THE CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT
New countries, in planning their system of government, have advantages
over old lands steeped in tradition and hampered by precedent. They can
profit by the mistakes of the older countries, and can, more or less,
start with a clean slate. As men past middle age are disposed to think
the young fellows of the present day headstrong, lacking in ballast, it
is all in the nature of things that the older countries should look with
a somewhat critical eye upon the experiments in government made by
youngsters amongst the nations. So it is instructive to look at the
system of law and administration in the Republic.
The head of authority, in which the executive power of the nation is
vested, is the President. He must be an Argentine, a Roman Catholic, and
being elected for six years can never be elected again. This is a
provision to prevent a Dictatorship. The President for the time being is
head of the Army and Navy; he nominates the judges, selects bishops,
appoints diplomatic representatives to other nations, and all the
secretaries of State are chosen by him. There are two Houses, the Senate
and the Chamber of Deputies; but a Minister can be neither a senator
nor a deputy. He can attend debates, speak and defend himself from
criticism, but he is beyond the power of either House. If he likes, he
need appear only once a year in Congress to make an annual report about
the working of his Department. So he is removed from the constant
cross-examination which is the fate of Ministers in the British Houses
of Parliament.
The Senate consists of thirty members, two from the capital and two from
each province. Those sent from Buenos Aires are elected by certain high
franchised electors, and those from outside are nominated by the
provincial legislatures. A senator must be thirty years of age, must
have been a citizen of the Republic for at least six years, and have a
personal income of £160 a year. A senator is elected for nine years, and
can offer himself for re-election. But every three years ten senators of
the thirty, decided by ballot, must retire, though they can be
re-chosen. No "carpet-bagging" is allowed. A senator must either be a
native of his province or have lived in it for at least two years before
his election. The provinces vary considerably in population, but they
have equal voice in the Senate. Thus it is a body which may be said to
represent localities rather than individuals.
The Chamber of Deputies, however, is chosen direct by the people. There
is one deputy for every thirty-three thousand inhabitants. No man can
become a candidate unless he is twenty-five years of age, has been a
citizen at least four years, born in the province, or lived in it for
two years. Thus there is never anything in the nature of a general
election, but there is a constant movement going on to secure the proper
representation of the people.
Both senators and deputies receive a salary of £1,500 a year, so they
are the best-paid legislators in the world. Both Chambers meet on May
1st and adjourn on September 30th. Only the Chamber of Deputies can have
a voice in taxation. As I have shown in the preceding chapter, the
Argentine Government--which, like all Governments, is open to
criticism--has done a great deal in advancing legislation for the solid
benefit of the country. There cannot be said to be government on party
principles, but the Government is maintained by the followers of
particular men. Politicians in Argentina, as elsewhere, have their
enemies, and when a man has been elected to Congress he sometimes dare
not attend, for that would mean leaving the constituency, and there
would always be some rival busy sapping his influence. I was in Buenos
Aires toward the close of the session. Day after day the House met, but
nothing could be done, for no quorum could be obtained. Public business
was at a standstill. It was proposed the President should employ the
police to search Buenos Aires, arrest legislators, haul them along, and
thus "make a House" with locked doors, so that business could be
proceeded with. Everybody was crying out against the scandal of
Congressmen drawing such large salaries and doing nothing to earn them.
But nothing was done.
[Illustration:
_Photograph by H. G. Olds, Buenos Aires._
THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. ]
Besides the excellent remuneration for not attending to business, the
Argentine politician has the advantage of getting jobs for all his
relatives. The majority of Government employees are the relatives of
politicians. There are true and honourable men in political life, but,
so far as I could gather, most men take to politics in Argentina because
they can do their families a good turn. The only group that is cohesive
is that of the Socialists. Socialist deputies are on the increase.
Nearly all the freshly arrived immigrants, Spanish and Italian, when
they get their naturalisation papers after a residence of two years,
vote Socialist.
Now, whilst everything which affects the Republic as a whole is decided
upon by the central Government, each province has its local government,
with governor, two Houses, and considerable power, quite independent of
the central executive. This is following the United States plan. The
principle of devolution is a good one, that districts should administer
their own affairs without interference by those who cannot know local
circumstances. But Argentina has frequently the same trouble that the
United States has, and similarly would like to get rid of. There are
differences in the provincial laws, so that what is allowed in one
province is prohibited in another, with the consequence that, though the
process of trade is not hampered, it is often irritated.
