenida, a con- stant reminder of the visit of Mr. Elihu Root?"
Our informant suggested that the Monroe Doctrine might need modification from time to time, but that in his opinion it was both necessary and also highly profitable, mutually, to have the community of Amer- ican interests maintained as a unit. He also stated that he had given many times his unqualified support to the Monroe Doctrine and that he had subscribed to the A. B. C. arrangement with an idea that this would be an added force united with America to main- tain such a unified relationship.
"If," said he, "the A. B. C. Powers should ever show an indication of becoming a force against force, or showing hostility to the Pan-American sentiment
BRAZIL— AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 301
which I strongly hold, I should feel like withdrawing entirely my support from them."
I asked whether religion was increasing or decreas- ing in Brazil. He answered, "During the empire we had a state religion. When the republic came in, Church and State were separated. The result has been the increase rather than the decrease of religious inter- est. In place of three dioceses then, we have now thirty. Protestant Christianity also has been on the increase in Brazil, and there are many Brazilians who have accepted actually, if not outwardly, many of the Protestant positions."
I asked relative to Positivism, and it was answered that Benjamin Constant, who was a teacher in the mil- itary school at the time of the proclamation of the re- public, took a large part in this movement. Most of his disciples were army officers, as he was also Min- ister of War. This revival of the philosophy of Auguste Comte occurred twenty-five years ago, and at present Positivism is a diminishing faith. There is one church of this movement in Rio de Janeiro, there being only one other of importance in the world, that one being at Liverpool.
In spite of the statement of Dr. Cavalcanti regard- ing the increase of religion in Brazil, one hears fre- quently regarding the ignorance as well as the im- morality of many of the priests, who are devoid of much of that missionary enthusiasm which actuated certain of their predecessors.
"What are the reasons for the Brazilians' liking for France?" was asked.
"Was it on general principles, such as Benjamin
302 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
Franklin had in mind when he said that every man had two countries, his own and France, or were there spe- cial reasons in Brazil's case for cleaving naturally to her Latin sister across the sea?"
It was answered that superior education came to Brazil from French books, that modern text books on law, engineering, etc., were not to be had in Portu- guese. The French language was learned by all edu- cated people and the French modes of thought per- meated the land. Even to-day the people's popular reading embraces French romances, which, in the judg- ment of many Brazilians, is not an unmixed blessing.
Two decades ago English, German and the Italian language became popular, the English language espe- cially, and the one hundred students from Brazil who are now studying in the United States, especially in the engineering schools, are helping to counteract the French influence.
As to the mixture of races in Brazil, Dr. Cavalcanti brought out the fact that there was no such race aver- sion in this country as existed in the United States. Men are accepted in politics, for example, according to what they have done and are doing, rather than ac- cording to their colour. It was stated that the inter- marriage with the negro in Brazil was largely on the part of the Portuguese immigrant and labourer, but that the best and educated families would not t' ak.of giving their daughters in marriage to negroes.
According to this Brazilian judge, the result of the marriage between the blacks and whites in the lower classes in Brazil is proving beneficial to the mulattoes, who are usually stronger physically and often stronger
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BRAZIL— AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 303
mentally than either of their parents. It is thought by many of the educated men that with proper time the white blood will dominate over the negro strain and that this is the one way in which to solve the vexed race problem.
"You in the United States," said Dr. Cavalcanti, "have perhaps even a greater problem before you in this line, but it is my opinion that you will best solve it by allowing your immigrant from nations which have slight or no aversion to the negro, to make the mix- ture."
I wondered what would be the effect of this argument if it was heralded from the housetops in any one of our Southern States.
Relative to education, it was stated that the lack of schools in Brazil were due to the lack of resources on the part of the different states. There was also a great need of railroads and country roads in general; it is very difficult to send children to the towns to school since these towns are often from ten to fifty miles apart.
I suggested that if there was a better administration of Government funds, there might be more money to spend on education, which in the elementary stages is at present lamentably deficient in Brazil.
This was frankly admitted and it was also stated that the exaggerated love for politics on the part of Brazilians, and the consequent neglect of education, together with the application of theoretical knowledge to industrial enterprises, constituted a tragic weakness in the nation.
It was stated that the two outstanding characteris- tics of this country were a love for peace and a ten-
304 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
dency toward an intellectual development in letters and artistic things rather than a liking for and promotion of the practical and economic life of the country.
"We are a peace-loving nation," said he, "we de- test militarism. We have had only one war and that was with Paraguay when our territory was invaded. Our army has been composed of a voluntary force for the most part, but now preparedness and war are in the air, and every boy wants to be a soldier. Such a moment will pass; our national character and our traditions will dispel it."
As to the lack of practical activities on the part of Brazilians, it was thought that the task would be a somewhat difficult one to get the people to leave tra- ditional channels of thought and apply themselves to industry as thoroughly as the times in this great land of rich natural resources demanded.
"You in America say, 'How can we make a living and build a big railroad?' We Latin Americans are! more inclined to say, 'How can we make a great poet or literary man, or statesman, and at the same time get pleasure out of life?' "
It would seem to be in the bringing into personal contact and acquaintance the inhabitants of the two Americas, that the readiest solution of "Pan-Amer- icanism" is to be found. I have heard from many Bra- zilians the conviction voiced by the Brazilian ambas- sador to the United States — "less statistics and more friendly association." Reciprocal personal acquaintance and the study of the men and the methods of these two Americas, even more than the study of trade re- ports, for a time, would be a promising step toward
BRAZIL— AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 305
mutual understanding. To quote again from the Bra- zilian ambassador:
"Unity, community, companionship, all presuppose affinity of ideals at least. It is the names of these men which we ought to know as lasting memorials to the courage and virtue and wisdom and civic devotion that made them immortal among their own people. Let them cross their frontiers and our frontiers and mingle with our grandees in the same cult of moral beauty that exalts the mind of all civilized men. And when the communion of esteem and admiration for the nation-makers will be achieved, when names like Boli- var, O'Higgins, San Martin, Sarmiento, Ahdrada, and Rio Branco, will be as well known in the north of the continent as those of Franklin, Washington and Lin- coln are revered in the South, the greater part of the programme of Pan-Americanism will be accomplished and explained by itself."
This plea for liberalism is important for Brazil to- day, and it is no less important for the success of American politics and commercial policies in dealing with this republic.
There are many scores of Brazilian names which are to-day written high in the records of statesman- ship and letters especially, and among these is that of Dr. Ruy Barbosa — senator, statesman, diplomat, litterateur, master of international law and jurispru- dence, and without doubt the most popular orator and writer on liberal politics in present-day Brazil.
Next to the name of Rio Branco, there is no other name found more frequently upon the lips of the pa- triotic Brazilian than that of Ruy Barbosa. He is the
306 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
people's idol. Streets of Brazilian cities and towns are named after him; one or more Brazilian steamers carries his name; cigars and various brands of mer- chandise are called "Ruy Barbosa" to attract public attention, and when he returns, as he did two years ago from Argentina, where he had represented his country in a great speech, the streets of Rio de Janeiro are decorated as for a great general return- ing from his wars. "Viva Barbosa!" was taken up by voices of all classes of people as they crowded the wharves where his steamer docked, and followed him in triumphal procession through the streets of the Federal Capital.
It is natural that any one who would study Brazil to-day should wish to meet and talk with Dr. Ruy Barbosa, and when the writer found himself entering the large baronial-like home and grounds of this Bra- zilian statesman in the city of Rio de Janeiro, it was with the realisation that he might hope to discover certain of the fundamental ideas and ideals of the people of Brazil, since Dr. Barbosa, more perhaps than any other man at present in public life, speaks out for his countrymen.
I was met in the great library by a small man with a massive head covered with white hair. The man who greeted me with typical Brazilian politeness was sixty-seven years old, born in Bahia in 1849. His speak- ing acquaintance with many languages was also indica- tive of the cultured Brazilian, and we launched at once into conversation in English, concerning the political history and needs of Brazil.
Dr. Ruy Barbosa told me in answer to my question
BRAZIL— AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 307
regarding the advantage of the republic over the Brazilian empire, how he had advocated a federation with the empire which Dom Pedro II, the Emperor, accepted, but which was refused by the political lead- ers in the last hours of the empire; this act made the revolution necessary which drove the royal family into exile. In this statesman's mind the transition was too abrupt between the empire and the republic and it had been his plan to bring in a democracy through gradual stages. Those who study modern Brazil, espe- cially in the states of the north and the interior, where republican forms of government are little more than a name, realise to-day the far-sightedness of Dr. Ruy Barbosa's proposed statesmanship. The condition is not dissimilar to that which existed in our own south- land shortly after the Civil War, when the negroes were entrusted with suffrage, which they were not in the least prepared to employ.
Knowing that in a recent election Dr. Ruy Barbosa was the people's candidate for President, I asked him concerning the ideals which prompted him in becoming a candidate. It is generally known in Brazil that in this election Ruy Barbosa received the majority of votes, but in spite of this fact his opponent secured the office.
"My candidacy," said he, "was not of my own choos- ing. It originated with friends of mine at Sao Paulo. It was to me a most interesting and encouraging cam- paign, for I had the privilege of making speeches throughout the country and getting acquainted with the people of the smaller towns and cities. These people flocked to the meetings with earnest enthusiasm and
308 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
patriotic sentiments. They wrote me letters by the hundreds, and I was encouraged to see dawning indi- cations of republican sentiments, especially amongst the common people, which I had heretofore hardly dreamed existed."
"Of course, as you know," continued the Brazilian Senator, "although I received the majority of votes and was really elected, politics and politicians in the Chamber of Deputies decreed otherwise, and my op- ponent, who was favoured by the 'machine,' was given the office."
To my question as to the political reform most needed in Brazil to-day, I received this reply:
"Political reform is sorely needed in my country, better laws and progressive measures; but the thing which is most needed of all is men who will execute these laws. It is not so much increased or different legislation which' is required in Brazil to-day, as men of integrity and character in office, who will be found capable of putting into effect the laws which we al- ready have. Politics has tampered too much with in- dustrial enterprises," said he. "Railroads in my sec- tion in Bahia, for example, were built in the least feas- ible places in order to favour politicians, and the con- cessions which were given to foreign governments were of such broad and general nature as to make easy the defrauding of the Government and the people by the foreign syndicates who were chiefly interested in ex- ploiting the country and getting their pay for miles of railway built, regardless of the needs of the section through which these roads were hurriedly constructed. We are reaping to-day the results of political favourit-
BRAZIL— AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 309
ism in our Brazilian industries. We have too many men living on the Government. We have too few statesmen of large and unselfish minds who are really and vitally interested in Brazil as a whole."
I found this Brazilian statesman, like Judge Caval- canti, and others of the statesmen with whom I talked, generally favourable to the Monroe Doctrine, and also thoroughly familiar with North American affairs. Dr. Barbosa led me through room after room filled with books in various languages, and among these there were literally hundreds of volumes in English, having to do with politics and jurisprudence in the United States and England. I found him thoroughly famil- iar with President Wilson's writings on the history of the United States while he talked of our present day public men with perfect familiarity, telling me of his pleasure in having them at different times as his guests, and showing me, in several instances, their photographs which had been autographed by their owners on their visits to South America.
In speaking of the value of the Brazilian republic, he said, "Thus far the republic has brought to us material advantages only; other things which have come in the train of the republic are not especially praiseworthy."
He was profoundly convinced that the Latin Amer- icans were worthy of being taken seriously intellectu- ally, and that one of the first things that needed atten- tion was the laying of firm foundations for interna- tional law as well as fundamental education for his people, to both of which projects Dr. Barbosa has contributed notably. It was this statesman who in
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completing his civic education among the British people wrote the "Letters from England," which were pub- lished in 1896 and were read widely by Brazilians and other Latin Americans.
I found the Senator a devotee to Carlyle, especially to Carlyle's "Cromwell." He was also an enthusiastic admirer of Anatole France, and in common with the Latin Americans, Dr. Ruy Barbosa elevates the vir- tues of sentiment and heart quality to a place rarely given to them among political leaders.
This heart quality of Dr. Ruy Barbosa impressed me especially and was brought out eloquently in his simple and genuine home life. At his luncheon table I was surrounded by his children and grandchildren, as he holds to the old Brazilian patriarchal idea of having his sons and daughters with their families about him in the old home. During the luncheon hour two of his grandchildren were brought into the room, and for the time, politics, statesmanship and literature were utterly forgotten, and Dr. Barbosa was lost in the admiration of his children's children. He had them speak pieces for me, and as the tiny three-year- old girl waved her little hands and cried, "Viva, Ganpa Ruy Barbosa !" in imitation of the crowds which she had heard cry as they gathered about their home, the famous Senator was overjoyed, and one doubted whether the light that shone in the veteran states- man's eyes could have been duplicated by hearing the huzzas of the multitudes who had followed him so often down the crowded Avenida Rio Branco.
In a very real sense Dr. Ruy Barbosa incarnates the spirit of chivalrous idealism of his race. He believes
BRAZIL— AS BRAZILIANS SEE HER 311
thoroughly in the ideal of a future international peace which will cover all nations. Like many of his coun- tryman, he finds it difficult to devote himself solely to a utilitarian regime. To him wealth and political power are means only to the end of bringing about a higher and a more ideal civilisation. His wealth is not in great piles of gold, for as he told me, he still finds it necessary to practise law as a profession, in addition to being a Senator of the republic, in order to support the large family dependent upon him. To Ruy Bar- bosa and to his Brazilian kind, standing at the pinnacle of this Latin American civilisation, human dignity oc- cupies a place above material advantages, and the spirit of literature and art are to these men, still, more potent than worldly aggrandisement and utilitarian success.
A French writer has summed up well the character of Dr. Ruy Barbosa :
"He is a man of imagination, but he is also a man of will, and it is owing, perhaps, to this happy harmony of all his faculties that, throughout his life he has been enabled to fill a mission of education at once political, social, and purely human."
As a man of Brazil, the statesman represents in his personality and work the combination of qualities which the union of the traits of the two Americas might produce — a gentleman, a scholar, a successful man of affairs, and human being of heart quality and rich feeling.
CHAPTER XXI
AUTOMOBILING IN BRAZIL
A LETTER reaches me here in Rio from an au- tomobile euthusiast living in an inland city in the "States," reading as follows:
"I am meditating bringing my car for an automobile trip through South America. I have an ambition to be the first man who has ever crossed South America from the east coast of Brazil to the west coast of Peru in a motor car. Please give me your opinion as to the advisability of such a trip."
I hastened to reply to my American friend that no more heroic adventure had ever been planned since the days of Pizarro, but that the only way I could conceive of his crossing Brazil with his automobile (from Per- nambuco to La Paz, Bolivia, for example) would be to suspend it to a German Zeppelin, or possibly take his machine apart, and with Anne Peck and Harry Franck as guides, engage a half hundred Indians to carry the whole party across on their backs.
After a few months of travel on the outskirts of this vast country which is called frequently a continent, larger in area than the United States or three-fourths of Europe, with enormous interior areas still unex-
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AUTOMOBILING IN BRAZIL 313
plored and uncharted and inhabited by savage tribes, who live in jungle fastnesses as impregnable as any- thing to be found in Central Africa, the most ardent apostle of the motor car loses his fire. The man who would cross Brazil to-day from east to west would find a little jaunt awaiting him of several thousand miles across gigantic tablelands cut with irregular mountain chains, through tropical jungles which would have to be penetrated by means of the machete, and having for a "road map," if he was especially fortunate, a faint and often vanishing mule-track, and naught more.
Of course, this might be accomplished by a man whose dictionary did not contain the word "impos- sible," but personally I should prefer for the sake of practice to run my car over the Flatiron Building or across the Egyptian Pyramids, and possibly take a spin across the Sahara desert. The average traveller after looking over the situation would be inclined to think it more salutary and expeditious to put his automobile on a slow steamer and sail to the West Coast via Cape Horn.
Firstly, it must be remembered by the prospective auto-tourist to these parts that there are no interna- tional highways in South America such as those "built by the Peruvian Indians in the palmy sixteenth century days of the ancient Incas, before Spanish conquest ex- tinguished road-making arts in the southern American hemisphere. There are some who claim that there were in Brazil (the oldest civilisation in South Amer- ica, as well as the youngest republic) good and well travelled roads in ancient days before the railroads ap- propriated them. But this country, severed by the
314 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
equator, can not be sure of having good roads for any length of time unless an enormous budget makes them possible. The Brazilians must fight an equatorial cli- mate which is not conducive to good road making. One man from an inland town, speaking of the dif- ficulty in using his automobile, said :
"I get my automobile out about once a year and run it for three days or such a matter. During the remainder of the year I can't use it because the dust is so thick in the dry season, and then when the rains come I can't use it because the mud is so deep."
In the remote parts of this country inland, there are no means of communication worth mentioning save by rude trails and waterways, while along the coastal extent of Brazil the 18,000 or more miles of railways which serve the more civilised portion of the popula- tion appropriated any good road in their path.
An automobile truck that essayed recently the com- paratively short journey from Rio de Janeiro to Pet- ropolis, only an hour and a half by an express train, after fifteen hours of struggling through terrible roads, finally found the highway leading to a railroad trestle. In Brazil the railroads were built first in the early days of the republic and the modernised highways have come only slowly afterwards. The American business man, resident in Brazil, who trys to use his automobile in the country here, invariably describes the roads as "impossible."
It might be suggested in passing that there would be some chance for a cross-country Brazilian tour for a man with a motor cycle and an adventurous disposi- tion. If in the course of a year or two he managed
AUTOMOBILING IN BRAZIL 315
to get through the Brazilian swamps, and reached the old Inca trails over the Andes, there would be in store for him one of the most picturesque and vivid ex- periences to be found anywhere on the planet. The llama trails, which still run from Cuzco to the Pacific, pass through a country of stupendous and primitive scenery unsurpassed in any part of the Orient or Oc- cident which I have visited. If such a motor cyclist was proof against "sorochee," or mountain sickness, which attacks certain travellers, he could find virtu- ally an unobstructed trail after reaching the tablelands of the Cordilleras. I doubt not that he would decide after the months of whirling through Indian villages, encircling mountains whose sides are terraced and cul- tivated to the very snow line by the descendants of the Incas, and where wheat and maize are raised be- neath the equatorial sun 15,000 feet above the sea, that his year of struggle through Brazilian jungle was more than justified. I have often wondered in travel- ling in these parts of altitudinous Peru, what would be the result if, in turning one of these winding path- ways, a motor cyclist would suddenly be confronted by a pack train of a hundred llamas, driven. by the pic- turesque Indians of the Sierras. Perhaps, after all, my enthusiastic friend of the Middle West, if he is will- ing to exchange his high powered car for a motor cycle, may one day find his name written high alongside those of Bolivar, General San Martin, Pizarro, Almagro, and other intrepid pioneers, immortal in South Amer- ican history.
But speaking of automobiles in .Brazil, this industry furnishes a very good way by which to secure a side
316 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
light upon what is happening in this big republic at present.
As we looked out of our hotel window on the first morning after our arrival in Rio de Janeiro, among the first visions greeting our eyes was the Avenida Rio Branco, filled with fine looking foreign motor cars, drawn up in the centre of the wide avenue, each with its little red flag hanging out the side with "Libre" marked upon it. These were not the usual "taxis," which we were accustomed to hail in the cities of the United States, but luxurious French, Italian and Ger- man cars, big enough to seat six or seven persons in most cases, and giving all the appearance of privately owned vehicles, — save the "free" sign and the watch- ful look at the passers-by in the eye of the chauffeur.
