INDUSTRIES AND NATURAL WEALTH
England's financial stake in Uruguay--British capital invested in
the Republic--Its monetary importance compared with that of other
South American nations--General commercial development of the
country--A satisfactory outlook--Progress of grazing and
agriculture--Marked increase in commerce--Uruguay's
exports--Cured meats and frozen carcasses--Diminution of the
former trade; increase of the latter--Reasons for the
transformation of industry--An outcome of Brazilian
protection--The breeding of fine cattle for the European
markets--Present situation of the world's meat market--The
British Isles as importers of meat--The position in the United
States--A change from the rôle of exporter to that of
importer--The increase in River Plate shipments--Closeness of
touch between South American and English markets--Probable
admission of foreign meat into European countries--Intervention
of the United States Beef Trust--Purchase of
Frigorificos--Possible effects of a monopoly upon the
producers--South American views on the subject--Favourable
general position of the River Plate--The balance of power in
beef--Extract of meat--The Lemco and Oxo Company--Ramifications
of the enterprise--The town of Fray
Bentos--Agriculture--Wheat--Maize--Barley.
The financial interest that England possesses in Uruguay is not
generally realised. As a matter of fact, the amount of British capital
invested in the Banda Oriental amounts to over forty-four millions of
pounds sterling, and there are thus only two nations, Argentina and
Brazil, that possess a greater share of the total of those funds
invested in the South American continent. To the ears of the majority,
it must be admitted, the names of Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and
Colombia sound more familiar than that of the country with which we
are at present dealing. Yet in the matter of these investments Chile
alone can approach the status of the small Republic on the River
Plate, and, indeed, falls behind it only to the extent of a few
hundred thousand pounds. Peru, however, is interested to scarcely more
than one-half of the extent, while Venezuela, the next in order,
cannot lay claim to one-sixth of the amount.
A comparison such as this will show the real financial importance that
Uruguay represents to England, and, such being admitted, the condition
of its commerce must be a matter of proportionate interest. To deal
first of all with the general commercial development of the country,
the outlook is undoubtedly satisfactory. In order to obtain the
broadest possible survey of the situation it is necessary to lump
together the national imports and exports. Taking a recent number of
five-yearly periods, the results obtained are:
$
1862-68 109,886,156
1869-73 158,468,043
1874-78 148,443,857
1879-83 195,757,038
1884-88 234,618,354
1889-93 261,877,934
1894-98 274,137,052
1899-1903 286,580,824
1904-08 338,009,777
The dollar quoted in this table--and wherever this unit is employed
throughout the book--is, it should be explained, the Uruguayan gold
dollar, the rough value of which may be estimated at four shillings
and twopence.
This steady development of commerce is not a little striking in view
of the fact that up to the present only a very small percentage of
the resources of the country have been brought to bear. It is true
that the chief national wealth is likely, in the future as in the
past, to remain centred in the rich natural grazing lands. But the
progress of agriculture is now such that this branch of industry
cannot well fail in the course of a few years to rank as a moderate
second in importance to the business of grazing. Moreover, the
development of this latter itself is only now being proceeded with in
a manner worthy of the great resources that exist. The marked increase
in the general commerce that is evident between the years 1899 and
1908 is due to a very large extent to the introduction of modern
methods into the estancia life of the country.
It is necessary now to turn to a more detailed consideration of
Uruguay's exports. The chief of these, as has already been explained,
is represented by live stock, and by meat in various forms. Of recent
years these particular branches of industry have been undergoing a
certain amount of transformation. For generations, indeed for
centuries, Uruguay has represented the chief source of Brazil's supply
of animal food. Not only were the herds of cattle and flocks of sheep
driven northwards with ceaseless regularity across the frontier, but
the millions of bales of dried beef flowed along the same channels
too.
Recent events have caused a certain diminution in this commerce. With
the course of time Brazil has become more and more desirous of seeing
her own southern and comparatively temperate provinces more liberally
stocked with cattle. With the idea of fostering the local grazing
industry, the northern republic has increased the duties upon both
imported cattle and meat. The immediate result naturally proved
unfavourable both to Uruguayan graziers and saladero owners. In the
end, however, the outcome has proved beneficial rather than
detrimental to the landowner. As may be imagined, for the manufacture
of tasajo a high grade of cattle is not necessarily required. The
secret of the actual quality of the meat is to a great extent lost in
the dried and hardened bales of the preserve. Moreover, in order to
suit the taste of local consumption in Brazil a far slenderer class of
animal was necessary than the fattened type that the colder climates
demand.