Then the provincial Governments, sovereign in their own realm, sometimes
enact laws which the federal Government declares affect general
conditions in the Republic. They infringe the prerogative of the
central executive. Accordingly, the relationship between the central
Government and the local Governments is frequently strained. It is the
smaller provinces which cause the most trouble. Some of them have a
population that, all told, would not stock a fair-sized town. That,
however, does not diminish their sense of importance. They are
cock-a-hoop. They know what is for their good; they will pass what laws
they like; they are not going to be dictated to by those overpaid
fellows who go to Buenos Aires. The federal Government cannot use force,
and the provincial Governments snap their fingers. For instance, Mendoza
insists on printing her own paper money. It is quite clear, if serious
trouble is to be avoided, that the federal and provincial Governments
must meet in conference and draw up hard-and-fast rules dealing with
their respective powers and limitations.
So far as the individual is concerned, the theory is liberty and
equality. The stranger has the same rights before the law as the
citizen. The State, however, interferes in the matter of property. A man
is not allowed, as in England, to leave his possessions to whom he
likes. A father must leave his wife and children four-fifths of his
property; a husband, if there are no children, must let half his
belongings go to his wife; an unmarried son is obliged to leave his
parents two-thirds of his property. Only the man without parents, wife,
or children can dispose of his property by testament.
There is no obligation upon a foreigner resident in the country to
become a citizen before he can start a trade or own estate. Two years'
residence is the qualifying period to become a citizen of the Republic.
If you enter the public service you can become a citizen earlier. If you
marry an Argentine woman you can become a citizen right away. Every
child born in Argentina, even though its parents be British and on a
fortnight's visit, and have no desire to change their nationality, is
counted an Argentine. Thus there are lots of residents with a dual
nationality, Argentine in the Republic, but British in any other part of
the world.
Though the Roman Catholic faith is that of the State, and other faiths
are not restricted, the average Argentine pays little attention to
religion. He likes his wife to go to church because it does her good.
Education comprises three divisions: primary, secondary, and higher. The
former is free, secular, and compulsory for children between six and
fourteen years. If religious instruction is to be given it is only for
those children who voluntarily remain after school hours on certain
days. Public schools are scattered all over the Republic--though there
are extensive districts where the population is thin where there is no
instruction, and thousands of children grow up illiterate--and are
subsidised by both the national and provincial Governments. Also there
are primary schools for grown-ups, men whose education has been
neglected, and who want to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and
elementary history and geography. This teaching is given during the day
or evening, and is free.
Secondary education for pupils over fourteen years is neither compulsory
nor free, though the fees only amount to 8s. 9d. a year. This secondary
instruction, quite as wide in range as elsewhere, is given in national
schools, of which there are five in Buenos Aires and one in each of the
capitals of the provinces, and normal schools, which are twenty-eight in
number, three in Buenos Aires and the remainder in the provinces. Five
years is about the length of tuition at these schools. Then the students
can enter one or other of the faculties which form the university. There
are three universities in Argentina; the oldest is in Cordoba, and the
others are in Buenos Aires and La Plata. To qualify in either of these
universities for the practice of medicine, law, or engineering, a
seven-years' course is required for the former and a six-years' course
for the two latter. Minor terms of special study are required for
qualification as a chemist, accoucheur, dental surgeon, surveyor, or
architect. In order to obtain the degree of doctor in physical sciences
further studies are required outside those of the faculties. The
university council cannot grant a qualification for a notary public,
which must be acquired before the Supreme Court of the particular
province in which the applicant seeks permission to practise.
[Illustration: THE KINDERGARTEN AT MENDOZA.]
Primary education in the capital and national territories is under the
National Ministry of Education. In the provinces it is under the control
of the Provincial Council of Education, who receive subventions from the
national exchequer as occasion may require. The intuitive method is
employed exclusively, and the whole system is modelled on that of the
United States. As a rule, Spanish children learn Italian from their
classmates, and vice versa. In the elementary higher standards, boys
learn manual labour and French, and girls learn French and domestic
duties. The schools are well built, well ventilated, the rooms are airy,
each child has a separate desk, there is a medical visit every day, and
where schools are within reach they are fairly well attended. But only
42 per cent. of the children in the Republic who ought to go to school
do so. The low attendance may be put down to the great distances which
separate the children's homes from the schools in the country districts.
Very general complaints are heard in the villages of the manner in which
the schools are conducted, and the small amount of knowledge acquired in
spite of the flattering picture presented by the education authorities.
Considerable attention is paid to technical education, which is largely
encouraged throughout the country by means of schools and training
colleges maintained at the expense of the nation. Prominent among these
institutions stands the National School of Commerce, which trains and
prepares mercantile experts, public accountants, and sworn translators.