When I asked the reason for the best looking motor cars I had ever seen for hire in any city in the world, I was told of the "boom" year in coffee which occurred in 19 1 2, and the consequent purchase of European cars of excellent quality by the Brazilians grown suddenly wealthy; then the year of financial crash followed in 1 9 13 and the owners of these cars, some of whom had bought their automobiles on long credit, were forced to turn over their possessions to the "taxi" men, and in many other ways to practice retrenchment in their spending propensities.
This was no small reverse to the Brazilian who likes to spend his money when he has it quite as much as the more thrifty Portuguese, coming here to make money, enjoys hoarding it. But the Cariocan, with his easy-going disposition and gambling spirit, makes a virtue of his necessity and walks as long as he can not
AUTOMOBILING IN BRAZIL 317
drive along the shining boulevard where all Rio goes daily, while the Brazilian maiden, instead of whirling along in a beautiful car over the fascinating stretch of palm-shaded roadways by the sea, contents herself by leaning out of her window according to Brazilian fashion. This custom of watching your world from the window sill or getting "corns on their elbows," as one has expressed it, is still very common in all Bra- zilian towns and cities, although it is beginning to be considered infra dig. Yet the fact remains that houses on the street car line command a larger rent than those in the more isolated section, because the carefully- coiffeured, thickly-powdered Brazilian sefiorita may have the opportunity of attracting perchance a pros- pective husband, as he daily passes beneath her window.
Another sidelight is thrown on the scene by the presence, in large preponderance in the streets of the national capital, of cars made in Europe. "Why not American automobiles?" we asked.
To be sure, we noticed a section of a fine building on this same popular avenue filled with an exhibition of "Fords," advertising the small runabout at more than double the price charged for it in America, while the "Dodge," the little "Hup" and other American au- tomobiles of cheaper make are to be seen in Sao Paulo, Santos and other places in Southern Brazil. Yet, as a rule, it seems to be the French rather than the Amer- ican-made automobile which the visitor encounters everywhere in Brazil where cars are used at all.
The answer to one's inquiries corresponds to that which will be met relative to many other commodities
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in the realm of luxuries which the Brazilian people have sought and found in the Old World. The re- public to the north is looked upon by the Brazilians as a great land of utilities. If they were seeking food- stuffs, or certain manufactures and things of prime necessity, they would turn perhaps to the United States for their supply. But the automobile is still largely a luxury in this country, something for the man of wealth in the city or for the rich planter to use on his "fazenda," and Europe has been for a long time the home of luxury, fashion, smartness and artistry for the inhabitants of Brazil. Like the Latin Americans generally, the Brazilians have looked upon Continental Europe — Paris, Naples, Genoa, or Madrid — for the exemplification of all that is old, cultured and aristo- cratic, while North America exemplifies to them the new and the utilitarian, and also, it must be added, the Anglo-Saxon rather than the Latin taste in manufac- tures. The Brazilian will be quite ready to buy bolts of the American dealer to rivet together the machinery in his factory, but when it comes to clothes for his lady, or motor cars in which to show them off — it is to Europe that he goes for his models and his purchases. This is not strange when one comes to see how it has all come about. Europe has flooded Brazil with lit- erature; she has entertained the South Americans with studied care, and her similarity of tastes and tempera- ment have revealed to her the nature and character of entertainment desired. French and Italian convent schools have been established throughout Brazil, and along with foreign text-books, there has come French
AUTOMOBILING IN BRAZIL 319
and Italian culture, and these latter have paved the way for foreign trade.
Even the diplomats from the Old World have been trade promoters in disguise, for they have so truly understood and adapted their manners and their kind- ness to reach these people, that the Brazilian who fol- lows his delights more often than his dollars, pre- fers to buy an automobile from a Frenchman, since he "likes" his manner of selling quite as much as the style of the machine.
Lord Bryce has pointed out in his book on South America that not only the beginning of the careers of the two Americas have been widely divergent, but beyond a fact of similarity in Constitutions of gov- ernment, there is little in common by way of lan- jguage, traditions, history or temperament of the peo- ple. With the Latins of Europe, on the contrary, there is a strong strain of racial and sentimental unity which accounts for the choice in automobiles as truly as for the selection of an attractive place in which to spend holidays.
Yet this does not mean that Americans do not or can not sell motor cars to Brazilians. At present the United States is having something of a monopoly in this business.
In 19 1 5 American automobile sales in Brazil amounted to more than four times those of all other nations combined, but it is necessary to note in this connection that the purchase of cars had decreased from Germany, from 1060 in 19 12 to three cars in 19 1 5, and instead of the 10 11 French cars sold in Brazil in 19 12, the records show that ten cars were
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bought from that country in the year 19 15. It is also enlightening to notice that in 19 15 there were only 214 automobiles imported, while in 19 12, before the open- ing of the European war, there were 3,785 cars im- ported, only 785 of these being purchased from Amer- ica. The financial condition of Brazil, as well as the war, has contributed to this falling off of money spent for automobiles, a decrease from $5,368,650 spent for cars in 1912 to $190,358 expended in 1915.
The financial condition of this country would seem to offer in the immediate future a challenge to the man- ufacturers of American cheap cars. The future of the automobile industry here, as far as the American-made machine is concerned, depends upon the way the mak- ers of vehicles in the United States prove themselves capable of studying the Brazilian needs, and adjusting themselves to these requirements.
The market for motor cars in Brazil at present is almost entirely limited to half a dozen cities and to a few larger towns, also to the owners or managers of large coffee, sugar, or other sizable plantations.
Rio de Janeiro, the federal capital, carries on usu- ally about 40 per cent of the entire amount of im- porting and distributing of cars, but one will find a goodly number of automobiles in such cities as Sao Paulo, where coffee is king, and in Santos, the coffee port, as well as in the coastal cities like Bahia, Per- nambuco and Para. The inland traveller also finds in Bello Horizonte, in the State of Minas Geraes, some excellent machines, the precursors of the coming period when good roads and many cars will be necessities as well as luxuries.
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Santos is the one city that continues to flourish in the automobile trade in these war days, and in these parts the motor is coming to its own as a factor of farm equipment on the big estates. The writer has been hurtled across these great coffee "fazendas" in South Brazil in a "Fiat" at a speed that defied roads whose only constituents seemed to be deep sand and ruts; we can testify that these landed proprietors re- gard speed laws as only nominal obstructions in Brazil.
It may be said in passing that only those manufac- turers who make cars on honour need apply, or ex- pect a return order in the rural parts of this country.
Of all the twenty-one states that compose the giant Brazilian republic, the federal district of Rio de Janeiro is at present the automobilist's paradise. This district, which holds a place similar in the country to the District of Columbia in the United States, is re- ported to have at present 2,347 registered automo- biles, in addition to the Government machines, which do not require registration.
To be sure, a city that is built largely on hills that ramble in most intricate profusion for many miles along the sea, does not give much opportunity for long or straight-away drives; but we would earnestly rec- ommend to all lovers of the automobile and the flying road, the motor trip for miles along the enchanting, winding water front of Rio. Here one is in the land of shining macadam, which is forgotten in the magic of the scene.
One follows the various parks, or beaches, which fringe the parkway of the new Rio, called the Avenida Beira Mar. There is the shimmering sunlight on the
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peerless bay with its hundreds of islands by day and the myriad lights by night; then shooting through the tunnelled mountain that acts as a portal to the Avenida Atlantica and the already famous sea speedway bor- dering the broad Atlantic, for miles to the new Coun- try Club; here one stops and finds the Corcovado mountain, clothed with tropical vegetation at one's back, and in front the league-long rollers sweeping in from the distant Antarctic. If there is anything by way of automobile experience more indescribably beau- tiful or better fitted to leave the mark of indelibility than this, it is forthcoming as you continue your jour- ney in the famous automobile trip over the Tijuca mountain, from every zigzag turn of which a pano- rama of sea and city shows constantly a different face.
A famous European traveller said there were three things he wished to do again before he died. One was to lie before his tent in the desert of Sahara in the moonlight; another was to sail again through the inland seas of Japan, and the third and best of all was to take once more a motor ride about Tijuca.
Some day the flourishing Automobile Club of Brazil, which has a Senator just now for its President, and a site from which ''every prospect pleases," will be in- viting the clubs of motor enthusiasts from the Old and New Worlds to an "International Automobile Car- nival" to be held along the white, sand-fringed curves of beach that guard Rio from the sea. Until that day arrives the automobilists of other and distant lands must survive upon second-rate sensations of natural beauty and abiding charm.
CHAPTER XXII
THE SEA THAT GUARDS RIO
Where the sea-egg flames on the coral, and the long-backed
breakers croon, Their endless ocean legends to the lazy locked lagoon.
Rudyard Kipling.
IT is difficult to explain the seductive charm of Rio de Janeiro. Certain places hold one by a sense of remoteness, others by the spell of natural beauty. Rio is one of these cities which combines the old and the new, in such an atmosphere of tropical splendour and colour as to make an unforgetable impression. It is an example of the tropic-clad statuary of nature at her best. I know of no city in the world that is more engaging than Rio with its one million of inhabitants, resting peacefully in bright sunlight on the ankles of her great hills.
There is something quieting and beautifully magic about the sea in Rio bay. Outside of imagination, there is naught elsewhere that approaches its charm, and he who stays long enough to really experience it is like one who dreams.
The sea here is of the same colour as the soft chiffon-like mist of grey that veils continuously the surrounding hills. It is probably the utter harmony
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to the eye that comforts one here and induces repose, or it may be the "always-afternoon" softness of the air that breathes about one a quiet peace.
In every direction one may look there are moun- tains, and a prodigal luxury of verdant hills — one ris- ing beyond another and all seeming to be pushing for- ward as if to keep in view the sparkling, smiling waters of the peerless bay. In well-nigh every inlet a cluster of low houses, with their stucco walls and brown tiled roofs, furnish the exact colour shades of white and dull rose to blend with and not to jar the deep green of the hills beyond. Here and there a stately royal palm is silhouetted on a jutting promontory against the perpetual summer sky, keeping one mindful that he is living near the equator.
Every tiny cove is fringed with an arc of white sandy beach, upon which brown-faced children play. Great boulders rise out of the sea here and there as though they, too, were loath to lose the beauty of these magic scenes above them ; and lest they mar the effect, they cover their tops with rich foliage and rim their water lines with green sea moss.
Before my veranda, not more than two hundred feet away, a procession of porpoises are now passing, rising in fascinating regularity above the smooth wa- ter; the glint of the afternoon sun on their glittering skins gives the effect of a string of shining black pearls strung on a green sea chain.
But for the fragrant smell of the salt sea air, and the steady resistless lap of the tides on the shore, one could easily imagine that it was Lake George, or possibly Lake Geneva among the Alps, upon which he was gaz-
THE SEA THAT GUARDS RIO 325
ing; for as the breeze comes down from the distant hills, ruffling the undulations of these tiny arms of the bay, small boats may be seen putting out from a dozen diminutive harbours — while on the point of rocks near by a group of barefooted Brazilian schoolboys are fish- ing with long poles.
A flock of gulls crosses an arm of the bay, coming in from some long air voyage over the sea, reminding one of Masefield's sea gulls, uThe souls of drowned mariners, which the ocean could not hold."
And now the soft tropical twilight is falling over the bay. The salt air blows warm but fresh upon one's face; the beat of the great ocean's heart can be counted more distinctly as the evening silence falls, and the surf moves further up the sandy shore. The lights come out from distant Rio like fitful fireflies, first flit- ting here and there, then becoming more steady in their myriad radiance. On many a rocky islet a lighthouse begins to twinkle intermittently, red, white— red, white.
The bells of evening come faintly to the ear, borne across the water from a small hamlet church on a distant curve of the bay; the night winds sing over- head in the leaves of the palms and tamarinds, and the soft-sounding sea that guards Rio takes you in its arms like a mother her tired child at night, to soothe and to bid forget all care.
IT IS RIO THAT I MEAN
There's a city in the tropics
That is fair as any queen, High Tijuca watches o'er her
It is Rio that I mean.
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There's a magic in that city, It is like a golden dream,
There's the Bay of Guanabara, It is Rio that I mean.
I love that tropic city
I love her sun by day, I love her brilliant evening lights
That curve around her bay. I love her palm crowned hill tops
With red roofs through the green I love her bells at evening,
It is Rio that I mean.
There's one man whom I envy,
For he loved her first of all, It was from a Spanish caravel
That Magellan was enthralled. It was he who saw Asucar
Long before her airy car Had sailed the sky at nightfall
Like a gleaming falling star.
Did he know — that valiant sailor —
On his voyage from the Horn, What this matchless bay would shelter?
What a city would be born? Did he see the shining boulevards?
Did the Avenida gleam? Did the lights on Corcovado
Dance and beckon in his dream?
I know not what my travelling days May bring me, passing fair.
It may be isles of summer bathed in sunny Afric air; Perchance a Vale of Cashmere
Neath Himalaya may unfurl, Or some inland sea of Nippon,
Or some South Sea isle of pearl.
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But when journeyings are over,
And the study lamps are low, And the One who walked beside me
Through all this wide world's show Shall take my hand, and read my heart
And murmur, "Which was best?"
I shall see that tropic city,
I shall see its palm leaves gleam,
I shall see the lights of Nictheroy — It is Rio that I mean.
CHAPTER XXIII
SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN
IT is difficult to make general statements concern- ing the circumstances and influences that govern the conditions of women in South America, and at the same time give a picture sufficiently definite and dis- tinct to be of interest. The lines which set apart geo- graphically from each other the republics are not more distinct than the lines which for many reasons sepa- rate the women of Peru and Argentina, of Bolivia and of Uruguay, of Chile and of Brazil.
One can go to South America with few precon- ceived notions regarding its women, for after search- ing through the volumes written about these countries, one finds only here and there a short paragraph dealing with the status of the women, and very little about their modes of living, their thoughts, ideals or ambitions. Book after book is written dealing with the commerce of this growing country, with descriptions of its great cities, its feudal-like farms, its possibilities for the en- terprising, ambitious young men from other lands, but nothing is said about the mothers and the wives of the men who are building the foundation of this coming land of promise.
The modern currents that are affecting the women
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of the United States and of Europe, that are reaching even the women of the Far East, seem to have touched but lightly the great body of the women of Latin Amer- ican lands.
While sources of information are scanty, yet there is enough to show that many South American women have shown examples of great courage and patriotism.
History tells us that the Brazilian women of Sao Paulo, in early colonial days, when their husbands returned home after a crushing defeat at the hands of the Indians, scornfully rebuked the vanquished war- riors with the command, "Go back and conquer, it is only as victors that we will receive you.n
The songs of the people of Colombia tell of the beautiful patriot Policarpa Salabarrieta, who was exe- cuted for her part in Colombia's struggle for liberty. She died, exhorting the seven men who were executed with her to meet their fate like men and heroes. Under the title of "La Polae," her name is loved by the com- mon people, and sixty years after her death the Colom- bian Congress voted a pension to her surviving rela- tives.
Not only have women been courageous in war, and offered their husbands and sons gladly in the cause of Liberty, but an Argentine woman has been a distin- guished advocate for peace. The colossal statue of Christ on the summit of the Andes, at the border line between Chile and Argentina commemorates the treaty of peace made between the two spirited nations. The statue is cast from bronze of old cannon which the Spanish left at the time of the achievement of Argen-
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tine independence. On the monument is the inscrip- tion:
"Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than the people of Argentina and Chile break the peace to which they have pledged themselves at the feet of Christ, the Redeemer."
The conception of such a monument came from Bishop Benavente and a woman, Sefiora da Costa, and it was she, who, as President of the Christian Mother's Association of Buenos Aires, undertook the work of securing funds and of getting the statue erected. This was accomplished and the statue, on a great column, in a pass about 13,000 feet above sea level, was dedi- cated March 13th, 1904, in the presence of more than three thousand persons.
Sefiora da Costa's words telling the story of the monument, show the spirit of the women in whose heart and mind the idea was conceived:
"The penetrating idea of the commemorative mon- ument was in the national atmosphere, and I had but to condense it in my spirit to give it tangible form. If the idea is mine, it is in the same way as to the sculptor belongs the statue which he brings forth from the block of marble where it was sleeping invisible, and I even dare to think that the idea had to issue from the brain of a woman, because it is an idea of sentiment, and in all time men have reproached us for thinking with the heart.
Moreover, everything which tends to perpetual peace by its prestige and glorification especially inter- ests and affects us women, that is to say the mothers, wives, daughters, the betrothed of those who must fall, sacrificed on the battlefields. War may dazzle men
SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN 331
with its lightning flashes of military glory. For us women, it represents only tears and pain; that is why the Latin poet called it 'accursed by mothers.' "
It is difficult in writing of the women of Latin Amer- ica to speak of them collectively. There is a marked difference, for example, in the women of Peru and the more advanced women of Argentina, of Brazil or Uru- guay. The women of Peru are just peering through their latticed windows into the world outside, whtfe the Argentine has boldly stepped through the door- way. Yet the movement to give woman more oppor- tunities to develop her abilities, to express her person- ality, and to receive higher education is sweeping over this southern country, and one can watch its progress as one passes from Peru down the West Coast and across the Andes to Argentina and Brazil.
At all hours of the day one sees black^robed figures winding their way through the narrow streets of Lima or Arequipa on their way to the churches where they will kneel before their favourite altar, asking a blessing upon the families who seemingly find their God through the piety of their women folk. It is a well known fact that the church is losing gradually its power in Peru, because the men are turning from forms and creeds, and in their emancipation are becoming agnostic. But the women still uphold their faith and will go to any length to preserve its forms and symbols.
When the bill was introduced into the Peruvian legislature allowing the liberty of worship, it was bit- terly opposed by the Catholic church. The women be- came active partisans in the fight, and contrary to all precedent, the quiet, almost cloistered women of Lima,
832 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
marched in the streets, going to the Senate and crying from its galleries as the bill was being read, finally throwing bunches of hay upon the embarrassed sena- tors, thus signifying that the women of Lima con- sidered them donkeys.
But it was the first time that the ladies of Lima showed themselves in public demonstration, and per- haps it will be the last, as the Peruvian lady will be one of the last recruits for women suffrage or in fact for any movement that will take her outside her kingdom, the home.
One sees many signs of Spanish civilisation in Peru, and especially in the rules concerning the lives of the women. The old Moorish domination of the Spaniard is seen in the screened balconies overlooking the streets, where the ladies of the house may watch the passing crowds in the street, themselves unseen. There is the long dark shawl draped around the head and face, and hanging in folds that disguise the figure, the cousin of the veiled custom of old Moorish days. There is the lace mantilla that is worn by all to church, as in Peru one can not wear a hat in the places of worship, and there are the inner patios around which are placed the women's quarters, hidden from curious eyes of those persons who might be visiting the master of the house- hold.
It is all Eastern, and although the Peruvian lady has travelled, and may have been educated in France, still she is Oriental in her belief that the woman's realm is the home; she feels that she is the sole property of her husband and her children, her only aim in life to keep well her household and to see that her children
SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN 333
make their mark in their appointed places in life. Like her sister, the woman of India, she does not care to become a star herself, she only wishes to shine in re- flected glory.