Thus, when it became necessary to make up for the deficit in these
neighbourly exports by the opening up of fresh markets and by catering
for the overseas demand, one of the first means to be taken in hand
towards attaining this end was a yet more close attention to the
question of a quality of meat suitable for European consumption. There
were many who foresaw numerous difficulties in attaining to this
standard, principally owing to the comparative absence of alfalfa in
the land. It is true that this fattening lucerne thrives only in
limited areas of Uruguay. But to what extent the excellent pastures of
the land have made up for this disadvantage is plain enough from the
amount of frozen carcasses now shipped to Europe. The situation as
regards the export of pastoral products has, in consequence, become
improved. Less dried meat and fewer live cattle are sent to Brazil,
but the deficiency is more than counterbalanced by shipments of a
superior order to the new markets now established in Europe.
The present situation of the meat markets throughout the world has
reached so vitally important a stage that a few comments on the
position cannot well come amiss in view of its inevitable direct
influences upon Uruguay, and the similar stock-raising countries.
Naturally enough, the primary centres of interest are to be found in
the United States, and in its Beef Trust. Ere coming to this point,
however, it would be as well to review the general situation.
Until the present moment the British Isles have been the chief
importers of frozen and chilled meat from both North and South
America. The demand has, naturally enough, shown an annual increase
corresponding with the growth of the population. A similar state of
affairs has, of course, existed in North America, but here the
increase of the inhabitants has been so rapid and so overwhelming that
the breeding of cattle has been entirely unable to progress in the
same ratio. The result of this is that the United States can now
produce only a comparatively insignificant surplus over and above the
quantity of animal food that is required for consumption by its own
inhabitants. Of late, therefore, the shipments of North American beef
to the British Isles have decreased with a rather startling celerity,
and there can be no question that in the near future the trade will
have ceased altogether. Exactly when this will occur--whether in two
years or half a dozen--it is impossible for even the experts to tell,
since so many elements of the unexpected enter into the question. But
that it will come about is certain, and it is, of course, equally
inevitable that the conclusion of the period of exportation will mark
the beginning of another era when it will be necessary for the United
States to import her animal food supply from countries outside her own
frontiers.
[Illustration: THE CATTLE DIP.]
[Illustration: DRYING JERKED MEAT.
To face p. 280.]
In the meanwhile Argentina has stepped into the gap that North America
had of necessity left vacant, and the establishment of its frigorifico
will now enable Uruguay to take a hand in this business of shipping.
The River Plate countries are undoubtedly in a position to cope with
the situation for an indefinite period of years, although its effects
are already evident to a certain extent upon the local markets of
Argentina. In the latter country I have been present at the
stockyards in November when the herds of cattle that had arrived from
the Campo were being sold. The faces of those estancieros who were
present were beaming, for prices were ruling quite exceptionally high.
The reason lay in the demand for the London Christmas beef that had
sent its stimulus all this distance--an emphatic proof of the
closeness of touch that now obtains between the River Plate and the
British Isles.
Were the position to begin and end at this point it would be simple
enough. Some developments, however, have occurred of late that render
the outlook for the future far more complicated. There seems very
little doubt that the time will come when England will no longer enjoy
the practical monopoly of imported beef. The desire for the admission
of this commodity in several of the great European countries is
becoming more and more accentuated, and it is highly probable that the
agitation that is now being carried on in favour of this new departure
will eventually result in the breaking down of the barriers that at
present oppose the trade. It is, of course, impossible to estimate the
full extent of the consequences of a move of the kind, but that it
must cause a rise in the price of beef in the English markets is
inevitable.
In the face of these possibilities the prospects of the River Plate
countries are, of course, more favourable than ever before. With the
markets of Europe open to their cattle and meat, the added stimulus to
the industries of these countries cannot fail to be enormous. But here
again an element has come into being that, although it will have no
effect upon the industry, taken as a whole, must necessarily threaten
many of the interests involved. The Beef Trust of the United States
has been keenly alive to the great pastoral developments in South
America. Accurately foreseeing that the importance of the present day
is merely a prelude to what is to come, the great corporation has now
descended wholesale upon the shores of the River Plate, has already
bought up a number of frigorificos, and it will be through no want of
endeavour of its own if it does not sooner or later acquire the
remainder.