There are also commercial schools in Cordoba and Bahia Blanca. These
schools are attended by about a thousand pupils, who receive instruction
in commercial arithmetic, account and book-keeping, French, German,
etc. The schools are open to both sexes, and in them the pupils can
qualify for employment as book-keepers, accountants, clerks, etc. The
Industrial School has its own workshops for the teaching of trades. The
entrance conditions are similar to those for the national schools.
Thorough practical instruction is given to about four hundred pupils in
a number of subjects, including chemistry, mechanics, physics, optics,
electricity, architecture, practical carpentry, mechanical and
electrical engineering. The complete course lasts about six years, and
the school is said to have given very good results. There is a School of
Mines at San Juan, to which was added, by a decree dated April 20th,
1906, a section of chemical industry. There is an important agricultural
college known as the Agrarian and Veterinary School at Santa Catalina in
the immediate neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, and at Mendoza there is a
viticultural training school where the practical cultivation of the vine
is taught. Various other agricultural and horticultural schools are
being established by the Government, which also supports the National
School of Pilots, several conservatories of music, and a drawing school.
There is a naval and military college, from which officers are chosen
for the navy and army, but they do not come under the Ministry of
Education. By order of the Ministry of War physical drill and rifle
shooting are taught in the two highest classes of all secondary schools,
these exercises being subject to the supervision of a military officer.
The Argentine Government has founded numerous scholarships, and sends
students to England, the United States, Italy, France, and Germany. It
will be seen that the plan of education is very complete; but it would
not appear to give such good results as might be anticipated, for it is
a very general complaint that there are no good schools in the country
districts.
The attention of the public is frequently called in the newspapers to
the unsatisfactory condition of education, in spite of the large sums of
money spent upon it annually. It is shown how small is the attendance at
the primary schools compared with what it should be if the law was
properly obeyed, as would be the case were the results more
satisfactory. It is also asserted that the education in the secondary
schools is especially defective, and that certificates are issued to
university candidates without previous examination, and after merely
nominal questioning by inspectors. There are numerous foreign private
schools in the country, which all have to submit by law to Government
supervision.[A]
[A] This information respecting education in Argentina is
extracted from a British Foreign Office memorandum.
There is compulsory military service. The period of continuous training
does not exceed one year, and this only in the case of a proportion of
the annual contingent. The others are released after three months'
drill. With varying periods of training every Argentine from the age of
twenty to forty-five is liable to be called upon to defend his country.
Though years may pass without any call to attend military drill, every
man in the country must learn to shoot.
Heavy duties are imposed on most manufactured articles imported, except
in the case of material directly beneficial to the development of the
country, such as machinery. Anything which helps in the progress of the
Republic has easy entry. So, though it means two years' residence to
become a naturalised citizen, anyone who establishes a new industry, or
introduces a useful invention, who has contracted to build railways or
establish a colony, or who is going to be a teacher in any branch of
education or industry, is admitted at once. All these regulations go to
show that, despite the perfectly legitimate criticisms which can be
made, there is sound common-sense and foresight in the minds of the
governing classes.
Everyone in any business or profession must pay an annual licence, and
these vary from five to sixty thousand dollars. The latter sum is paid
by banks. Money-lenders have to pay from five to seven thousand dollars,
whilst in some provinces the _patente_ varies from three to six hundred
dollars a year. The postal and telegraph services are under the control
of the Ministry of the Interior. Most of the taxation is indirect.
Though the tariffs imposed on manufactured articles coming into the
country are high--except in the case of specified articles, which are
counted as beneficial for the development of the country--and
consequently one is disposed to gasp at the price of things compared
with Europe, it is not to be forgotten that the direct taxation is not
so high as in Europe. I heard it asserted that the reason there are high
tariffs is to stimulate manufacture in Argentina. If so, the result has
not been markedly apparent. The effect might have been so if the mass of
the immigrants into Argentina came from manufacturing countries, like
Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, or the United States. That is
not so, and one of the hindering checks has been the language. The crowd
has come from Italy and Spain, mostly unskilled labourers or men whose
knowledge is limited to the land.
Argentina has no coal--and that will always handicap her if she enters
the field as a manufacturing nation. The climate being what it is, there
is no need of coal for heating purposes. A fire-place is a rare sight.
But the importation of coal is a heavy charge on the working of railways
and on shipping. Syndicates are now endeavouring to introduce oil as
fuel. Oil has been found in the country, but as yet not in sufficient
quantity to make it an important addition to the products of the
Republic. So I see small prospect of Argentina's ever becoming a
manufacturing country in the modern meaning of the phrase. Blest as she
is in innumerable respects, she could not be worse placed if she had any
such desire. She cannot produce cheaper, because most of her raw
material, including coal, must be imported, and heavy freights would
handicap economic production. Take the case of two raw materials
which she has in abundance, leather and wool. There are shoe factories,
but the quality can in no way compete with that of the importations.