The young girl of Peru is educated with but one ob- ject in view, that of obtaining a husband. She is taught to play the piano, embroider, speak French, dance, and generally make herself attractive. She is acknowl- edged by all to have a very good brain, in fact, some say the woman is superior to the man in Peru, intel- lectually, morally and physically. But as far as her intellect is concerned, she is not given the opportunity to develop it. She does not read except the rather highly coloured French novels or translations of those romances that appeal to the emotional Latin American. She is not taught to think, and her men folk try to come down to her level in their conversations with her.
Yet there is no woman who has more native wit, who is quicker and brighter at repartee than the Peru- vian, and all admit that there is no woman who has a higher standard of morality than have these same dark eyed sefioras, who live in a country where there are no divorce laws.
In Peru, especially, the women are conservative, living their life within the women's quarters, nearly as Oriental a life as is lived by the harem women in India.
The women of the better class particularly form the stronghold of the Catholic church. They have not had the education nor experienced the modernising influences that have alienated the men from the faith of their fathers. The church, its fasts and its feasts, the early morning mass, the confessional and its elab-
334 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
orate ritual seems to be the main avenue through which the women get into contact with the world outside their homes. Women go to mass every morning, many go to confession every day, and the Sacrament is taken at least once a week, and by many the day is com- menced by partaking of the consecrated wafer. The daily confession gives the priests great power in in- fluencing the life of the home.
Many of the fathers would like their sons educated in secular schools, but the influence of the church is towards the schools conducted by some one of the Catholic orders, and pressure is brought to bear upon the mothers: consequently the average youth of the better class obtains at least his primary education in the Church institutions.
The girls are trained in the convents of their own land, or in Europe, but their education is generally superficial, consisting in what we would call a "finish- ing education," music, a little painting, languages (very many girls in the South American republics are accomplished linguists), a slight knowledge of Spanish and French literature, and deportment. They have charming manners, are intensely feminine, and when young the Peruana is often very pretty. She has large dark eyes, which she knows how to use effectively, and a good complexion, a graceful figure (which she loses often by the time she is thirty), and hers is the art of dressing with much taste. She knows how to wear her clothes, and whether she is a woman of the middle class, dressed in a manta, or black shawl draped around her head and covering her body to the knees, or in the ordinary street gown of European manufacture and
SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN 335
the lace mantilla over her hair, she is always chic and attractive.
In Peru the women of the better class do not wear a hat in the morning as they are supposed to have been to church if they go out of the house before noon, and it is forbidden to wear a hat in any church in Peru. But in the afternoon she may be seen in the shops or in motors hurrying to some afternoon tea or bridge party, dressed in the latest Paris creation. Women, and especially young women, are never seen alone in the street, as it is considered most improper for a woman under forty to go out of her home unchaper- oned by an older woman. Another peculiar custom to the northern visitor, is the fact that a woman upon meeting a man acquaintance does not bow to him un- less he first salutes her, and she would never stop and talk to him, although he might walk with her for a few steps, if she was accompanied by some older member of her family.
A young man calling upon a Spanish family (and this custom is quite universal in all of the South Amer- ican countries) is never left alone with the daughter of the household. If the parents or chaperons should by chance leave them alone together, it is expected that he will propose to the girl, and if he is inclined to enter the doors of matrimony and should be accepted by the young lady, it is his last opportunity of being alone with her until the marriage vows have been pro- nounced. After marriage the woman enters upon her heritage of social freedom, yet she is restricted to a certain extent. A married woman does not receive a caller of the other sex in her husband's absences, nor
336 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
does she dance with any man except her husband. She would not think of entertaining or being entertained in his absence, and if he is away from home for any length of time, she is supposed to remain secluded until his reappearance upon the scene.
The business world is just beginning to open its doors to the women of South America. In Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia women have not yet entered into the industries or the professions, and there is scarcely as yet any paid work for women outside of the home. In Peru the woman who has to work for her living is looked down upon. There is a great gulf in this aristocratic country between the labouring and well-to-do classes, which makes it especially hard for women to enter the business world. Many prefer to do "sweat shop" labour for the big firms, barely ek- ing out a miserable existence, yet still feeling that they are keeping their "caste" by doing the work at home,' rather than work publicly where they will be seen by their neighbours, and classed as working women.
Even women teachers have little standing, and it is within only the last few years that women have taken positions as cashiers, clerks, or stenographers. Of the handful of women who have graduated at the univer- sities, one is practising medicine, two dentistry, a few pharmacy and a few others are conducting private schools. The old Spanish pride for some time to come will keep the better class women of Peru from entering the business world in any capacity. Nevertheless there is developing gradually a middle class of women who are intelligent, and who because they are not afraid of work and have no feeling of disgrace in their toil,
SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN 337
are developing intellectually and will eventually open the way for other women to learn that there is a means of livelihood other than that of marriage.
There is an element of greater independence in Chil- ean womanhood, and their entrance into the industrial world has put a new emphasis on the dignity of wom- an's work. In the large cities they are found mainly in the factories and stores, but they are gradually en- tering the government and business offices. Stenog- raphy and typewriting are being taught in the girls' professional schools, but the chief profession open to women is that of teaching. The Chilean woman is more advanced than are the women of Colombia or Peru. She is an ardent supporter of the church, but less bigoted and narrow than the Peruana. She is more cosmopolitan, is not tied down so closely by tradition and custom, and is keeping step with the man of Chile in his modern progress. There is no Chilean type, as there is in Peru. The woman you meet on the streets or in the beautiful homes of Valparaiso or Santiago, might be seen in New York or Paris. She may be of a distinctly German type, or look like an English woman just come from some village in Great Britain, as many of the English and German colonists married Chilean wives, and their descendants may be traced by their fair hair and blue eyes. If of the upper classes, she is often very charming and of unusual beauty.
Across the Andes one comes into another world al- together than that seen on the West Coast. In Ar- gentina everything is so intensely modern and up-to- date, that it is quite disappointing for the visitor look- ing for "local colour." There is no colour in Argentina
338 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
save the colour of gold that seems to cover everything. Argentina is so prosperous, so vulgarly rich and con- tented with herself. Her capital, Buenos Aires, is a beautiful city, a mixture of Paris, Berlin and Chicago.
Its streets and boulevards are among the broadest, the longest and the finest in the world. You thor- oughly realise it, even before you are told it. Its shops, its jewels, and its crowds of well dressed women com- pare favourably with those in any city on the globe. Luxurious motors may be seen carrying exquisitely dressed women and children to and from the great houses that line the principal resident streets. Here again there is no distinct type. You can not point to a woman and say, "That is an Argentine." The races are quite mixed.
The Argentine woman is advanced and she is enter- ing the world of business and thought. Women are contributors to the leading magazines and philosophical reviews, and they are studying in the universities and technical schools, and there is a large and ever growing number of business women in Buenos Aires. Large numbers are employed throughout Argentina as teach- ers, and stenography is becoming very popular. Teach- ers of languages, dressmaking, and domestic science are to be found in the larger cities and towns.
The women of Argentina, in their new found free- dom, are advancing a little too fast for their spiritual good. Many of them pride themselves that they have left their old religion far behind, and that they do not need a new one. I asked a woman doctor, a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires, if she went to church.
"Indeed, no," she replied.
SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN 639
"But your friends go to church?" I inquired.
"Indeed they do not," she said.
"But, have you no religion?" I asked.
"We are rationalists," she answered.
"But women must have a religion," I said.
"Why should they?" she inquired, and I abandoned the argument. I have found that when women get so learned and advanced that they feel they are suf- ficient unto themselves, it is time for mere man to retire from the scene.
In Brazil one finds the quiet, home woman again. She has not entered public life except in a few cases. There is a quiet charm about her not found in her more advanced sister of Argentina. She is not so modern, obtains her education in the convent schools, and still believes that woman's realm is the home. The Brazilian type does not make for great beauty, as the intermixture of many bloods has made her, especially in the lower classes, rather too dark, at least for American taste. But her eyes and hair are always beautiful, and the young girl is graceful and coquettish and attractive, but she, like the Peruana, loses some- what of her beauty early in life, and tends to settle down often into placidity and domesticity of the rather ordinary sort, when she has found a husband and borne him a son or two.
The women of South America are among the best wives and mothers in the world. They love chil- dren, and believe themselves truly blessed if they can bear a large family, the larger the better, to their lord and master. There are never too many babies in a South American home. Among the poor the tragedy
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is that the mothers in their ignorance do not know how to care for their babies. Along the West Coast from forty to ninety per cent die under two years of age. The mothers of the better class lavish a wealth of tenderness upon their children but do not train them in self discipline. They are often what we call in our country "spoiled," although they appear to the stranger to have beautiful manners. When a child enters the house he kisses his mother upon the cheek, and his father upon his hand, and so far as superficial respect goes, it is all that may be desired.
The homes of the richer class of South Americans are magnificent and even the poorer homes have a certain charm with their flower-filled patios, and great high-ceilinged rooms, although these same big rooms are uncomfortable in the winter, especially in the West Coast and in Argentina. There is no heat in the houses, and the women sit around tiny braziers or oil stoves, bundled up in their furs. They think that it is unhealthful to have heated houses, and obey the doctor's injunction to put on heavy clothing in the house, and take it off when going into the sunshine.
There are few conveniences in the average South American middle or lower-class home in Peru; the kitchens are simply earthen floored rooms, where the food is cooked over a charcoal brazier, and the guinea pigs and chickens play around under foot. Cleanliness is not understood, and their ideas of sanitation are of the simplest. Often in towns such as Cuzco, the fam- ily linen is washed in the open drain passing in front of the door, as microbes are things still unknown to the average woman in South America.
CHAPTER XXIV
THE RELIGION OF THE SOUTH AMERICANS
Facile belief is of but little value; it often only means that, as certain words make no impression whatever upon the mind, so they excite no opposition to it. There are few things which Christ would have visited with sterner censure, than that short cut to belief which consists of abandonment of mental effort.
Sir Oliver Lodge.
THE student of Peruvian religion will discover similarities between the faith dominant in this country during the long rule of the Incas and that which was introduced into the more modern Peru by the Spanish conquerors in the early part of the sixteenth century.
The Inca religion, which was a mixture of theocracy and sun worship, was like the Roman Christianity, an authoritative and super-imposed faith. It was an af- fair of the State and the rulers held their subjects re- ligiously as well as politically responsible. The two orders of belief were both attended by an opulence of religious establishments, an ostentatious ceremonial in- tended to impress with awe the people ; a superior pre- dominance of the sacerdotal order, and innumerable re- ligious feasts together with the prevalence of sacrifices.
The orthodox Spaniards who first came into Peru
341
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noted a striking resemblance in many of the old Inca religious rites to those at that time prevalent in the Catholic church. In the distribution of bread and wine at the Inca festival of Raymi, the Christian cus- tom of communion was suggested, while in the practice of confession and penance which seems to have been in vogue in a somewhat irregular form amongst the Peruvian Indians, they discerned a similarity to an- other of the sacraments of the Roman church. These analogies, however, were usually attributed by the Catholic fathers to the contrivances of Satan who seemed to be endeavouring to delude his victims by counterfeiting the ceremonies of the only true religion. So marked were these likenesses that at one time there was a tradition that one of the Apostles had himself visited these South American realms and deposited the seeds of the Christian gospel.
In both the ancient and modern religious systems of Peru there is discovered particularly the evidence of a mild but a searching religious despotism, in which independent individual thought and personal convic- tion have far less influence than in the religious char- acteristics of North American inhabitants.
One of the first impressions of the traveller in Peru is that of the all-prevalent sway of religious adherence. In theory at least, every one is a Catholic in faith, and the innumerable churches together with the large num- ber of priests and church officials met with everywhere, would seem to reveal a universally religious state.
Although a closer inspection of this matter reveals that many of these churches are rarely filled, espe- cially with men worshippers, that indeed the educated
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 343
young Peruvian is inclined to-day towards rationalism and an indifferent attitude toward the church, never- theless it is a fact that the government supports the Roman faith as a national religion, and until recently included in the Constitution a clause virtually inimical to any other faith.
In this respect modern religion in Peru had its counterpart in the ancient belief of the Incas. To them religion was the basis of their entire polity, and it was interwoven with their social existence quite as closely as Hinduism has associated itself with the daily life of the East Indian. The Incas, like many other Indian races, acknowledged a Supreme Being who was the creator and ruler of the universe, and raised at least one temple in honour of this Being. The Deity, however, which seemed to claim the chief ven- eration of these Peruvian Indians, was the Sun. To him they looked for light, warmth, and protection. They reverenced the Sun as the father of their royal dynasty, the founder of their Empire, and in almost every city and town of the vast Inca realm which swept in ancient days through Ecuador, Peru and Chile, tem- ples to the Sun arose and altars smoked with the burnt offerings to the celestial luminary.
Connected with this Deity there was also t»he wor- ship of the Moon, who was called the sister-wife of the Sun; the Stars as attendants of her heavenly train, while Venus, who was known to the Peruvians as the "Youth with the long and curling locks," was wor- shipped as the page or constant attendant of the Sun, whom he followed so closely in his rising and his set- ting. According to the Incas, the Sun's dread minis-
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ters were the Thunder and the Lightning, to whom also temples were dedicated, as well as to the Rainbow, whom the Indians recognised as the beautiful emana- tion of their glorious Deity.
Theirs was a remarkable, and for the most part an inoffensive, nature worship, in which the Celestial luminaries shared with the winds, the earth, the air, the rivers and the majestic mountains, in exercising a mysterious influence over the destinies of men. Like the Buddhists, the Incas also revealed the ability of as- similation of the numerous deities of the nations which they conquered, the various images of these tribes being transported to Cuzco, the Inca capital, and their worship supported by the inhabitants of the prov- ince from which they were captured.
The great Peruvian city of temples, pride and won- der of the Inca empire, was at Cuzco, upon which was showered the largess of the entire extent of the land, and which was justly called "The Place of Gold.,, The Temple of the Sun at Cuzco has had few rivals in its richness and glorious worship. It stands revealed in the vivid picture of Prescott the historian :
"The interior of the Temple was the most worthy of admiration. It was literally a mine of gold. On the western wall was emblazoned a representation of the Deity, consisting of a human countenance looking forth from innumerable rays of light, which emanated from it in every direction, in the same manner as the Sun is often personified with us. The figure was en- graved on a massive plate of gold of enormous dimen- sions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones. It was so situated in front of the great eastern portal that the rays of the morning sun fell directly
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 345
upon it at its rising, lighting up the whole apartment with an effulgence that seemed more than natural, and which was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and ceilings were everywhere in- crusted.
"Gold, in the figurative language of the people, was 'the tears wept by the Sun,' and every part of the interior of the Temple glowed with burnished plates and studs of the precious metal. The cornices which surrounded the wall of the Sanctuary were of the same costly material; and a broad belt or frieze of gold let into the stone work encompassed the whole exterior of the edifice."
It seemed the irony of conquest that this resplen- dent gold image of the Sun, which had looked down upon countless generations of worshipping Incas, should have been ruthlessly gambled away in a night by one of the Spanish cavaliers to whom this treasure fell as his share of the looted Temple.
As I wandered through this ancient and renowned edifice which now forms the home of the impoverished monks of St. Dominic, I was shown not only the sacred places where the Sun was worshipped by the Indians, but there was also pointed out the place where the Moon, the Deity held next in reverence as the mother of the Incas, was worshipped, while in other parts of the structure were the chapels dedicated to the Stars, the Lightning and the Rainbow. This temple, which was once the glory of a great race, has now fallen into such decay, partaking of the general dilapidation of this ancient seat of empire in Cuzco, that the traveller must needs call up a vivid imagination to see in its
346 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
crumbling walls the resplendent centre of the Inca religion.
It has been stated that in addition to this great Tem- ple of the Sun in Cuzco, there were between three and four hundred additional smaller temples in the Peru- vian capital "where every fountain, pathway and wall," according to an ancient chronicler, uwas regarded as a holy mystery." Cuzco to the Peruvian Indian was what Mecca is to the Mohammedan, or Benares to the Hindu. When it fell, the Inca empire was no more, for even the Inca himself was but the great high priest who officiated in the House of the Sun in Cuzco.
The religion of the Incas was in point of fact a re- markable religious communism. The most private re- cesses of the domestic life were searched out by the light of this ancient faith. Every Peruvian, however low in station, was reached by the vigilance of the gov- ernment, which was also the church in those days. The existence of the individual was merged into that of the community. Those under the sway of the Incas were religiously responsible to work and to give of the products of their labour to the empire and to the temple worship. After certain days in which the In- dian was engaged in working the lands of the church and the Inca, he then was forced to labour a certain number of days on the lands of widows and orphans who had no one to work for them. This traditional custom has made doubtless the conditions of presejnt- day Peru more palatable to the Indian than they would be otherwise. To-day one finds the general custom of parcelling out land to the Indians on the great es- tates with the proviso that these workers will give at
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 34*7
the request of their landlords such labour as the whole estate requires.
As one visits the Indians of southern Peru and the tablelands of the Cordilleras to-day, he is certain to ask himself the question whether the later condition of these descendants of the original inhabitants of Peru has been improved by reason of the introduction of the religion of the conquerors. Cuzco, as well as other Peruvian cities, is filled with temples of worship, and the Indian, especially true to his nature and sentimental superstition, is found in considerable numbers in these churches. The abject, servile, and seemingly supersti- tious awe which one beholds in these real supporters of the modern Peru, bowing with their heads touching the floors of the modern cathedral, raises a question in the mind of the traveller as to the real value of this faith to the Peruvian inhabitants.
One will be told of many incidents now occurring, especially in the rural parts of the country, leading one to believe that the ancient despotism of the Inca re- ligious lords has been transferred to the hands of the priests, and that many of the careful and solicitous habits of the old Inca nobles in caring for their subjects are to-day conspicuous by their absence. The Indian, indeed, seems to represent but one value in the eyes of the modern Peruvian, simply a means through which may be obtained labour free of charge, or money earned by the work of a beast of burden, and the priests, instead of caring for these helpless children, seem to have been from the days of the conquest as- sociated intimately with the oppressor.
The Indian of Peru worships blindly, but he must
348 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
worship. One Indian when asked where God was, said that he was in a certain church, for he had seen him there. The religion of Peru in a city like Lima is far different than that which one finds in the country- districts, where a debased Romanism exists, in many cases as heathenish as could have been seen in some re- mote district or northern hamlet of the Roman em- pire, where rude images were worshipped with ruder rites by rustics who had half forgotten or never un- derstood their original meaning.
Although in Peru the traveller to-day finds many true and worthy adherents to Christianity, the impres- sion that deepens in one's mind as he goes from city to town and throughout the rural section, is that relig- ion has lost its reality and lives to-day all too largely in ceremonial and artificial veneer. It needs something new and strong and original coming fresh out of the heart and souls of men who have seen their God through some personal experience; it needs something quite different from blind acceptance of customs and the frauds of former Spanish conquerors to save Peru. Nature has brought to this country rich stores of op- portunity; the question now persists — Is the Peruvian of to-day large enough in character to grasp it? As yet he seems only capable to touch it with his finger tips.
The trail of the old Spanish conquest still lies across the land. The worship of things, rather than the ele- vation of spiritual accomplishment, the great dearth of men who are willing to drudge if necessary in the mill of industry, and forgot some of their old-time Spanish gentlemanhood ideas associated with undisciplined and
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 349
easy existence — these are the dark shadows over the new Peru.