I have no desire to tilt against the Beef Trust, which is very
probably an excellent institution, but one that, since it openly lays
no claim to a purely philanthropical policy, cannot be expected to
safeguard the welfare of concerns that do not tend towards its own
advancement. Should this corporation, therefore, attain its present
object of securing the frigorificos, and the consequent monopoly of
the purchase of cattle for export, the actual producers of the live
stock will find themselves face to face with a situation of which they
have previously had no experience. It is quite possible that it will
suit the corporation to buy the cattle at prices similar to those
which now obtain--or it may not, since it is well known that the
estanciero continued to exist in a more or less affluent fashion when
his cattle sold at lower rates than is the case at the present day.
In any case the matter seems to be taken fairly lightly in the South
American countries most concerned. The prevalent idea is that, should
the danger be realised, it is easy to legislate against trusts--a
theory that may, or may not, be correct. Putting aside for the moment,
however, these possible complications, it will be clear that the
position of the River Plate countries as regards the shipment of their
beef is quite exceptionally favourable. So much so, indeed, that it is
not without the bounds of possibility that the spread of agriculture
may at some future period receive a check in favour of the purely
pastoral industry. For the wheat and maize-producing lands are
considerably in excess of those that raise cattle in sufficient
quantities for serious export. Fresh areas suitable for wheat-growing,
moreover, are continually being lit upon, whereas the discovery of new
grazing lands is obviously more limited. It is true that our own
colony of Rhodesia promises to take an important share in the
cattle-breeding industry--a promise the fulfilment of which may be
anticipated with confidence. With this exception, the countries of the
River Plate will undoubtedly hold the balance of power in all matters
appertaining to that very, very important article beef.
In addition to that of the carcasses themselves, another very
important product of Uruguay is the extract of meat produced by the
Liebig (Lemco) Company. Fray Bentos was the original home of this
industry, with which the place has been associated since 1865. Of late
years the Lemco interests have spread far beyond their original
frontiers, for of the total of nearly five million acres at present
owned by the concern many hundred thousands of acres exist in
Argentina, Paraguay, and even in Rhodesia. As a matter of fact, the
working power of the recently constructed factory at Colón in Entre
Rios, upon the Argentine bank of the river, exceeds that of Fray
Bentos. Nevertheless, the importance of this latter place will be
evident enough when it is explained that in 1910 over one hundred and
seventy-nine thousand head of cattle were slaughtered there in order
to provide the necessary extract of meat.
The Lemco town of Fray Bentos is by way of being a model specimen of
its kind. The establishments of the managers here, and the dwellings
of the workmen are each admirable of their kind, and very replete with
the comforts and luxuries that appertain to the various walks of
life. The streets, moreover, are broad and well-engineered, and the
schools and various institutions denote a liberal spirit on the part
of the directors of the concern.
To turn from the meat industry to that of agriculture, we come,
naturally enough, to a far less imposing condition of affairs, but
one, nevertheless, that is increasing in importance each year. The
chief cereal of Uruguay is wheat. At the present moment nearly three
hundred thousand hectares have been devoted to the raising of this
crop. Although the discovery of fresh lands suitable to the production
of wheat has caused this particular area to increase, the main centres
in cultivation up to the present have been rather strictly localised.
The provinces that contain the really important wheat districts are
those of San José, Colonia, and Canelones. The lines of railway,
however, that have recently been constructed to the east and west of
the Republic are opening up much land that is undoubtedly admirably
suited for the production of this cereal. Wheat, it may be explained,
is a crop the nature of which renders it more immune than the majority
from the attacks of the voracious locust. By the time the
all-devouring insect is wont to make its appearance, the ears of the
wheat are as a rule hardened to a sufficient extent to render them
unpalatable. Wheat therefore, frequently escapes, wholly or in part,
where the maize crop suffers severely from the ravages of the locusts.
The production of maize is only very slightly less than that of wheat.
The yield of this commodity in 1909 amounted roughly to one hundred
and seventy thousand tons, while that of wheat fell just below two
hundred and thirty-four thousand tons. Generally speaking, it may be
said that the districts where wheat is grown are suitable for the
cultivation of maize, and thus in Uruguay the two are wont to
flourish to a large extent side by side. It is worthy of note,
however, that whereas the wheat area has remained more or less
stationary, although its development is now practically certain, that
of maize has increased to a marked extent--from one hundred and
forty-five thousand hectares, in fact, in 1900 to over two hundred
thousand hectares in 1909.
The production of oats and barley--although that of either still
remains comparatively insignificant--has increased rapidly during the
past decade. In 1900 the output of oats only just exceeded thirty
tons, whereas in 1909 it had amounted to nearly seven thousand tons.
Barley has a similar, although a somewhat more gradual, tale to tell,
since in the corresponding period its production rose from four
hundred to three thousand tons.