Only the rougher kind of boots are made. There is some woollen
manufacturing, but the material produced is crude, except in a few
cases. Besides, the rush of immigrants is to the land, and not into
workshops. The men who are skilled artizans are few. Therefore, although
here and there you get local manufacturers who can hold their own in the
markets, it may be said that in general the articles imported are better
and cheaper, notwithstanding the tariff. However, as I will show in a
later chapter, there is room for industrial development within a defined
range.
Then there are the constant labour disputes in the towns. Running along
with the prosperity of the country is the trouble of repeated strikes
amongst the workers. It is not my province to go into the merits of the
respective disputes. But they have been so recurrent, and have so much
hampered trade, that the Government has taken the most drastic measures
by laying hands on the chiefs of trade unions when grievances are
fomented and strikes threatened.
Although the number of the strings of commerce which are in the hands of
Englishmen is gratifying, it would have been strange if I had not heard
the usual complaint that the Germans are edging in, and that, if care is
not taken, the British will be ousted from their pre-eminence. It was
the old story that British merchants are too conservative, and do not
pay sufficient heed to the personal likings of Argentine customers. It
is true I saw lots of German goods. They were cheaper and not of the
same quality as those of British make. Further, German houses give much
longer credit than do their British rivals. Another cause of complaint
is that in business disputes the long-drawn-out law's delay, and the
obstacles in the path of the foreigner seeking redress, mean that
justice is not always secured.
It is not to be denied that, although the returns are excellent, Britain
does not retain the same proportion of the import trade which she had a
few years ago. There is no disputing the superiority of the British
article; but German and French merchants having a market to secure are
more accommodating to their customers, whilst in regard to agricultural
implements the United States makers are pushing their hardest. Their
machines are more showy than the English. It seems a small point, and
yet I have thought it would be well if our British manufacturers would
not only turn out a serviceable tool, but bear in mind the temperament
of the people who are to be the buyers. Put two threshing machines in a
Buenos Aires warehouse, that from Britain painted grey, and that from
the United States painted red; the Latin Argentine is naturally
attracted to the red, even though its merits be inferior. Hundreds of
millions sterling are to be expended in public works during the ensuing
few years, and British contractors should be awake to the
possibilities. Belgian contractors have already been in the field, but
their work has not always been "up to sample," so that the present
opportunity is considerable.
Old residents directed my attention to a great change which is taking
place in the import houses of Buenos Aires. Until a few years back it
could be said that the British were first and the rest nowhere. British
capital has flowed abundantly into the country, but toward developing
its natural resources rather than in trade. Now German houses have a
strong footing in "B.A.," and, naturally enough, they are encouraging
the products of their own land. Go into a German house, and it is German
wares that are for sale. Go into a British house, and you find United
States and German wares as well as English being offered. I was
seriously convinced, whilst studying the trend of trade in Argentina,
that it is absolutely necessary that the managing heads of English firms
who have dealings with South America, and find they are not getting that
share of the increased trade which the growth of the country warrants,
should make periodic visits to Argentina to learn for themselves what is
the matter.
If there is one complaint to be made against the Englishman trading with
a foreign land, it is his lack of adaptability. So long as he had the
manufacturing of the world in his own hands, he could do as he liked.
The thing he made was good, and it was the only thing. Now he has keen
competitors, and the customer has a varied choice. The Englishman
has to consider whether it is worth his while to give the exaggerated
credit which manufacturers elsewhere are prepared to give if they can
secure the orders. The Argentine likes long credit. Then, is he prepared
to make an inferior, showy article at a cheap price? These are two
considerations which count enormously with the Argentine. You can
purchase the best Sheffield cutlery in the best shops, for it is what
the better-to-do people insist on having. But there are millions of
people in the Republic who have never heard of Sheffield, and,
therefore, know nothing about its reputation. What they want is cheap
knives. Sheffield firms do not make these, and the consequence is the
majority of the people have rubbish from elsewhere. I am not advocating
that the British manufacturer should drop making the things which have
won for him and his country a worthy reputation. I am pointing out some
of the things which must be well thought about if Britain is going to
keep its pre-eminence in the financial value of the goods imported into
Argentine.
Further, an Argentine when he orders anything wants it at once. Quick
delivery is an essential. Finally, all catalogues should be in Spanish,
and all prices in Argentine currency. No man who goes out to "chase up
business" in securing orders should be without a knowledge of Spanish.
Talking through an interpreter is no good. The personal touch is lost.
Spanish is a language much neglected in England. I can think of no more
profitable investment for a young fellow of parts, wanting to enter
commercial life, and without means to go into business as a principal,
than thoroughly to master Spanish.