Religion, by whatever name it may be called, pro- viding it is real, must bring to these people something more than traditional polish or ceremonial rites and theology; it must afford them with a compelling and deep moral motive, commanding the ideals and the ac- tivities of men. Peru needs the old but ever new re- ligion founded upon love, and built within the narrow walls of a human heart.
The isolation of Chile, the long "Sliver Republic,'' has had an effect upon its religious life. The outside cosmopolitan currents, which have been flowing strongly into Argentina and Brazil through immigration and sudden advent of commercial enterprise on the part of foreigners, have been less marked on the West Coast of South America. Chile, like Peru, despite her vigorous attempts along military lines to convince the world of her modernity, is still religiously mediaeval. The dom- inance of the cathedral and the omnipresence of the priest are significant of the Roman Catholic Church and the religious absolutism with which these two im- portant Spanish American countries are still swayed.
In the progressive material Argentina, the traveller is amazed to witness the way that religion has receded before the wave of utilitarian progress. The universi- ties are proud, not of their ecclesiastical connections, but of their rationalism. A prominent professor of the University La Plata said recently that he was de- voting his life to the eradication from his country of religion, which he considered had cursed and re- strained his nation's progress. In Brazil we found
350 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
that the men were not even religious through the in- fluence of the women, who have been the devoted cham- pions of Catholic institutions in the republics south of Panama. Even the women in both of these states seem to be losing their adherence to the church, and to my question to many of the Argentine and Brazilian wives and mothers, "Do you go to church?" the nega- tive reply often was given.
While in Lima or in Santiago, the visitor is first im- pressed by the number and the splendour of the churches, in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro he almost needs a guide to find a church, and the chime of the cathedral bells is drowned by the roaring wheels of modern industry.
In Chile, the one hundred and fifty old Spanish families, which are said with some truth to rule the country, are loyal Catholics. While the men apparently are not overzealous religionists, their women are, and the feminine element, together with the influence of the priestly party, constitutes a force not easy to be counteracted.
We were talking one day with one of the foremost lawyers in Chile, a man who had travelled widely in the countries of Europe and in the United States. He was the counsel for several of the largest foreign firms doing business in this republic. He pointed out with utter frankness the weakness of Chile's politics and the danger of the country in regard to depending too se- curely upon its great nitrate industry, thereby cutting the nerve of initiative and independent industry on the part of the country's youth; but when we came to the subject of the church, he remarked: "You must re-
CATHEDRAL FROM PLAZA, LTMA
INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL AREQUIPA
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 351
member that this is a Catholic country and proud of its traditions; we are all loyal to the religion of Chile."
One soon learns in Chile that there is a clerical party in politics, a newspaper controlled by the church, and an interweaving of government and ecclesiastical effort in many of the leading charitable and social institu- tions. It is even within the memory of present-day in- habitants that, as the religious processions passed, the people kneeled in the street, and it was only fifty years ago that a tall board fence was erected before a Prot- estant mission church in Valparaiso for fear the very sight of an alien meeting house would contaminate the people. In the year 1867, Protestant church services could be held only in secret, and by issuing cards of in- vitation.
In the Colonial period the Roman church had charge of education in Chile; it taught the higher classes in mediaeval studies, Latin, mediaeval theology and phil- osophy, but this education was not extended to the lower classes. To-day it is fashionable and practically universal for the old wealthy families to send their children to Catholic schools, where the teaching, ac- cording to the testimony of many Chileans, is largely inferior to that in the foreign schools or in the govern- ment schools. Emphasis in these church institutions is strongly placed upon religious teaching and the orna- mental and literary side of education, the memorising method being largely in use and at variance with the development of independent thought on the part of the pupil.
General enlightenment of all classes is handicapped to-day in Chile because of the fact that the govern-
352 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
merit has concentrated its attention and its appropria- tions upon the higher schools, the preparatory institu- tions and the university. A fifteen minutes' walk out of the city limits of Santiago, the fair Chilean capital, will reveal conditions of poverty and ignorance among the lower classes of population akin to that to be found in the country districts of Peru, where the same tradi- tional ideas of indifference toward the education of the masses prevail. It is significant that Chile spends less than half as much annually for education as does Co- lumbia University.
A modern factor to be considered in noting the tend- ency of religion in Chile, is that of the Protestant church, through its mission stations, its city churches, which are obtaining native pastors, and through its schools for both boys and girls, which are growing rap- idly in favour among the old Spanish families.
Thirty years ago there were only two Protestant churches in Chile, with but fifty members. To-day there are seventy churches of this faith, with 6,000 communicants and a Protestant attendance and popu- lation of 20,000.
There is government protection for these churches to-day, and many of the laws of exemption of ecclesi- astical institutions made primarily for the Catholic faith alone have been extended to the Protestant bod- ies. Musical instruments, like organs, for use in the churches established by missionaries are now received free from duty. While there is still at times a mild type of persecution of the promoters of the Protestant faith, especially in the rural districts, cases taken to court by the heads of missions, where property has
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 353
been destroyed or the meetings disturbed by bands of irresponsibles, instigated by fanatical priests, are usually decided on their merits and with equal justice by Catholic judges.
The newspapers will not receive advertisements for Protestant services, but space is given for events associated with such bodies as the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, and from my conversations with many newspaper editors, I judge that the press is quite as liberal in such matters as the people at large, and is only restrained by the very powerful influence which the Catholic church party exerts through politics and the Chilean home.
The missionaries through their churches have done much in the way of inaugurating a temperance move- ment in Chile, and have sent broadcast through the country millions of pages of temperance propaganda with telling effect. In this movement the Protestants have received no help from the Roman church, since the large holdings of monastic lands of this body are supported by wine-producing vineyards, and the farm- ers on these lands are strongly in favour of the Catholic clerical party. A venerable missionary pastor, who came down to Chile more than a quarter of a century ago in an old paddle-wheeled boat from Callao, went so far as to say that the Catholic church in Chile was built on liquor. Although this would be considered a parti- san and extreme statement by many, we have been in- terested to note that in each case where we have found temperance reform measures advocated in South Amer- ica, the exponents have not been from the ranks of the prevailing state religion. In Argentina temperance
354 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
agitation has gained considerable headway, led by a man whose views are quite inclined toward socialism.
The writer visited the first theological seminary to be founded in Chile to train Chileans to become Protest- ant preachers. This institution was recently estab- lished as a union church effort, and the heads of several foreign mission schools, together with several mission- ary pastors, give their time gratis as teachers.
The building is unpretentious, and the Chileans, who hold the Latin American ideas of pretentious edifices in which to house their institutions, are said to be al- most ashamed to be seen coming out of it, but in this handful of Chilean youth which are being trained here for Protestant church leadership, the missionaries see a far-reaching movement in the strengthening of their order. A scholarly Presbyterian pastor, graduate of Yale, and carrying on his own church in the city of San- tiago, is teaching sixteen hours a week in this first Protestant theological school to be founded on the West Coast. He seemed to reflect the opinions of William Carey, who thought that the establishment of his theological school just outside of Calcutta was the most important service of his life.
Among the most important influences affecting the tendency of religion in Chile, are the mission schools, carried on largely in English and presided over by efficient teachers from the United States.
The Instituto Ingles, founded in 1877, situated in Santiago, had as its president Dr. W. E. Browning, a Princeton man, and enrols several hundred boys, the majority of them from the higher classes of Chileans. I visited the dormitories where 100 boys live under sur-
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 355
roundings resembling those of our best preparatory in- stitutions in America, and also witnessed a basketball game by these students on their athletic field which gave no impression of being mediaeval.
This flourishing institution draws its students from all parts of South America, having twenty-four dif- ferent nationalities represented among its boys, and the school is self-supporting. The school pays the ex- penses of American teachers, young college men who come down on three year periods for teaching, and many students remain under the influence of this in- struction for seven years. The working principle of the institution, which is highly regarded in Chile, is thus stated by the president, "We never try to prosely- tise. We put facts before the boys, and let them decide for themselves." As many of the boys come from por- tions of this and other republics where the same value is not placed upon bathing as in certain parts of the world, the president took pride in showing the fine swimming pool, which was in popular use.
The Santiago College for girls is founded on the same general principles as the Instituto Ingles, and has upwards of 400 young women who are being taught entirely in English, which is the chief drawing card. This institution, which has been carrying on its ef- ficient work in the capital city of Chile for more than thirty years, is revealing increasingly the tendency of Chilean parents to break away from the traditional seclusion for their girls which has held fast the family life for generations. The choice of modern methods and an institution where a type of religion other than that dominant in the country is held, if not aggressively
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taught, also marks a broader trend of religious tol- erance.
The tendency of the Roman faith in Chile must be necessarily toward a more liberal interpretation of its creed if it is to survive the expanding life of this vig- orous republic. The opening of the Panama Canal is only one of the recent modernising influences which is affecting this country. Foreign business is coming more and more rapidly, and the American is renewing the hold which he had in former days upon this land so rich in mineral and agricultural possibilities.
Chile is now in a stage of awakening. She is in a transition from an era of absolute authority and insti- tutionalism to a state of affairs more nearly resembling a true republic. The country has been too highly in- stitutionalised to allow of individual development. The Catholic church in Chile has been and still is in a degree a political social machine. It has been well- nigh synonymous with the government, which has contributed largely to its support and protected it as a national institution whose interests were bound up with those of the old ruling families. Even now one will be amazed to find the way in which authoritative measures rule. If there is need of any social move- ment, the government takes it in hand. Even a feast or a celebration such as in the United States would be initiated by a group of individuals, in Chile is a gov- ernment or a church affair.
The test of a religion is in its results upon the peo- ple. The results of the Chilean state religion have been to absorb individual initiative, and to stifle the inde- pendent religious sense of the citizen — a condition that
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 357
cannot long exist in a progressing civilisation. The Chileans are already becoming restless under a semi- oligarchical rule of Church and State. That they will sooner or later like Argentina throw off the yoke of church authority, separating Church from State, is practically certain. Undoubtedly the Roman church will adjust itself to the new demands. If not its doom is sealed. At any event, as these changes come, there will be a period of indifference if not of agnosticism, and as in the neighbouring republic across the Andes, a cheap and distressing form of infidelity, as the relig- ious pendulum swings to the other extreme.
Constructive education for all classes will help might- ily in the years just ahead. Less formal and ceremo- nial religion, and more of the religion of character- making will be required. As one Chilean said of his countrymen, "We are too religious, but not moral enough."
The religion of Chile will be adequate or inade- quate for her future needs in accordance as individual conscience is aroused, and voluntary personal faith takes the place, now held by rigid ecclesiastical au- thority.
Argentina, more than any other South American country We have visited, seems to have renounced the medievalism of the South American republics, ex- changing it for the most up-to-date modernity. The flavour of antiquity found in Peru, Bolivia and Chile has been dissipated here by reason of the inflow of twentieth-century life from Europe and the United States.
Argentina is a child of the present. Lord Bryce
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has called her "The United States of the Southern Hemisphere."
This modern difference from the South American re- publics on the West Coast is especially noticeable in the field of religion. Religiously Argentina makes little or no impression upon the visitor. To be sure there is a fashion of religious worship here, especially among the older families of the "estancia" class. Roman Catholicism is also declared by the Constitution of the republic to be supported by the State and the President and Vice-President are required to profess this faith. There are, however, no strictures placed upon any other form of religious worship, such as are found in Peru, for example ; there is no political party allied with the clergy and the influence of the priests is not felt to any extent in the realm of politics.
One gets the impression before remaining long in this exceedingly progressive and materialistic atmos- phere that the men of the country regard generally the Catholic church as one of the remains of an old Span- ish world. It is a creation of the past, and to that ex- tent, interesting, and to be retained as a traditional ac- companiment of other institutions, but having little relation to daily life and conduct. As one Argentine put it, "We are quite willing that the church exists so long as it does not interfere with business and politics."
The theology of the Roman organisation is almost a dead letter in the minds of the educated classes, and the priests, who rule the people of the West Coast of South America by making them more or less blindly submissive to the rites and ceremonies of another cen- tury, are failing quite completely to hold the new for-
THE RELIGION OF SOUTH AMERICANS 359
ward-looking spirit of Argentina. The old fiery vigour and pious devotion of the early Conquistadores, who brought with their adventurous love of gold certain outward marks of piety at least, are conspicuous by their absence in this atmosphere of newness and utili- tarian progress.
The deities which are worshipped primarily in the beautiful and ostentatious capital of Buenos Aires, are pleasure and money. Other terms for these are horse racing and the activities connected with the great cattle- raising industry on the old "estancias." There is, to be sure, a certain amount of civic idealism, for the Por- tenos, as the inhabitants of Buenos Aires are styled, are outdone by none in their pride of municipal im- provements; but here idealism seems to end. As for religious or spiritual aims, the United States, where the worldly gods are also worshipped devotedly, re- veals far more the tendency to build habitations for the dwellings of the spirit and religion. This may be due to the fact that the first settlers who came to the shores of New England were impelled hither by ideas and ideals quite different from those that actuated the early Spanish pioneers to South America ; it may be due also to the fact that Argentina is at present in a transition stage and the dazzling of her new wealth has caused her for the moment to forget that the spiritual needs of a people require satisfaction.
Surely at present one finds few indications that would lead one to believe that Argentina was giving herself any concern regarding the condition of her religious life.
The result of this indifference is apparent in many
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directions. The lack of any personal acquaintance with the Bible is patent.
A prominent journal of Buenos Aires began recently to print quotations from the Bible in its columns with- out giving the source. Shortly after a letter was re- ceived from a gentleman in another city of the re- public who evidently had some degree of education, asking the editor from what book these quotations were taken and inquiring where he could secure a copy of a book containing such illuminating and helpful ideas. The paper continued these quotations from the Scriptures and the readers of the journal have become particularly interested in the discovery of a literature which heretofore has been almost entirely unknown to many of them. This is a reminder of the fact, which is brought home vividly to those who travel in the republics on the West Coast, that the Spanish American republic received a Catholicism from Spain and Portugal which was guided almost entirely by the clergy who studied their Bibles in Latin and closed them almost impregnably to the laity.
Among the students of this republic, I found a simi- lar lamentable ignorance regarding the Christian Scrip- tures. A friend of mine went with a student to his steamer as the young man was about to sail for Eu- rope. The Argentine student had in his hand a copy of Victor Hugo, portions of which, he declared, he had formed the habit of reading each night before retiring, as a means of literary and spiritual stimulation. My friend who had a Testament in his pocket suggested that the student should make the experiment of read- ing parts of the Gospel in like manner. To his amaze-
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ment he found that the student had never as much as opened the Bible, but was destined to get absolutely his first impression of this remarkable literature in reading this New Testament on his steamer voyage.
Lecky has said, "The record of three choice years of the active life of Jesus has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philos- ophers and all the exploitations of moralists." To appreciate that the youth of one of the most promising nations should be at present in almost blank ignorance of a book which has so deeply influenced human civili- sation, is certainly a pathetic experience.
As a matter of fact the students, six hundred in num- ber, of the University of Buenos Aires, furnish a field for labour along religious lines. These students are scattered throughout a large pleasure-loving and ma- terialistic city rarely under any supervision or moral control. While they have turned their backs upon the Catholic religion of the country because of its obscur- antism and bigotry, they have as yet found no positive faith to take its place. They have put off the old with- out taking on new religious beliefs and are ready disci- ples to rationalism and agnosticism and also to social- istic and anarchistic tendencies, all of which are not foreign to the thought and activities of the educated portion of Argentina's inhabitants.
The professors in the higher institutions of learning are one with the students in their disregard of religion of any kind. It is a well known fact that the teachers openly teach agnosticism and rationalism in their classes. The tide of indifference and even antagonism to constructive religious faith has risen so high in this
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country that we find men like the Vice-Rector of La Plata University warning his countrymen concern- ing the effect which this type of thinking is sure to have upon the character of the country's youth.
"It is with great sadness," said this Vice-Rector in one of his recent opening addresses of the college year, "that I witness the steady decrease in the number of unselfish, idealistic, genuine men; how engulfing the tide of selfishness, of rebellion, of indiscipline, and of insatiable ambition; impunity so commonly supplants justice that I fear for the spiritual future of the land of my children, unless we make haste to remedy the great evil, which is disregard for the noble, and the great and unmeasured lust for material riches."
One of the teachers in the university told me that the immigrant coming to Argentina with his Old World custom of worship, loses almost entirely his religion after he has been in the country for two or three years. We were surprised to find that here, con- trary to the conditions found in every one of the re- publics west of the Andes, the women representing the educated classes, at least, have very little interest in re- ligion, and the majority of them will tell you that they never go to church. The Young Men's Christian As- sociation, which enrols a thousand members in Buenos Aires, seventy-five per cent of whom are Argentines, has not been able to get hold religiously of the edu- cated men, and the secretaries will tell you that this forms one of the most discouraging features of their work. Plans are now shaping to give particular atten- tion to the crying spiritual needs of these students, and an Argentine secretary of advanced education and
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training both in Europe and in the United States has been engaged to devote his time exclusively to the far- reaching work of acquainting the Argentine university- men, in a personal way, with the Protestant faith.
Among the old families there is a certain fashion of church attendance which is not unconnected with social prestige. The Catholic church also is showing signs of modern adaptation and of adjusting itself to the spirit of the twentieth century in a way that would be scarcely possible in certain of the more strict Catholic republics. For example, I attended a large meeting of boy scouts in the cathedral in Buenos Aires.
A common usage among fashionable people, linking them to the church, is the holding of a choral mass on the anniversary of the death of a relative. Invi- tations are sent to all of the friends of the family and the social acquaintances, the church is most elaborately decorated, and the event takes on the atmosphere of a social function. It can be indulged in only by the wealthy, as the cost is great.
Among the foreign institutions that are doing good work in stemming the tide of religious indifference, are the mission schools conducted by foreigners, the Amer- ican Church, which has a strong hold upon a wide circle of English and American residents, and a number of private educational efforts like the lnstituto Ward, where commercial education is given to a goodly num- ber of boys, many of whom are sons of the wealthy landholders.
We were interested in visiting this latter institution to find among the teachers an ex-Catholic priest who had embraced Protestant Christianity and was most de-
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voted to his work of teaching Catholic boys. He in- formed us that he believed that there were many priests of the Roman church who would gladly leave that faith to-day in this country if they could find anything else to do in order to earn a living. The character of their training had been almost entirely along ecclesias- tical and unpractical lines and when they sought em- ployment outside the church or monastery, they found themselves practically helpless. The condition is stated as follows :
"The loss of persecuting power and prestige by the established church, the extension of education, com- mercial relations, contact with foreigners and acquain- tance with us and our work, have replaced suspicion with confidence. There is some awakening to the fact that the needs of the people religiously have not been met. This field is absolutely open for evangelical work in all parts, provided it is carried on with suffi- cient means and in a sufficiently dignified way to de- mand respect, but the work must be of an increasingly higher grade, more thoroughly educational and scien- tific, and with churches and schools of adequate im- portance and equipment to command respect in lands where public buildings are always noteworthy. On the other hand the growth of indifference and irreligion has been so rapid that there is a large class of the more highly educated people entirely inaccessible to the Gos- pel message under present conditions."
Those who would help this "Amazing Argentina', of to-day must approach her with the realisation that they will find in this republic an exhibition of external materialism that combines the worship of pleasure found in Paris with the devotion to money-getting
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seen in the most utilitarian sections of the United States. They will find here a people alert, intellectual and ready for every new thing in science, in education and in the fine arts of life. It is a people that have had their fill of ceremonial religion, which has not satis- fied the cravings of either the intellect or the soul. In few countries is there a more insistent need for a religion that reveals itself in character. The reaction time from all this lust of the world and the pride of life is already beginning to be evident in Argentina. He who can help her in the discovery of a new and sat- isfying religious idealism will be her lasting friend.
CHAPTER XXV
SOUTH AMERICANS AT SCHOOL
The world is founded on thoughts and ideas, not on cotton and iron. — Emerson.
IN speaking with a teacher in the one normal school for men in Peru, situated in Lima, I asked, "What would you do if you had the power to advance edu- cational interests in Peru?"
He answered, "I would advocate having the gov- ernment send fifty students a year for five or ten years to the United States to receive thorough training, espe- cially in scientific education; this in order that they might come back as teachers and heads of technical in- stitutions to lead a new systematic educational move- ment along practical, modern lines. "
As a matter of fact I found that the teacher who gave me this answer, with three other men, had been in the United States in prominent institutions and had re- turned to their country expecting to take certain execu- tive educational positions where they would have the opportunity of wielding certain influence. On the con- trary these men, with one exception, were placed in small schools in the country and were looked upon with suspicion by the Peruvians, who considered that they
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represented new and radical ideas not in line with Peru- vian conditions.
If there had been several hundred of these men in- stead of four, they would have been able, undoubtedly, to have impressed their ideas and to have formed a leaven for a real organised system of national educa- tion, which the country lacks at present.
The normal school to which reference is made con- tains, as I found by investigation, eighty-five teachers, and these teachers give instruction to several hundred pupils in model schools, where the teachers are given their practice. It is a government school, like virtu- ally all the higher institutions of learning in Peru, and the normal teachers receive forty-five dollars a month with little opportunity for advancement in salary. Free tuition and board are given to the prospective teachers, who come from different parts of the country.
In addition to this normal school for boys there are three normal schools for girls in Peru, one in Lima, one in Arequipa, and one in Cuzco. These latter schools are carried on by nuns, although paid by the state.
It must be remembered that the church schools in Peru educate the boys and girls of the aristocratic fam- ilies, and no one above the labouring class would think of sending his son or daughter for primary education to schools other than those carried on by the Catholic church. Some of these schools are said to be very good ones, but the predominance of religious teaching narrows the curriculum, and when the students of these schools enter the colleges, or what we would call the higher preparatory schools, or begin their study of law, medicine and engineering in the various depart-
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ments of the university, they are said to under- go a severe wrench in their mental point of view, the young men usually inclining towards an agnostic po- sition.
One progressive Peruvian in speaking of these church schools said rather frankly:
"These institutions are helping to keep Peru in the benighted condition of Europe in the Middle Ages."
The progressives in relation to Peruvian education believe that there must be a more decisive separation between education and politics before great progress can be made. At present the politicians who control education are responsible for this department along with two or three other political departments, and they are often ignorant even of the location of the schools for which they are responsible. It is necessary to have political influence in order to get a position as teacher or even to obtain the scholarship that admits a student to membership in the normal schools of the country.
Furthermore, the appointees of the department of education are supposed to be the political henchmen as well as teachers for the government in power, and it is the natural tendency for the head of education to appoint teachers who can be depended upon for political service.
A recent attempt has been made to bring over teach- ers from France, Germany and Belgium. I found a dozen or more German teachers in the Collegio Na- cional de Guadaloupe, the chief high school of Lima. None of these teachers, however, are intimately ac- quainted with the country or the point of view of the people and the chief aim of each one of these instruc-
SOUTH AMERICANS AT SCHOOL
tors seemed to be to inaugurate in the school his na- tional system of education, quite regardless of whether or not it fits the condition of the country.
There is special need at present in Peru for an or- ganised educational system dividing the country into districts and placing over them competent heads. This is especially necessary for the Indians who compose at least two million of the three and one half million in- habitants of Peru. At present comparatively little along educational lines is being done for these people, while the alcohol of the white man is being the means of their deterioration. To be sure, the Catholic church is doing some work among the Indians and has schools for them in certain districts, but I was unable to find indication of any training worth the name in industrial arts and along practical lines of agriculture and manual training so necessary for the Indian. These Indians are both active and also industrious, and they only need guidance and schools fitted to their require- ments to make them important factors in the develop- ment of the country districts of Peru. It is said that five per cent of the general income of Peru is supposed to go for education, or a total of $1,500,000. It would seem a matter of strategic foresight to expend im- mediately a goodly percentage of this amount for the industrial training of the Indians, especially in the light of the enlarging commercial possibilities of the country in such industries as cotton, sugar, agricultural products and mining.
The college in Peru is hardly what the term signi- fies in the United States. These institutions are little more than high schools or preparatory schools to the
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university, which in turn corresponds more nearly to our professional schools.
The Collegio Nacional de Guadaloupe contains seven hundred students, with boarding facilities to ac- commodate three hundred and fifty students. It is a government institution, and the excellent plant is said to have cost $1,500,000. It is built somewhat on the plan of the European universities, with courts or patios in the centre, giving good light and air. The buildings are of brick and the gardens are filled with flowers and palms. The course consists of four years, and the training is in the hands of teachers, European and Pe- ruvian, comparing favourably with those in preparatory institutions in the United States or Europe.
A visit to Lima is incomplete without a study of the old University of San Marcos, founded by Spanish friars in the reign of Charles V, on May 12th, 155 1. This university contains departments for law, science, medicine, and letters, the departments of law and let- ters being by far the most popular. I asked a large number of men what they considered to be the ruling ideals of Peruvian students as they were found in the high schools and the university. The answer, almost invariably, was : "They want to be politicians."
The university course at San Marcos ranges from five to seven years, and covers more ground than is usually attempted in our professional schools in the United States. In fact, it would seem that the attempt is made to cover too much ground theoretically and not to give sufficient attention to the practical applica- tion of certain fundamental principles.
There are at present about three hundred students
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studying at the main university. These students are not possessed with college spirit, and anything like col- lege "yells," songs, or student fraternities are virtu- ally unknown to them ; one student who had studied in the "States" said to me: "I never heard the word alma mater used by any student in Peru."
Although the examinations are said to be rather stiff, the college course is spread over so long a period that there is ample opportunity for students to engage in other occupation. There are rarely more than two lectures a day for each student to attend, and only four or five courses during the entire year. One university student, with whom I talked, in addition to keeping up his lectures at the university, holds two positions in two other schools of the city where he teaches ; he also tu- tors the sons of one of the officials. One young man, who was the regular newspaper reporter on one of the leading dailies, told me that he also was a student at the university, where he was studying law.
One does not find among these students any such thing as self-supporting work in order to secure a col- lege course. Nothing for example like the waiting on tables at a college boarding house or the caring for a furnace, or the doing of a score of things which the American student is often eager to do in order to sup- port himself through college. This would be so much against the custom of these Peruvian students that the youth would immediately lose caste amongst his fel- lows. One is told that even the carrying of a bundle of books is considered by students as below their dig- nity.
Among the most important and efficient institutions,
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visited in Peru were the Technical School and the School of Arts and Trades in Lima. These schools are directly along the line of Peru's present needs, and in addition to their courses of training toward the end of making efficient mining and electrical engineers and trained commercial agents, these institutions are as- sisting the government in many useful researches and experiments.
The University of Cuzco, which is one of the most interesting institutions in Peru, was founded in the sixteenth century, and enrols at present two hundred students. The students are studying chiefly in two de- partments, law and letters, the study of law being by far the most popular.
Situated on the old cathedral Plaza and attached to one of the ancient churches of the Spanish colonial period, to which there is said to be an underground passage to the cathedral next door, this old university breathes the air of other days. Across the entrance within the first court the visitor reads the words
"LIBERTAD. IQUALIDAD FRATERNADAD."
It would seem at first that this motto was incon- sistent with the authoritative religious intolerance of the church, with which this old Jesuit building was so closely connected. But upon further inquiry and study of the situation one finds here a body of stu- dents and professors who, as a whole, are probably more free from religious domination of any sort than any similar body to be found in the United States.
"Have you any religious teaching in the univer-
A CLASS IN AN AMERICAN GIRLS' SCHOOL IN SANTIAGO
AN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, SAO PAULO
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sity?" I asked of the American Rector, Dr. Alberto A. Giesecke, a graduate of the University of Penn- sylvania.
"No," was the decided reply of the rector, "the students would not endure the introduction of any re- ligious teaching, and should they be willing, the pro- fessors would veto it immediately. Our students are for the most part indifferent to the Catholic church or to any religion and would probably be called free thinkers, if not agnostic."
Indeed, it was not long ago that this ancient town of the Incas was thrown into considerable excitement by reason of a fight between the students of the uni- versity and the priests when the attempt was made by the university men to set fire to one of the churches, the disturbance being calmed only after the soldiers were called out. Virtually any student with whom one talks will hasten to say that the university stands for modern science and academic learning at the present day. It is a type of education centuries removed from that practised by the church teachers in the religious schools.
The support of the university is by the government and the fees of the students, the government contrib- uting only about $500 a month, with an occasional $2,000 as a special appropriation for extra improve- ments.
The cost of matriculation per student is $15 per year, the fee for examination is $12.50 a year, while the degrees for bachelor and doctor cost $50 and $80 respectively. To the average Peruvian student, who
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is proverbially poor, these sums represent an expen- sive education.
The teachers in the university are paid $50.00 a month, but this does not represent their entire income, as the majority of the professors are either lawyers or doctors who carry on individual practice outside of school hours. They devote on the average only six hours a week to teaching students. In the University of Cuzco we found upon the faculty ten lawyers, two physicians, and four professors who devoted their en- tire time to teaching. As a consequence of the lack of devoting their entire time to teaching as a specialty, the devotion and punctuality of the professors to their academic tasks leave much to be desired, and there have been frequent complaints by the students of the need of attention to their duties on the part of the faculty.
In 1 9 10 there occurred a serious strike of the stu- dents of Cuzco which resulted in closing the university for nearly a year. The rector showed me holes in the walls of the faculty room which were the result of a small riot on the part of the students, who appeared in force with pistols while the faculty was in session, firing not only blank cartridges but literally "shooting up" the hall where the teachers were having a confer- ence. As an additional sign of their impatience at the way the faculty was conducting the institution, the stu- dents placed a large can in the middle of the floor of the faculty room marked in large letters "dynamite." A long fuse was attached to the can which was lighted as the students departed. It is needless to say that the faculty also departed with more haste than dignity,
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and for fear of further outbreak by the students an order was given to close the university, and from the seventh of May, 1909, to March, 19 10, the University of Cuzco presented locked doors.
The building and customs of this ancient institution are far more indicative of a mediaeval university than any place of learning one would visit in many a day. There is almost an utter absence of comfort, no heat- ing arrangements whatever, although the university is situated 12,500 feet above sea level, and the tempera- ture in the rooms at the time of our visit was never above 55 ° or 6o°. The rooms are high, dismal and cheerless, and the pictures upon the walls remind one of old thirteenth century days. There is a museum connected with the institution filled with some remains of the old Inca civilisation, and the gloomy, ill-kept surroundings add to the deadness of the place. The library of 3,000 volumes is composed chiefly of books in Spanish and there is a decided lack of up-to-date liter- ature. One of the teachers pointed out the sociological department, with the somewhat doubtful complimen- tary descriptive comment,
"This department is considered better even than the one at Lima, but at Lima this department amounts to practically nothing."
The whole place is filled with cheerlessness and gives the impression of the saddest scenes of "delightful studies" we have ever visited.
A mitigating value of the institution is suggested to the visitor, who is told that according to a well authen- ticated old Jesuit manuscript, there is buried somewhere beneath the floors of this ancient building treasure
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amounting to $11,000,000. Yet there seems to be no particular interest or desire on the part of the stu- dents or faculty to discover this treasure which would be the means of converting their institution into a Peruvian Harvard as far as a rich endowment is con- cerned. I asked why efforts had not been put forth to discover this treasure. It was answered that such efforts would at once cause a disturbance that would close again the university. It was another indication of the fact that while the Peruvian will tell you that he is eager for the introduction of modern improve- ments and to come into touch with the life of the 20th century, he is nevertheless possessed with a kind of passive incompetence and conservatism. He does not seem to possess initiative himself, and his traditions have led him to place barriers almost unsurmountable in the way of any one else who would be progressive. A further indication of the medievalism regnant here is the degree day. It was my privilege to be present during a part of the examination of one of the Cuzco students for his doctor's degree. This exami- nation lasted two days, and it impressed me as being a most thorough affair. The student occupied a high pulpit seat at the side of the faculty room, while on either side of the chamber were rows of professors, the rector and his associate sitting at the head of the room. The remainder of the examination hall was filled with students and with any members of the public who desired to attend. When the long oral examina- tion was over and the student had read his thesis, time was given for the objectors to ply him with questions. At the end of this exercise the degree was conferred,
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and the friends of the student who had been waiting outside came forward carrying wreaths of flowers with which they bedecked the young doctor, a band began to play and start the procession through the streets, and in the wake of the band marched the stu- dent and his friends, members of his family and ad- mirers, while young girls threw rose leaves along the way of ' this triumphant apostle of Cuzco learning. The end of this exercise, which represented a period of seven years' study in the university on the part of the student, was celebrated by a feast, given at the young doctor's home. After this formal and interest- ing occurrence, the young man was ready to open his office as a lawyer and perhaps to have a part among the faculty as teacher, or if he was a young man of means and found it unnecessary to work, he was con- sidered henceforth as occupying a dignified gentleman's position in the town with the possibility of holding some official position.
One looks in vain in this university for marks of modernity seen in the student life of the universities of the United States or Europe. When I asked about athletics I was shown a paved tennis court in one of the patios of the university where it is said some of the students and the teachers play tennis at times. During our stay, however, we failed to see any indication of the use of this court. There seems to be no student organisation and few if any games, like football, base- ball or cricket, which give colour and youthful enthusi- asm to the university in the north.
Here, as in many of the schools of Peru, there would seem to be a decided need of a fresh point of view con-
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cerning modern ways and methods of education, as practised in Europe and in North America. To be sure, some students have been sent from this section for study in the United States. According to the testi- mony of the most alert teachers here, too many of these students have found their way to smaller Catholic in- stitutions in the "States," where the viewpoint has been similar to that of their early training in their own country, and where little indication of the advance and progressive learning of the large universities has reached them. They return, as I am told, quite as bigoted and intolerant as they were before they went regarding up-to-date methods of life and study in the universities.
The great need is to get these students in their for- eign study into touch with our larger and more liberal- minded universities where they will learn some of the things which are most needed in Peru to-day. Among those influences which the university student of Peru needs especially to-day is a sense of the true dignity of labour.
Another value which the Peruvian student needs and would naturally receive from a foreign university, in addition to his broadened point of view of study, would be the practice of out-of-door sports and the develop- ment consequent upon the exercises of student organi- sation and student government, in both of which functions the student of Peru at present is deficient. There is also a great need for well trained students in practical and technical institutions, in a country so rich in agricultural and mineral resources. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to find any advanced work being
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done in this part of Peru by native Peruvians. All the mines and large farms which show any indication of modern efficiency and activity are in the hands of foreigners.
I can think of nothing which would seem to be of more importance at present in this region of the old Inca civilisation than the establishment by the Peruvian government, in connection with such a university as Cuzco, of a flourishing agricultural department with a big experimental farm in connection therewith. Here experts from other countries could be secured to develop scientific Peruvian farmers from the ranks of the best families. The work upon these farms could be accomplished by the Indians who live upon these vast estates, numbering frequently thousands of acres, but which are now cultivated in the most primitive fashion and only wait for modern machinery and scien- tific enterprise to yield at least one hundred times the product now being realised from them. A big mining school or a work shop similar to the famous Boulac shops of Cairo, where the young Egyptians are learning by means of "the hammer and the hand," would fairly revolutionise conditions in these isolated regions which at present are less advanced than when the ancient Incas and their predecessors lived among these his- toric mountains. Unless some such advance can be brought about up here on the tablelands of the Sierras, we can see no great promise of a new Peru.
The educational system of Chile dates practically from the Declaration of Independence. The colonial period gave to Chile only a few schools of elementary grade which were carried on largely for the wealthy
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families, while convent schools gave instruction of the various religious orders in Latin, philosophy and the- ology. Students who wished to proceed further to- ward a literary or scientific degree in a university were obliged to go to the University of San Marcos at Lima. In the middle of the eighteenth century, however, a university was founded at Santiago and dedicated to San Felipe in honour of King George V. The Jesuits were expelled in 1767, and the colonial government gave somewhat more careful attention to the founda- tion of public instruction, and certain primary schools were founded in Santiago. The revolutionary move- ment of 1 8 10 was led by men who aspired to a com- plete system of education on European lines and in 1 8 12 the first newspaper was established and Chilean schools were founded for women as well as for men. It was not, however, until the adoption of the Consti- tution in 1833 that the present system of education on a large scale and according to scientific principles came into being. It was then that scholars from various countries of Europe were invited to assist the govern- ment, and famous scholars came to Chile and wrought a work of transformation and progress.
It was in 1829 that the first Spanish-American man of letters, Andres Bello, a Venezuelan born in Caracas, who had studied in England, was called to Santiago to give his services to the intellectual develop- ment of the country. One of the results was that in 1839 tne °ld University of San Felipe with its monastic system of education was abolished by formal decree, and Andres Bello was made the first rector of the new University of Chile. New buildings were erected and
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a new era of independence of thought and learning for Chile was born. This new university was formally- organised in Santiago in 1842, and in 1879 lts statutes were amended in the form in which they exist to-day.
To-day one finds here at the Chilean university eight faculties — law, political science, engineering, pedagogy, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and architecture, includ- ing altogether approximately fifteen hundred students.
The law school is by far the largest in the university, comprising 480 students with 45 professors and in- structors, and extending over a course of five years. As in other South American states this course includes the liberal arts course as well as the preparation for the study of law, and fifty per cent of the graduates do not become lawyers, but devote themselves to teaching, journalism, public administration and politics. Many of the instructors and professors are foreigners, and a large number have taken post graduate study in for- eign countries.
The first primary school was opened in Santiago in 1 8 13 and at present there are more than twenty-five hundred such schools in Chile attended by at least 220,000 children, in buildings of which 385 are owned by the government, 1839 heing rented, and 281 pro- vided by the patrons of the schools.
Children may enter the primary schools at the age of five years, and many pass to the high schools after reaching the age of ten, which is the minimum age at which any one may enter. The system is compulsory, although it is difficult here, as in Peru, to maintain strict compulsory attendance in many parts of the coun- try districts.
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There are sixteen training colleges or normal schools all of which have been founded and are administered by the state. Six of these colleges are for men and ten for women. The course of instruction lasts five years and the state provides training, board, lodg- ing and text books free of charge. The teachers in return for these advantages are required to remain in the service of the state for at least a minimum period of seven years. It is interesting to note that French has been replaced by English as a subject of instruc- tion in most of the women's training colleges, a further indication of the sympathy which one finds throughout Chile for English instruction. The effect of this is seen in all departments of life, especially in the great cities, where the majority of the leading men and women can speak at least a little English.
Secondary education has advanced rapidly in the last twenty years and the liceos now number forty for boys and thirty-eight for girls, giving education to 13,172 boys and 7,266 girls.
The secondary schools for boys are under the direc- tion of the University of Santiago, while the schools for girls are administered directly by the state. The visitor notices that considerable attention is given to civic education and also that seven Englishmen figure among the teachers who are in charge of the boys' liceos and nineteen English women are teachers in the girls' preparatory schools.
The majority of the non-Chilean teachers seemed to be of Teuton nationality.
The attention given to the training of teachers is also seen in the secondary institutions in the training
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college, El Instituto Pedagogico, where a four years' course of instruction is given. This is the only state school in which Latin is taught. This school was founded in 1890, and both men and women are ad- mitted, the women outnumbering the men in the pro- portion of three to one. This is due largely to the poor pay which is given to teachers, which has driven men into other professions as well as to the fact that in Chile it has not been traditionally the custom for women to enter the wage-earning field.
Co-education is not permitted in the public schools beyond the second grade, but in the higher colleges of education it is gradually becoming common.
There is a manual training school in Santiago which should be duplicated in other parts of Chile, the mod- els of education being taken largely from Swedish patterns.
Although an agricultural school has existed in San- tiago since 1866, it was not until 1885 that European professors were engaged for schools of this character in five of the other Chilean cities. European influence is seen in these technical schools, for it is to Europe that students have been sent very largely for instruc- tion.
In a country of great agricultural possibilities like Chile, the Talco agricultural school especially furnishes a type of great practical example, not only for Chile but for every South American republic. This institu- tion aims to train practical specialists, stock raisers, butter and cheese-makers, silk-culturists, wine-growers, bee-farmers, and horticulturists, and the buildings and appliances are all arranged to take these subjects out
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of theory into practice. The introduction of the Dutch breed of cattle raising and dairy farming is notable, while one is impressed with the number of text-books and pamphlets published by the professors of these institutions.
There are schools for mining in three cities, and in Santiago the school is more properly a technical col- lege, attended by young mechanics who are lodged and boarded by the state for two years. In some of these schools the students work in the neighbouring mines under the direction of the superintendent and in line with the ordinary mining regime.
There are several good industrial training schools for men and a school of arts and crafts, with two hun- dred and fifty pupils, and an installation of machinery valued at $280,000. This latter school is being of great help to the country in developing capable and educated heads of workshops and men versed in the mechanical arts and electricity.
There are also in various parts of the country twenty- nine technical colleges for women, where girls are trained for commercial positions and in various arts like glove-making, basket-weaving, cookery, dress- making, carving, clock-repairing, sewing, embroidery and artificial flower making. These schools are espe- cially intended for fitting students for instruction in the ordinary schools, and classes of theory and education are added.
Add to these technical institutions a series of schools and societies along scientific, literary and educational lines in astronomy, meteorology, botany, and the vari- ous museums of natural science and industrial libraries
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and institutes, and one is inclined to give just praise to the Chileans for the time and attention afforded to a symmetrical system of educational training. It is no more than fair to say that the foreigners, especially the Germans and the English, have been of invaluable as- sistance in the establishment and the development of these various branches of learning of which Chile is naturally proud, and which are giving to this vigorous and progressive country an intelligent stability.
The term student life connotes something quite dif- ferent in the Argentine republic than we in the United States are accustomed to associate with that phrase. The students of Argentina, although they are the re- cipients of exceptional advantages of free education, twenty-five million dollars being set aside in the gov- ernment budget for education in a recent year, lack many of the privileges which the American students would be loath to forego.
The university student, for example, has little of that experience known as corporate college life in the United States. Intercollegiate athletic sports, stu- dent-initiated societies and "college spirit" are scarcely known among Argentine collegiates.
The absence of the dormitory in connection with stu- dent life in the higher grades has been doubtless a factor in reducing to a minimum the associated life and spirit of student existence as these receive expres- sion in the universities and colleges of the United States. In the city of Buenos Aires (where students come from throughout the country, as do all other kinds of inhabitants, as to a magnetic pole of interest) the youth are scattered in boarding houses throughout
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the wide expanse of the Capital, and are almost as ig- norant of one another's lives and conditions as is the case in our graduate schools in a big American city. In certain instances, indeed, one comes upon students living together in conditions resembling the Latin Quarter in Paris. It is sufficient to say that these social groups do not make especially for the best moral con- ditions. Dr. Alberto Nin Frias, a careful student of life in the university of Argentina, remarked:
"The inner life of the student shows lack of social purpose, lawlessness, and the spirit of each for him- self."
The arrangement of the studies, in the courses of higher education especially, are such as to increase the likelihood of idleness on the part of the student during the term period, for one finds that much of the work of these students is crowded into a few days previous to the examination period.
The teachers of Argentine students, as is the case in many another South American republic, are too fre- quently professional men who devote only a few hours a week to their academic work and have little or no knowledge of the students personally. The idea of friendship between the student and the professor seems to be quite foreign to the experience of Argentine student youth.
In a visit to one of the university professors, who is perhaps as well known as any of the educators of the country, being the editor of a philosophical review and an author of note, I found him, not at the univer- sity, but at his home, keeping his medical office hours and catering to a large constituency of people who de-
SOUTH AMERICANS AT SCHOOL 387
pended upon him as a private physician. It is amazing how this man finds any time whatever to give to uni- versity teaching.
The association of education with politics, the pro- fessors being appointed by the government, keeps education in general completely under state control. Such conditions not only tend to give the supervision of educational matters into the hands of men who are poorly equipped by training or experience to handle such subjects, but, what is worse, it degrades educa- tional leadership at times by placing it in charge of politicians who are not the highest exponents, either of citizenship or of public morals.
Student life, as life, lacks in Argentina unifying in- terests. There is no particular or close sympathetic ties with the university or between the students. One finds occasional outbursts of patriotic feeling, but the ideas of social organisation or self-government, known to the American or English institutions of higher learn- ing, are seldom found, and the need of corporate stu- dent expression is evident and felt by many of the most intelligent professors and students.
The students of Argentina mingle continuously in politics and are considered by the masses as in a sense the guardians of the nation's honour. These youth are usually found in the leadership in riots, revolutions and civil wars. Until recently law was the popular study for university students, and this was an open sesame for government positions which hold out rich entice- ments to so many inhabitants of this republic. At present medicine seems to take the lead. The writer visited the finely equipped medical building in Buenos
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Aires where 3000 students in the three departments of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry were pursuing their studies. The building was immense and ornate like other public buildings of the city; there was a library de luxe of 50,000 volumes, a museum containing all kinds of Argentine products and the latest appliances and equipment for scientific work. One finds here, as in the other professional schools of Argentina, a bright, active and intelligent set of youths. Many of them are deeply influenced by the radical type of French rationalism and there is hardly a more irreligious at- mosphere conceivable among students than that which one finds among the university youth of this republic. In some cases one finds much industry and real students who are lovers of knowledge for itself. In such in- stances the student usually has gained considerable erudition and a type of ability which would be called encyclopaedic learning. French models have been fol- lowed in academic studies while considerable German influence is found in the professional schools.
The Argentine student quite often has a broader cosmopolitan knowledge than is possessed by students of the United States. He has a facility for acquiring French, German and other European languages, and he is kept in touch daily through the Argentine news- papers with a wider sweep of world affairs than is usually supplied by the press of the United States. In temperament he is argumentative and has great facil- ity in expression. This student, on the other hand, is inferior in social and civic service, personal initiative, and the spirit of self-restraint.
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In the words of one of these students of whom I asked concerning the kind of life he liked best:
"We want the life that is short but good, and I suppose that many of our ideals are influenced by the French philosophy in this regard."
One will be told that the best class of young men in South America are to be found among the students, that they are the hope of the country. Considerable concern is being felt, therefore, concerning student character-building, considered justly to be fundamental to a nation's progress. The church has slight hold upon these men, and religion of any kind seems to be at present conspicuous by its absence. The professors openly teach agnosticism, and some of them will tell you that it is their professed purpose to do all in their power to rid their country of religion which they con- sider has been in the past a handicap fostering igno- rance, superstition and forming an enemy to independ- ent thinking. Apart from the fashion of observing religious exercises on the part of many of the older families, the Catholic church seems to have lost its grip upon the thoughtful and intelligent classes of Argentina.
There are a few missionary schools which are well conducted, but the difficulty of reaching children for purely religious propaganda is very great. The pres- ent-day material influence which has swept quite com- pletely through this republic is seen in its power upon student ideals as in all other departments of the life of the country. Argentina seems to have found its body, but not yet to have discovered its soul.
As far as modern education goes, Argentina will
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compare favourably in its methods and in the types of instruction with many another advanced country. In the city of Buenos Aires there are six excellent secon- dary colleges, as they are called, and one or more of these institutions in each province. The Ministry of Public Instruction has established libraries in connec- tion with these schools, which are open to the public. The secondary stage of instruction begins when the student is twelve or fourteen years of age and con- tinues for five years. At the end of this time the student is ready for the superior instruction afforded in the faculties in the five universities of the republic, of which Cordoba is the most ancient seat of learning, and the University of Buenos Aires the largest. The Universities of Santa Fe and Tucuman are both of them worthy of the country, and contain faculties for phi- losophy and letters, engineering, law, medicine and the sciences. The university course lasts for six years, with the exception of the medical course, which is for seven years.
Despite what may be said concerning the generosity of the government along educational lines, the amount which the students are required to pay for their degrees seems excessive, this amount being several times greater than is required in the universities of the United States ; this is a real barrier to the ambition of the poor stu- dent.
The training of teachers is receiving considerable attention in Argentina, there being seventeen normal schools for women and five for men, one of these be- ing of a very high grade and situated in Buenos Aires ; there are also twelve mixed schools of this type.
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Primary instruction is compulsory for all children from six to fourteen years, of whatever nationality. Many private institutions exist in addition to the pub- lic schools, and they are under the inspection of the National Educational Board. All instruction in the public schools is free, and provinces which lack funds to meet the expenses of primary instruction are aided by grants from the national government for this pur- pose.
The government also maintains many special schools which are excellently equipped, especially those for economic, industrial, technical and agricultural work. The writer visited the Escula Superior de Commercio, which is housed in the same building with the large economic school, both of which are sections of the national University of Buenos Aires. In the eco- nomic section there were between three or four hun- dred students preparing especially for consular offices and to become teachers. The Commercial School con- tained for the most part prospective accountants. It was somewhat unusual to find the college lectures held from six to seven in the evening. These institutions are also open for night schools.
The visitor from the United States is assured re- peatedly by the Argentines that they believe one of the best means of producing a real and abiding Pan- Americanism resides in the sending of students from Argentina to study in American universities, and in turn receiving teachers and students in the Argentine insti- tutions who will remain long enough to secure the point of view and the spirit of the country. There are at present between thirty and forty Argentine students
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studying in American universities. When one meets one of these returned students, one notices immediately the broader outlook upon North and South American relationships. There is much that students from both of these republics can learn from each other, and it is to be hoped that some co-operative arrangement may be made to bring together in larger and ever increasing numbers graduate students from these two countries.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE AMERICAN CONSUL AND HIS WORK
AMONG the men who are serving the United States in foreign lands there are few who have the opportunity of wielding greater power or influence on behalf of their country than the consular represen- tatives. It has been my privilege to know many of these men in different countries, and on the whole I have come to respect them highly, both for their ideals and the manner in which they are striving to attain them, frequently under arduous and difficult circum- stances.
There are few officials of the United States whose complicated work is less accurately known by the rank and file of citizens, and even by world travellers, than these men who, while exiles from their native land, are supposed to know more about that land than the people at home, in order that they may translate the spirit and the work of their country into terms intel- ligible to the foreign nations in which they serve. That our consular service has been sadly handicapped at times by politicians ignorant of conditions outside of the United States, cannot be denied. That here and there there have been unwise appointments and poor Consuls also cannot be denied. If, however, our peo-
393
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pie and our politicians would take the time and effort to study both the object and the activities of these im- portant representatives from whom foreigners, espe- cially in matters of trade, learn the characteristics of the United States, and the way of doing business in this republic, the natural trade expansion of America would be facilitated, and the work of the American Consuls would be made easier than it is to-day.
Increased appreciation and less ignorant criticism of these government officers would undoubtedly help the service. But appreciation is born of knowledge, and the average person seems to have little definite con- ception of the consular work.
Suppose, for example, the Americans travelling abroad who received favours from these officers upon whom they are often largely dependent for information and guidance as well as for protection, should form the habit of writing to the State Department as well as to the Consul himself, speaking of their appreciation of many kindnesses proffered; suppose that every Ameri- can business man doing business abroad should take the position of a certain prominent man of affairs in a South American city who stated that he considered it both undignified and disloyal to his country to criticise harshly the representative whom his nation had seen fit to place in a foreign nation — would not such a course be the means of making a better consular service? We have heard of many people who have been quite ready to send in complaints, both to the State Depart- ment and to the Consuls themselves, as well as to air their supposed grievances concerning our service abroad. Is it not time and perhaps a peculiarly strate-
THE AMERICAN CONSUL AND HIS WORK
gic time just now, for those who understand something of the consular difficulties and have benefited by con- sular favours to make themselves heard?
In the first place there is considerable misunder- standing as to the fundamental object with which our American Consuls are sent to foreign nations. Some people will tell you that they are there to serve solely the "American Colony" or the people who are estab- lished in business and trade abroad; that it is their business to act as legal advisers for these American business men in other nations, and in a general way to take their part against the legal exactions of laws and customs in the country where they serve.
It is not always understood that such is not the main business of the American Consul, but that he is primarily the agent of his government to the people of the nation to which he is sent. He is to foster com- mercial and trade relations between Americans at home and the business people of alien countries, and when these relations have resulted in a settlement of Ameri- can business in these countries, much of this responsi- bility to these particular people, at least, ceases. In other words, the American Consul is not primarily a policeman or an unpaid legal attache to any business firm acting abroad. The service which he renders repeatedly to such firms is often a voluntary and friendly one, rather than one primarily laid down in his instructions.
One can readily realise why this is true, when the multifold duties of the Consul to the various govern- ment departments at home, are considered.
There is first of all the Consul's duty to the State
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Department which involves numerous and frequent re- ports. There are accounts of shipping of all kinds to be kept, port statistics, political and statistical reports, registration of American citizens, and passports to be vised. There is the Consul's jurisdictional work, his work of settling the estates of persons dying abroad, together with his peculiar intercessory offices for the American colony in countries where there are capitu- lations, or in countries where there are extra-territorial rights.
There are also duties which the Consul must perform for the Treasury Department. These include such services as transfers of all United States bonds abroad: the income tax business; demigraphic statistics to secure and send every week to the Department; and bills of health for ships.
The Department of Commerce makes large demands upon the Consul. This Department requires him,
i. To legalise all transfer of shipping.
2. To survey all protested cargo and protested ship- ments of merchandise and damaged ships.
3. To attend to the discharge and enrolment of every American seaman in his port.
4. To act as intermediary between ships' captains and port authorities.
5. To send American sailors to hospitals when it is required, and also to see to their burial and to the settlement of their estates.
6. To write regular commercial reports.
7. To settle all disputes between masters and mar- iners.
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When it is realised that much of the excellent service which the Department of Commerce at Washington is rendering at present to the country, in the way of sta- tistical knowledge and reports concerning various branches of trade with foreign nations, depends upon the regular reports of Consuls concerning these mat- ters, a new and vital importance attaches to the service of such government officers.
The Department of the Navy, also, looks to the Consul as the sole representative of the Bureau of Hydrography and expects him to watch the changes of light houses, holding him responsible, in part at least, for any ships which are wrecked by reason of changes in lights and signals, etc. The Navy Department also requires him to receive warships entering his port with the proper ceremony [which is considerably complicated] and to purchase coal and water for such ships when required. A certain Consul of our ac- quaintance was involved recently in a negotiation in- volving $17,000 in the purchase of coal for a warship entering his port.
There are also consular reports to be sent to the Department of Agriculture, such as periodical crop reports, and he acts as agent for the transmission of grain and fruit seeds.
The American Consul abroad is also the deputy officer of Customs in the place to which he is sent. He must legalise the invoice at the point of origin unless such invoice is worth less than $100.00. He must itemise invoices from which the import statistics of the United States are made, and this requires that he
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shall know the wholesale prices and hold a check upon any articles that are undervalued.
To the Post Office Department this officer is also related, being the agent of the dead letter office of the United States, returning uncalled-for letters to that Department, and also reminding Post Offices in his territory of their obligation in this regard. It is his duty also to receive mail of American citizens at the consular offices and see to its forwarding. I have found frequently the Consul handling mail at his office for several hundred persons.
It is also the Consul's work to assist all secret service men of the Army and Navy, as well as to devote his time and attention to travelling officials of the govern- ment who may be passing through his section.
The responsibilities of the consular officer to the people of the United States consists in answering every letter received, inscribing them in a book together with a reply, each letter being numbered.
He represents also all the Courts of the United States for the Department of Justice and possesses notarial responsibility as well as the work of convey- ance and is a Commissioner of Deeds. He must ac- quaint himself thoroughly with all the treaties existing between the United States and the country to which he is sent and keep himself posted concerning every development in connection with the multifold duties enumerated above. In a word the consular office is a clearing house for the branches of our government at home and public business abroad. It is a rallying point for Americans doing business in foreign lands
THE AMERICAN CONSUL AND HIS WORK 399
and a channel through which international trade with these lands may be expedited.
To travellers and tourists, moreover, the Consul is an indispensable necessity and friend in need. Every visiting American, tourist, traveller, official, professor, investigator or adventurer, feels that he has the right (and he seldom omits using it) of making a call upon the Consul. At times he only wishes to drop in for a "friendly chat" or "pay his respects." He is glad to see an American and is inclined to sit and gossip about things back home, not realising many times that the busy man has a huge pile of invoices at his side await- ing his signature, or perhaps must sit up half the night to write a report that must catch to-morrow's steamer.
To the tourist the Consul must be the Liberal Dis- penser of Information. As a matter of fact, the usual Consul who gets along in the service is encyclopaedic in his knowledge. He knows that he will be required not only to give letters of introduction to travellers, but also to inform the men where they can buy the best brand of cigars, and tell the ladies what there is to see in town and the best places to shop. I shall never forget the subdued, sad look upon a Consul's face in the city of Cairo as he stood beside me and watched the arrival at the Shepard's hotel of three hundred American tourists on the Steamship Cleveland. He exclaimed resignedly as he watched their approach, "I'll have them all this afternoon!"
It must also be noted that the Consul, who chances to be located in a place where there is no Minister or Ambassador, owes social responsibilities to the Ameri-
400 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
can colony of which he is the head, and must attend lunches, dinners and receptions, as well as personally give such entertainments. He is also in such places called upon, on the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, Washington's Birthday, and on other national patriotic occasions, to make speeches and preside at the func- tions.
There has been much said and written concerning the salaries of our consular and diplomatic officers, and the handicap under which they serve in competing with the representatives of other nations in the matter of dignity in living, houses, entertainment, travelling ex- penses, etc. There has been without doubt an im- provement along this line in recent years. Yet the traveller is frequently surprised and chagrined at find- ing the handicap and disadvantage under which many of our consular officers work, because of small salaries, or allowances which very easily are expended in for- eign lands in their necessary task of ingratiating them- selves through the medium of dinners and social favours with the members of the nation whose good will they must necessarily possess if they succeed in their mission. We have rarely seen a consular officer who has been able to save money. If he loses his appointment through changes in the administration or for other reasons, he often finds himself out of touch with things at home, and having been so long away from home-friends and conditions in the United States, he is quite helpless.
It would seem that a pension for Consuls who have devoted the best years of their lives, often in the out- of-way places of the earth, to serving and forward-
THE AMERICAN CONSUL AND HIS WORK 401
ing the interests of their country, would be in line with strict and equal justice. In these days when the United States is beginning to look as never before far out upon the trade routes of the world, it is especially op- portune to ask whether sufficient general attention and appreciation are being given to the excellent and inde- fatigable service which our Consuls are rendering to the American commercial world.
CHAPTER XXVII
WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS
You must rush and run if you would fight ; or if you would take the best places in the market. But there are ideas which require infinite time and infinite space in Heaven's light to mature; and the fruit they produce can survive years of neglect. — Sir Rabindranath Tagore.
GANIVET, the Spanish critic, has said that the glorification of political and commercial activi- ties, which make up the contemporary notion of civili- sation, only leads to the triumph of the commonplace and vulgar elements in society, and is far from consti- tuting an ideal worthy of imitation.
If we are to understand the spirit and temper of the Latin Americans, we must not try to do so in the realm of commerce only, since in this region they are begin- ners, and industry and trade have never bulked big to them as an end of human existence. The dollar- mark is not an open sesame to the Latin American soul. As one of their Spanish critics says:
"The grandest enterprises are those in which money has no part and the cost falls entirely on the brain and heart.,,
402
WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS 403
That which Borrow said of the Spaniards in his "The Bible in Spain" is applicable to their South American progeny:
"In their social intercourse, no people in the world exhibit a juster feeling of what is due to the dignity of human nature, or better understand the behaviour which it behooves a man to adopt toward his fellow beings."
President Woodrow Wilson is reported to have said that the influences and advantages of college life are chiefly "atmospheric." It is the atmospheric influence and condition of the Latin America of to-day, laden with all the heritage of the mediaeval old world, that must be caught and felt, if we are to judge or fathom these people. It is the soul of the nation which we must study.
"Were I so tall to reach the pole, Or grasp the ocean with my span, I must be measured by my soul — The mind's the standard of the man."
While its former moulding was largely from Europe and from North Africa, from whence the Latin Americans drew their inner ideals and motives as well as their moral and spiritual standards of life, in the later years, especially since the beginning of the nine- teenth century when the Spanish and Portuguese Amer- icans threw off the yoke of the old world, the outer influences have reached them from both Europe and the United States. It was North America, as well as
404 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
France, that gave inspiration and confidence to these struggling South American republics, in their battle against the "crowned people" of Europe. The Mon- roe Doctrine, maligned and criticised as it has been at times, both by Americans and Europeans, from the be- ginning of its promulgation was a protecting barrier against the European monarchies. Its moral influence went far to offset the thrust of European aristocracies and monarchical influence which have been busy for generations trying to keep Latin America European- ised. The Constitutions of virtually all the Central and South American republics, modelled on that of the United States, have been a link binding these peoples to the new world.
Politically, the Latin Americans belong to the West- ern Hemisphere, and the sense of liberty and rights of free nations is everywhere strong and regnant. The statecraft on paper in these countries is thor- oughly democratic. The fact that performance has not lived up to promise is due to the strong heredity of Iberian traits and customs, the natural tendency of the Latin temperament to mingle and be influenced by Continentals rather than by the Saxon or North Arryeri- can, and also in part because the physical conditions of South America have been inconsistent with the leading abilities of the nations responsible for their develop- ment. The Latin Americans, especially those of the educated classes, would thrive best in a country with all its natural resources garnered, its mountains tun- nelled, its vast spaces interlocked by railways and its institutions fixed. In spirit they belong to a settled
WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS 405
and conservative polity, rather than to a continent needing the pioneering engineer and the trader.
A people placing the dignity of gentlemanhood be- fore the necessity of agriculture, and considering ro- mance, politics and artistic endeavours more to be honoured than the development of the country com- mercially or economically, are worlds removed from the "Yankee" with his latent ingenuity in mechanical pursuits, his allegiance to land development and money- making, and his Anglo-Saxon habits of plodding and the overcoming of physical obstacle.
While the Latin American, as every one bears wit- ness, is not lacking in intelligence, he is poorer in the spirit of that kind of enterprise that "goes up to oc- cupy" unexplored and undeveloped continents. He is adaptable to this kind of a work only to a limited extent. He begins with enthusiasm, but he lacks the power of sustained effort. He is learning at present, and quite rapidly in spots, but he has inherited among other things a lax discipline of will, which renders his effort spasmodic and partial. The Latin Americans have never applied seriously and as a whole their rich gifts of imagination to business, as have the North Americans. They have been willing to sit back and allow the enterprising European or American to come in and furnish both capital and skilled practical ability for the development of mines and the building of docks and roads. Like the Easterner, until very recently, the cultured admirer of arts, letters, music and law, has let the "legions thunder past" with their modern scien- tific appliances and machinery. The South Americans have been satisfied with the less practical sentiments
406 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
of friendship, chivalrous and correct forms, bookish- ness, and the exercise of oratory and speech, in which arts they have to-day few masters.
The Latin American spirit and attitude of mind has been well set forth by a Latin American, Senor Francisco J. Yanes :
"A charge frequently made against us Latin Amer- icans, and in a sense true, is that we are a race of dreamers. Perhaps it is so. We inherited from our forefathers the love of the beautiful and the grand; the facility for expression and the vivid imagination of our race; from them we inherited the sonorous, ma- jestic Spanish, the flexible, musical Portuguese, and the French, language of art, and a responsive chord to all that thrills, be it colour, harmony or mental imagery; we inherited their varying moods, their noble traits, and their shortcomings, both of which we have pre- served, and in certain cases improved, under the influ- ence of our environment, our majestic mountains, our primeval forests, the ever-blooming tropical flowers, the birds of sweetest wild songs and wonderful plumage; under magnificent skies and the inspiration taken from other poets and writers, be they foreign or native, who have gone through life like the minstrels of old with a song on their lips and an unsatisfied yearn- ing in their hearts."
That such temperament is foreign in general to the direct and utilitarian American of the colder North, is apparent. That we must learn to understand it, to adapt ourselves to it, yes, and win it to ourselves by sympathetic imagination and an effort of will and in- telligence, is also patent; that is, providing we are ever
WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS 407
to see anything like a Pan-America, with a co-operating and mutually inter-dependent people.
How are we to win the Latin America of such men- tal and spiritual endowment? This is the question of questions for every North American, be he student, trader, preacher or teacher, to seriously consider.
First of all, we must abolish that provincialism which takes the attitude that "We are the people, and wisdom will die with us." The great war is doing much to break down these isolating walls of prejudice between us and France and England especially. After this war we will not find men of intelligence fighting over the old battles of the Revolution of the United States from the mother country, and on the other hand we will not find a certain type of Englishman treating America with that indifferent superciliousness that ex- isted more or less in Matthew Arnold's time, when Britishers were inclined to adopt toward us an attitude of condescension, which we have been using far too often in this generation toward the Latin Americans. With men like Lord Bryce and Arthur Balfour to translate Americanism to Britishers, and with the inter- mingling of hosts of soldier youth in a common des- perate task, we may be assured of the breaking down of the barriers between international fraternity, par- ticularly as regards Great Britain. As regards France, the entire world will be drawn to her perforce after the magnificent heroism and sacrifice in the name of honour that she has exhibited against her malignant foe.
But what of our relations with Latin America ? To be sure, we shall know more about these people both through the enforced trade brought about by the war,
408 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
and also because they, as a whole, are practically with us in sentiment, if not in every case in actual bearing of arms against a common enemy of republicanism and a world of peace and unalarmed industrial progress. Yet there will be a long way to go after all this has been gained before we really win the soul of Latin America.
We must come to know them as they are, a highly cultivated and sensitive race at the top of their society, with little or no middle class as yet, while below lie the great populations, still more or less ignorant, with little knowledge of us, and politically without a voice. We must understand that this is a proud people, in- heriting chivalric and European ideas regarding their homes, their women and their deportment. We must learn that only men sent to Latin America who can get quickly points of view of other people, need to be sent there. Their languages are important for us to know for it is through the native speech that any people re- veal themselves. But the conception of the Latin American must change through the desire and effort of study and thoughtful travel and intercommunication generally, if we ever hope to reach the understanding of the inner life of the people.
One can hardly win his allegiance and sympathy, when one pictures him as a savage or a coloured man, lover principally of revolutions and bull-fights. Neither can one have much influence in a land of which we are as childishly ignorant as, in the United States, we are to-day of our southern neighbours.
It is also possible to paint a too roseate picture of commercial opportunity in South America. Those who
WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS 409
represent it as the unadulterated Land of Promise and an Eldorado wherein fortunes can be had for the ask- ing, should also show the other side of the shield, mak- ing their readers as certain of the obstacles and condi- tions of success as of the attractive possibilities.
South America is waiting for population, but this does not mean that every kind of an American is needed down here, or that men sent here promiscuously, with- out careful preparation, succeed. The list of South American failures is a long one. If one doubts this statement let him talk with any American Consul, who has served any length of time in this country, whose sympathy, ingenuity and pocketbook have been thor- oughly exercised in the attempt to get well meaning but misinformed Americans "back to the States."
South America is indeed an Eldorado. It has un- told wealth in mines, in agricultural lands, in forests, in cattle and sheep, in tropical products of almost every kind and description. Its matchless resources have hardly been discovered as yet in many sections, but the reason for this, it should be stated plainly, lies in the fact that there are huge walls of difficulty to be climbed, and without capital, brains and indomitable courage, the door to these riches can not be unlocked.
The pioneer American finds in South America, as he has found in the Philippines, that, no matter how rich in natural resources may be the section of his se- lection, without means of transportation his investment is absolutely without value. Good roads, railroads, country highways, even ox carts and cattle roads are among the first necessities in South America to-day. In many parts of these countries the opportunities at
410 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
present are chiefly, if not entirely, for men of large capital. It must be remembered that the American will find more than his match in small shopkeeping in the present-day Portuguese and the Spaniard, who are natural-born shopkeepers, and are satisfied with a smaller gain. A big department store, like a big hotel, would have an excellent chance in nearly any one of the larger South American cities. The only city in South America which possesses a department store to be compared to the greater ones of North America is Buenos Aires, and virtually the same thing could be said concerning hotels.
As to agriculture and colonising, the average Ameri- can feels decidedly out of place in trying to compete with the European peasant on the rolling hills of Rio Grande do Sul or on the flat levels of Argentina. The American farmer demands a standard of living with schools for his children, and things which are to him necessities of life which are not found in the agricul- tural sections of these countries.
For the big industrialists or captains of industry, the doors are wide open. South America needs new municipal plants, new dock works, railroads to pene- trate the interior, banks, mills, and manufacturing enterprises, and public service of almost every kind.
Knowledge is power, and the ability to speak Spanish or Portuguese learned from some school in the United States, will help the prospective business man going south of the Rio Grande; but unless his equipment is also founded upon a bank account plus patience and adaptability to conditions alien to his own, he had best remain in the United States.
WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS 411
Furthermore the spirit of the South American is par- ticularly sensitive to criticism and a loose kind of writ- ing which has brought about much misunderstanding. "We do not mind being criticised," said one Latin American to me, "but we like to have the critic show both sides." In other words they like to have some of the things they have accomplished along lines which to them are praiseworthy, played up a bit, as well as their business failures and moral shortcomings.
The press is a power in Latin America, and the people take the written word with more seriousness than do the North Americans, accustomed to seeing themselves and their public men caricatured.
An American official, located in a South American city, who was asked recently how the press of the United States could assist in fostering better relations with Latin America, said:
"In the first place, the press should tell the truth about people and conditions down here."
We are assured that this official did not wish in his reply to be understood as placing the press of the United State", in the Ananias column, but wished to aim a shaft against the careless writing about South America which is inclined to over-emphasise certain sensational features of life there at the expense of ad- justed perspective.
The present-day traveller rarely visits a section in Latin America without hearing how some of our jour- nalists have whisked through these cities and written back to the "States" some generalisations which have been drawn from a too limited observation. Some of these have been serious handicaps to conscientious
412 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
writers who have been really desirous of getting at facts at the expense of time and travel, not simply in the coastal cities, but also in the out-of-the-way sections.
One South American city, especially, has been unfor- tunate of late in having a series of visits from irrespon- sible writers who have "written up" the public men with such careless regard for the facts as to cause seri- ous discussion and in one case, at least, a cablegram of apology from the "States" to the Southern republic. A certain book written not long ago by an American who took occasion to point out the weakness of these Southern peoples with little attempt to suggest any points of strength which they possess, was taken up in Congress by one republic, where it was held up as an example of North American inability to understand the Latin Americans.
Another matter of extreme importance in dealing with the members of American republics other than our own is our attitude toward the coloured question. A keen Brazilian said to me: "Unless the people of the United States take a different attitude to the coloured question down here than they do at home, our close and permanent friendly relations are doomed."
He did not mean that we were necessarily to reverse our policy in the United States concerning marriage between people of different colour, but rather that we should recognise that there is no colour line in Brazil, and that throughout Latin America where the white blood had been mixed freely with that of the Indian, and in some parts with the negroid strain, there could not be drawn the distinct line of demarcation as here amongst us. When members of the national Academy
.WINNING SOUTH AMERICANS 413
of Letters, politicians of note, and writers and poets of distinction are ostensibly dark-skinned, and proud, es- pecially of their coboclo blood [mixture of European and Indian] it stands to reason that a discrimination of acquaintances based on the fact of face pigment is impossible. Americans or Europeans who reside in these countries successfully are quick to discern the conditions, and act accordingly. It is not so easy for us dwelling thousands of miles away, and a slip of the pen that classes these people, whose complexion in gen- eral is that of Spain or Southern Italy, among South African negroes, is a tragic mistake. It is high time for us in the United States to realise that the vast populations of the planet are of a colour of skin differ- ent from our own, and by that reason not necessarily our inferiors.
It is on the basis of equality, not theoretical but real, that we are to win the South American. None are quicker to resent patronage of any kind. Justly so, since their best are on a level of understanding and cul- ture not inferior to that of North Americans or Euro- peans. Many keen students of nations think that the Latin American is ahead of us, when found at the summit of his society, both in cosmopolitan knowledge and brain power.
It is important that we as a nation understand these matters and study to be liberal-minded, seeking to find what a people, not our own, desire as things worth while, rather than what we may chance to regard as important. No one race or nation is complete in and of itself. Every people have a distinct contribution for the completeness of the world's idealism and ac-
414 UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA
complishment. The East has stood for spiritual gifts as the West has given the material things, the organisa- tion and the modern science. Yet these latter are powerless and puny props without the aspirations and satisfactions of the spiritual and ideal elements by which also men must live.
If the South Americans incline toward the traits that are our opposites, things that flavour of the Orient, of sentiment, family life and romantic and chivalric at- tachments, let no one say they are by this fact inferior. America needs soul to-day. Money and vast organi- sation of capital are the possessions of the northern sphere. To the south, the great hemisphere is rich in feeling, conscious of cultured and polite inheritance, placing a great emphasis upon pleasures, fine arts and gentlemanhood, not without attention to friendship and easy human relations unknown to a like degree in the brisker, more abrupt north. These, too, are needed.
"We are members one of another." The world is one. God's children come from the east, the west, the north and the south. They all come, too, bringing gifts. Fortunate is the man or nation who can see all life steadily and see it whole.
INDEX
INDEX
Academy of Letters (Brazilian),
28 Agriculture, U. S. Dept. of, 398 Almagro, companion of Pizarro,
144 Americans, will tell truth to save
time, 29 American Defense Society, publi- cation of German addresses, 68, 69 Ana, Santa, Steamship Lines, 210,
212 Andes, furnishing obstacles to commerce, 51, 52 transportation by mules and llamas, 118 Antofagasta, 102; nitrate port,
221 Arequipa, 150
Argentina, advanced women of, 338, 339 German sentiment, 65 ff. parade against Germany, 66 plains of, 228 political history of, 253 population, 26 the Argentines, 227 ff. Army and Navy, of Ecuador, 95,
96 Asquia Alta, an Andean moun- tain village described, 148 ff. Atahualpa, entrapped by Pizarro,
158 Atlantic and Pacific S. S. Co., 220 Aurucanians, in Chile, 26 Austria, shoe trade with Peru,
194 Automobiles, American cars used, 317, 319, 320 automobiling in Brazil, 312 ff. European cars used as taxis, 316
Automobiles, in Buenos Aires, 231 Aztecs, versus the Incas, 152, 153
Balfour, Arthur, interpreter of
internationalism, 408 Banks, needed in Panama, 82 Barbosa, Dr. Ruy, statesman and
orator, describes present day
Brazil, 305 ff. Barrett, John, 23 Bible, ignorance of, 360 ff. Bingham, quoted concerning
Panama Canal, 72 Black List, British, in Brazil, 63
in Chile, 57 Blaine, Jas. G., Secretary of
State, 23 Bogota, customs of students, 35 Bolivar, Simon, The George
Washington of South Amer- ica, 100 Bolivia, business, climate, etc., 98-
105 German trade prospers in, 50 military service compulsory for
Indians, 102 most insistent needs, 105 population of, 26 Borrow, author of "The Bible
in Spain," quoted, 404 Branco Rio, Brazilian Statesman,
305 Brazil, Academy of Letters, 28 aristocracy of higher classes,
289, 290, 291 as Brazilians see her, 298 ff. attitude to colour question, 302,
303 attitude towards Germans, 296 declares war with Germany, 65 described Germans, 62, 63 German colonies, 48, 64
417
418
INDEX
Brazil, land of the Gauchos, the, 268 men of Brazil described, 284
ff. open minded advance, 45 Britishers, number of in Argen- tina, 236 Browning, Dr. W. E., educational
work in Chile, 355 ff. Bryce, Grace & Co., English firm
in Peru, 214 Bryce, Lord, quoted concerning cattle and horses, 261 knowledge of U. S., 408 regarding divergent Ameri- cans, 319 Buenos Aires, city de luxe, the,
243. ff- described, 230 ff. educational institutions, 391 ff. hotels and department stores,
411 Jockey Club, 240 materiality and splendour, 234 population and area of second
largest Latin city, 250 railroad from La Paz, 101 shipping service to, 210 stock shows, 234, 235 Business, American business men
caricatured, 39 American investment in Peru, desire for, 122 Brazilians' attitude towards,
commercial activities infra
dig, 108, 109 dignity required, 32 gentlemen of leisure popular,
113 handicapped by varying export
duties, 33 opportunities on West Coast,
186 n\ shopkeeping in Cuzco, 137 two prices, 112 women's attitude towards, 336
Cavalcanti, Dr. Amaro, Judge and Senator, describes Bra- zil's political needs, 298 ff.
Cariocaus, their characteristics
and gambling spirit, 316 Catholics, church in Argentina,
233 church in Chile, 167 combating German sentiment,
55 Cattle, life of the South Ameri- can cowboy, 261 ff.
raising of, 256, 257
Argentina, 229
South Brazil, 64 Cereo de Pasco, copper mines in
Peru, 120 Characteristics, 114, 115 ^
attitude of mind, 407 ^
attitude to time saving, 29 -
courtesy demanded, 32 -
gentlemanhood in Chile, 167
human dignity elevated, 311
lacks persistence, 42
love of peace and letters in Brazil, 303, 304
love of pretentious buildings, 35. 36
medievalism, 186, 187
necessary to know, 21
no middle class, 184
of Brazilians, 284 ff.
of South Americans, 28-30
Oriental resemblances, 31-46
prefers gambling to out-of-door sports, 40
spiritual qualities of, 403 ff.
theoretical rather than prac- tical, 32
traditions strong, 191 Chicha, the South American bev- erage, 129
Peruvian national drink, 224 Chile, awakening of, 357
business conditions, 198
capital needed, 173
climate of, 164
dignity of labour, 168
German influence, 55-62
history of education, 380 ff.
men of Chile, 164 ff.
military inclinations, 181
modernising of, 20
nitrate, 166
INDEX
419
Chile, patriotism of, 179 Tapeline Republic, the, 165 women and business, 337
Christianity, adherents of in Peru, 349 ignorance of Bible, 360 ff. Protestant Church in Chile,
353 ff- statement of Catholic priest,
365 Church, cathedral at Cuzco, 157 catholic influence in Ecuador,
catholic, mediaeval tendency in
Peru, 106, 341 ff. condition in Argentina, 358 ff. described by inhabitant of
Peru, 190, no devotion to in Chile, 351 festival in Cuzco, 348 upheld by women, 331 Climate, reminding of Orient, 31 Coal, need of working mines in
Peru, 121 Cochabamba, 101, 102 Coco, leaves used for food and
drink, 140 Coffee, fazenda, Sao Paulo, 286 Collegio National de Guadeloupe
of Peru, 371 Colon Theatre of Buenos Aires,
240 Colour questions, 413 ff. Commerce, Department of U. S.,
397, .398 Commissions, trade, 194, 195 Constant, Benjamin, leader of
Brazilian positivism, 301 Consul, the American, and his work, 394 ff. duties of, 396 ff. salary of, 401 Copper, mines, 193, 120 Cotton, rich possibilities in Peru,
117, 118 Cotton mills, of Peru, 221 Cowboy, in South America, 261 ff. barbecues on the large estan- cias, 276 Customs, United States, 398 Cuzco, buried treasure, 376, 377
Cuzco, city of colour, 103 city of the sun, life described,
135, 151 University of, 373 temple of the sun, 143, 344,
345 wages of Indians, 146 women of, 141
Da Costa, Senora, quoted re- garding statue on Andes, . 330, 331 Deities, worshipped by lncas,
343, 344
Development, industrial, in Chile, 220, 221 of social life in South Ameri- can camps, 223, 224
Dom Pedro II, beloved ruler of Brazil, 292, 293, 307
Ecuador, army and navy, 95, 96
chief need of people, 92
climate of, 94
constitution of, 95
geographical and commercial, 87-98 Education, athletics, 378
Brazilian students in U. S., 302
Chilean students in U. S., 176
Chilean system, 380
co-education, 384
collegio, 370, 371
compulsory in Peru, 132
condition of in Panama, 83
convent schools, 334
cost of, 370
degree day, 377, 378
denied by Spanish conquerors,
91
German teachers in Chile, 383 Industrial education needed,
380 in Ecuador, 92, 93 in Argentina, 388 ff. in Uruguay, 271 kind needed in Chile, 168 lack of resources in Brazil, 303 literature and memoriter work
preferred, 41 mission schools, 355 ff-
420
INDEX
Education, Peruvian problems, 369 primary Education Bill in
Chile, 174 Protestant Theological Semi- nary in Chile, 354 religion of students, 390 religious training in Chile, 35a State control of, 388 South Americans at school, 367
ff. Students in Chile love politics,
170 student life, 372-386 Talco, agricultural school, 384 teachers, 387 technical colleges, 385 University of Cuzco, 138 Uruguayan boys in American schools, 276 woman's education, 333 El Misti, Volcano of, 151 English, trade of in Chile, 172 Estancias, in Argentina, 228, 229 life of, characterised, 255, 256 Europe, pleasure ground of South Americans, 176 giving ideals to South Ameri- cans, 190 Grace and Co., 220 European War, effect on trade, 197 ff.
Fzzenda, the, of Brazil, 268 Family life, bulks large, 29 giving distinction in Brazil, 290, 291 Finances, condition of in Uru- guay, 276 ff. income and wealth of Argen- tines, 256 banks and money standards in
Uruguay, 281, 282 National City Bank of N. Y. representative quoted, 276 ff. of Peru, 217
Prodigal use of money by Ar- gentines, 236 Forestry, on the sides of the
Andes, 121, 122 France, Latin loyalties to, 295 philosophy of, 390
France, attention to, 408 why Brazilians cleave to her, 302 Franck, Harry, quoted, 35 French, population of in Argen- tina, 236
Ganivet, Spanish critic, quoted regarding Spanish speaking peoples, 42, 43
regarding commercial activi- ties, 403 Gama, Dr. Domicio da, quoted regarding importance of knowing South American names, 298 Gaucho, the South American cowboy, 261 ff.
the Uruguayan type, 267 Gardiner, W. H., quoted on Prus- sian plans, 68, 69 Germans, attitude of Brazilians toward, 296
colonising in Chile, 173
distrust of, 56, 57, 63
in South America, 47-71
interned ships in Chile, 53
newspaper propaganda, 189, 190
nitrate production, 197
"penetration" of, 48
population in South America, 68
propaganda, 58, 59
teachers in Peru, 369; in Chile,
383 Giesecke, Dr. Alberto A., Amer- ican Rector University Cuz- co, 374 Gomez, General Juan Vicente,
ruler of Venezuela, 67 Government, American Consular Service, 394 ff. collegiate presidency plan in
Uruguay, 273, 274 constitution of the U. S. as
model, 291 ff. Brazil bloodless revolution,
307 favouritism in politics, 181 in Chile, 169 ff.
INDEX
481
Government, of Incas, 155 ff. politics and the Brazilians, 285 political reform needed, 308,
3?? political promise and perform- ance, 405 protection of church, 353, 357 positions desired, 33, 180 revenue and civil code, Brazil, 299 ff. Great Britain, investments in
Argentina, 253 Guayaquil, city of "yellow jack,"
87, 88 Grace Institute, helping Peruvian
morals, 225 Grace, W. R. & Co., 208 ff. assumes Peru's national debt,
217 branches of, 219, 220 W. P. Grace and Panama Canal, 222, 223
Havens, V. L., regarding meth- ods of trade with South America, 201 Health conditions, 87, 88 bathing customs, 103 death rate of children in An- des, 146 in Ecuador, 87, 88 annual bath in Cuzco, 141 Home life, of Chileans, 172, 183; of Peruvian Indians, 130, 131 mortality of children on West
Coast, 340 South American women, 339,
340 Horse raising, present condition
of industry in Uruguay, 273 Hospitality, 29 Hurley, Chairman, cementing
Pan-American relations, 211
Incas, 1 3 5-1 51
contrasted with Aztecs, 152, 153
clemency of, 153
laws and customs of, 152-163 Immigration, Brazilians' desire for, 297
Argentine, 237, 238
Immigration, forbidden by Spain in early years, 91
kind desired in Chile, 173
kind wanted in Uruguay, 272
of Argentines, 230
plans for in Bolivia, 104 Indians, advancement and relig- ion of, 25
agricultural pursuits, 147, 148
Aurucanians, 26
characteristics of, 127
curse of alcohol, 104
followed by the Gaucho in Ar- gentina, 262
giving of land to, 346, 347
helplessness of, 48
Inca Empire, 124, 125 ' Incas, old highways of, 159
industrial training needed, 133
influence of Inca monarchy, 161
lack of schools in Ecuador, 93
languages of, 27
marriage and romance, 131, 132
number of, 124
numbers of in Bolivia and Peru, 25
of Paraguay, 27
of Peru, 124-134
population in Ecuador, 92
suspicious of the white man, 126
woman with spindle, 103 Ins^tuto Ingles, description of,
355 ff- Instituto Ward, for commercial
education, 364 Italians, of Argentina, 230 population of in Argentina, 236
Jamaica, 219
Japan, compared with South
America, 44, 45 Joinville, German town in South
Brazil, 48
Kingsley, Charles, quoted, 248 Kipling, Rudyard, quoted, 323 Koebel, W. H., description of
South American Gaucho, 264,
265
422
INDEX
Labour, peculiar labour laws in
Uruguay, 270 Land, agrarian laws of Incas, 136 of cattle, 232 rapid advances in prices of,
Argentina, 235, 236 wealth of Argentina, 229 Language, generous and flowery use of, 37, 38 South Americans sympathise with foreigners' poor Span- ish, 36, 37 utility necessary for trade, 203,
204 journalistic fluency, 242 La Paz, mecca of the Andes, 100,
101, 102, 103 La Prensa, Argentine newspaper,
241 ff. Latifundia system in Argentina,
the, 255 Law, schools of numerous, 33 Llamas, as carriers, 52
"the living scales," 119, 120 trails of from Cuzco to the Pacific, 315 Lodge, Sir Oliver, quoted regard- ing belief, 341 Lobos, M. Eleodore, speaks of Ar- gentine colonisation, 239 Lumber, mills in Bolivia, 221 Luro, Pedro la Basque immigrant millionaire of Argentina, 254 Lusttania, effect of sinking, 63
Manta, worn in Chile, 182 Marriage, between blacks and whites, 302, 303 Inca customs of, 159 in Peru, 335, 336 Mercantile, Institute at Santiago, branch school in La Paz, 105 Merchant marine, American, 212
relation to trade, 225 Mendoza, and her vineyards,
227, 228 Mestizo, in Ecuador, 87
numbers of, 25 Mexico, attitude of Latin Ameri- cans to, 293
Military rule of Incas, 157 Minerals, found in Peru, 118,
119 Missions, conducted by foreign- ers, 364 progress of Protestant Chris- tianity, 353 ff. Protestant, secret meetings in
Chile, 352 schools, 355 ff. Theological Seminary, 354 Y. M. C. A. in Chile, 353 Misti, Mount, 192 McAdoo, Secretary, speaks re- garding new shipping line, 211 McKinley, President, and Pana- ma Canal, 222 Monroe Doctrine, Brazilians fa- vourable to, 300 barrier against European mon- archies, 403 no longer paper shibboleth, 71 Montevideo, Capital of Uru- guay, 269 Montavon, Wm., quoted regard- ing needs of trade, 188, 189 Moslems, compared with Incas, i57
Navy, U. S., related to consular
work, 398 Negroes, coloured question, 413
found in Brazil, 285
lack of training for citizenship,
25
number in Peru, 124 Newspapers, La Prensa, The Standard, La Nacion, influ- ence of, 412
El Diario, La Razon, 241 ff.
advertisements of religious services, 353
publicity concerning U. S. needs, 189 Nicaraguan Canal, early propri- etor, 222 Nitrate, fields in Chile, 115, 166
Germany's production of, 197
loss of by Peru, 196
population engaged, 173, 174
INDEX
433
Ordonez, Jose Bartley, political
leader of Uruguay, 272 Orientalism, among South Amer- icans, 31-46 in customs of Incas, 160 in woman's dress, 332 patriarchal home life, 183 strain of in Brazil, 297 the Oriental Republic, 269
Pan Americanism, co-operation
required, 407, 408 help of students, 392, 393 improvement of knowledge of
consular service necessary,
395 paper idealism, 45 helped by German intrigue,
70, 71 solved by personal contact, 304, 305 Pan American Union, organisa- tion and work of, 23, 24 Panama, Army and Navy, 85 business and politics in, 72-86 description of, 72-74 education, 83 Exposition of, 84 Paraguay, Brazilian war with, 304 Indian Republic, the, 27 Pardo, President of Peru, quoted concerning business enter- prises, 122 Paris, liked for a holiday, 401 early efforts, 222 imitated in South America, 231 Panama Canal, a liberator, 44
cost of, 72 Panama hats, from Ecuador, 89 Pezet, Seiior Don Frederico A.,
quoted, 31 Peru, Capital, 119 characteristics of Peruvians,
106-116 copper mines, 193 Humboldt quoted regarding
Peru, 117 irrigation needed, 118, 192 finances of, 217 marriage ceremonies, in
Peru, natural resources of, 117- 123 need of caring for Indians, 162 old Inca monarchy, 161 ff. President of Peru quoted con- cerning business, 122 publicity plan needed, 189 population of, 26, 27 rich products of the soil, 117-120 railroads, 193 safety of investment, 121 schools for Indians needed, 107 society of, 109 sugar factories, 193 trade with the United States,
123, 193 women of, 332 ff. Petroleum, Peruvian oil fields
second in the world, 121 Philip II, policy of, 44 Piquante, the vegetable stew of
South America, 130 Pizarro, Francisco, Governor of
Ecuador, 89, 90 Plate, River, 252 Plaza de las Armas of Cuzco
described, 136-138 Politics, a gentleman's vocation,
33 Porras, Dr., President of Panama,
interview with, 79-84 Portinos, the inhabitants of
Buenos Aires, described, 252
ff. Portugal, influences of in Brazil,
289 ff. Portuguese, element in Brazil,
284 proverb regarding trade, 188 Ports, new dock works in Uru- guay, 270 on West Coast, 211 Positivism, in Brazil, 285
rise of in Brazil, 301 Potosi, silver mines of, 102
Queiroz, Senor. Souza, quoted regarding Brazilian affairs, 291 ff.
Quichuas, of Peru, 103
Quito, 88, 89
424
INDEX
Races, how composed, 24-27 Railroads, of foreign capital, 254
of Peru, 217
recently built in Panama, 82
shops in Chile, 221, 222
Transandean, 210, 218 Railways, condition in Uruguay, 279, 280
number of miles in Brazil, 314 Religion, Argentine professor's* idea of, 259, 358
Brazilians indifferent to, 285
Catholics in Chile, 167
by conquest like Moslem, 157
condition of in Brazil, 301
Inca and Roman faith con- trasted, 341, 342
of Argentina, 233
of Argentine women, 338, 339
of Incas, 155
of South Americans, 341 ff.
reality needed in Peru, 349, 350
Sun worshippers, 343, 344 Republics, number of, 24
taking time to develop, 92 Revolutions, in Panama, 80 Rio de Janeiro, automobilists' paradise, the, 321, 322
distributing centre for automo- biles, 320
"It is Rio that I mean," poem,
325, 327 Its environment and beauty,
323-327 Sea that guards Rio, the, 323 ff. Theatre presentations of Amer- icans, 39 Rio Grande do Sul, rolling hills
of, 411 Rondon, Col., friend of Brazilian
Indians, 133 Roosevelt, Colonel, men who suc- ceed, 208 visit to Brazil, 287, 288 Root, Elihu, impression of visit,
287 Roads, need of in Brazil, 312 ff.
Sacsahuaman, fortress of, 138 Saint Francis de Sales, quoted, 32-53
Salabarresta, Policarpa, Colom- bian heroine, 329 Sanfuentes, Senor Juan Louis,
the man of the Chilean
"White House," 168 interview with, 171 ff. San Marcos, University of, 371 Santiago, city of aristocracy, 178
ff. college of, 356 Sao Paulo, character of the Paul-
istas, 291 Santa Cruz, required industrial
and maritime population, 239 Serochee (mountain sickness),
characteristics of in Andes,
120 Shipping, ships and trade, 213
to South America, 209 ff. Singer Sewing Machine Co., 78 Socialism, signs of in Chile, 170 South America, cowboy of, 261 ff. possibilities of agriculture in
the Andes, 128, 129 socialism as seen in Argentina,
259 South Americans, attitude to col- our lines, 28 admire women, 40 attitude to work that of Span- iards, 39, 40 characteristics of, 27, 30, 36 conception of Americans, 190 contrast with Japanese, 22, 44,
48 contrast with N. Americans, 29,
30 desire government positions, 33 fluent in speech, 37, 38, 41 hospitality and friendship of,
29, 30 love of display, 96, 97 lovers of music, 114 mental endowments of, 32 message to North Americans,
116 moral characteristics, no, III opinion of Germans, 60, 61 Oriental traits of, 31-46 penchant for ornate buildings, 36
INDEX
4*6
South Americans, point of view of, 19-30
politeness must be cultivated, 32
racial mixtures, 22
sensitive to criticism, 412
susceptible to official attention, 76
soul and heart qualities, 403 ff.
temperament, 85
winning their regard, 403 ff. South and Latin America, anti- social tendency of, 43
climate, 31
cost of living in, 205, 206
diversity of population, 27
early settlements of, 34
cities, much alike, 178
how settled, 22
North and South America, 415
number of republics, 24
population, 22 Spain, families in Chile, 167
Spanish ancestry strong in Peru, 191
Spanish civilisation deficient,
43. 44 6panish, adventurers, their aims
in South America, 107, 108 influence in Ecuador, 89, 90 traditions handicapping South
America, 239, 246 Standard Oil Co., 78 Sucre, 101, 102 Sugar cane, cultivation in Peru,
118 Sundays, bill prohibiting Sunday
work in Bolivia, 104
Tagore, Sir Rabindranath,
quoted, 403 Temperance, agitation of, 354 Trade, Bolivian, Great Britain and Argentina, 237 conditions necessary for Ameri- can trade with Uruguay, 274, 275 customs, revenue, 97 American enterprise entering
Ecuador, 94 experts from Argentina, 227, 228
Trade, interpreted by Spanish critic, 403
manufactures and industries of Uruguay, 278 ff.
new possibilities through Pana- ma canal, 74
development related to consular service, 396 ff.
opinion of business man of Panama, 74, 75
Peruvian commerce with Unit- ed States, 123
pioneers in, 208 ff.
possibility of in ships, 220
President Pardo quoted, 122
prohibited with outside nations by Spaniards, 91
suggestions to Americans, 77,
78 the South American's question
to North America, "What do
we get?", 86
tropical products, 122
Traveller, American, abroad, 395 ff.
Travelling salesmen, kind need- ed, 203 ff.
Treasure, buried in Cuzco, 376, 377
University, of Santiago, 381, 382 Uruguay, the fighting Gaucho,
267 Uruguay and the Uruguayans, general description of, 269 ff. financial integrity of, 276 ff. economics contrasted with state
of Nebraska, 280, 281 population needed, 279 United States, relation to A. B. C. diplomacy pleasing, 293 how considered by Latin Amer- icans, 287
Vegetable ivory, industry in Ecua- dor, 89
Viga, Santos, the minstrel of the Pampa, 266
Viera, Dr., President of Uru- guay, interview with, 270, 271
426
INDEX
War, declared by Brazil against Germany, 65 by other republics, 67 Watson, William, quoted, 178 West Coast, snipping service
shortened, 209, 210 Wilson, President's writings known to South Americans, quoted relative to college life, 404 Women, Argentine types, 257, 258 Chilean women beautiful, 182 at "Vermuth time", 185, 186 church attendance in Peru, no contrasted with Americans, 294, 295
Women, education of, 333
entering business in Brazil,
294 in senate at Lima, 332 Indian in Andes, 103 seclusion of, 31 South American, 328 ff.
Wyckham, William, quoted, 33
Yanes, Francisco J., quoted on characteristics of Latin American mind, 407
Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, in Chile, 353; work in Buenos Aires, 363
3
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