The Argentine in the Twentieth Century

The capital invested in the refrigerating industry, including both share capital and loans, is estimated at £4,449,825. The profits obtainable may be judged by the dividends paid by the most important of the refrigerating companies: the Sansinena Frozen Meats Co., in 1902, paid 50 per cent. out of the exceptional profits realised by the sale of cattle in South Africa during the Boer war. Since then the dividends of this company have fallen to 10 per cent.

Another cause of the development of this industry is the closing of English ports against cargoes of live cattle, for fear of anthrax. It is by the help of this prohibition that the refrigerating companies have conquered the English market, which to-day takes up the greater part of our frozen meat, as before it took our cattle. Steps have of late been taken with a view to re-opening the ports under a pledge of sanitary measures; but nothing decisive has been done, on account of the protests of English cattle-breeders, and also of the refrigerating companies, most of which have been created by English capital.

The Dairy Industry.—Among the industries connected with cattle-breeding there is one which, without having the same importance as the industry dealt with above, has yet a certain margin of development. This is the dairy industry, with its derivatives, butter and cheese-making.

The Argentine breeders having imported excellent Durham or Dutch milch-cows, the dairy produce is of the finest quality.

Large establishments, of which one, La Martona, belongs to a private company, have been installed for the purpose of supplying the city of Buenos Ayres with milk. It is estimated that the daily sale at the counters of La Martona amounts to 10,000 glasses; the sales of La Marina amount to 6000, and of La Granja Blanca to 10,000 glasses. All these approximate figures refer to the summer only, and the sales across the counter by the litre, for family consumption, and the house to house distribution, are not included in these figures. Besides the above establishments there are many cow-keepers in the city, as well as dairymen who receive their milk by rail.

As for butter and cheese, it was estimated at the time of the census of 1895 that there were 357 establishments devoted to this industry. In the matter of butter the Argentine does more than suffice to itself—though ten years ago this was not the case—but to-day it exports considerable quantities to England, Brazil, and South Africa.

To give the reader some idea of the dimensions which the butter-making industry may attain in the future, we need only cite the following data:—

According to the national census of 1895 there were 22,000,000 cattle in the Argentine Republic, of which only 1,200,000 figured as milch cows; the value of the latter being not less than £14,000,000. Butter-making and cheese-making were very restricted industries, especially the former, and the statistics of 1895 mention an export of only 500 tons. But the impulse was already given; and the combined efforts of agriculturalists and cattle-breeders, directed towards the improvement of the bovine species, were about to give an extraordinary impetus to the butter-making industry. Let us see how the situation has improved between 1895, the time of the last national census, and 1908, the year in which the agricultural and pastoral census was taken.

This latter inventory has shown that in 1908 the Argentine Republic contained 29,119,625 head of cattle, of which 2,163,900 were milch cows and 12,825,904 were cows employed for breeding purposes. That is, considering the milch cows only, we do not find a very extraordinary increase since 1895, although all agricultural and pastoral industries have undergone such a remarkable development. It is extremely probable, however, that a certain number of milch cows are counted among the cows employed for breeding purposes, as the latter do produce milk, whether for consumption on the farm or for commercial purposes. Here are the figures of the exportation of butter from 1895 to 1908:—

These figures are sufficiently satisfactory, but they are far from representing the possibilities of the future, when the improvement of breeds and the establishments of new creameries will permit of the manufacture of butter on a far larger scale.

Among the present stock of 30,000,000 cattle there ought to be a proportion of at least 45 per cent. of milch cows, or 12 millions; at the very least 8 millions. Counting upon a daily yield of 17·6 pints of milk per cow, valued, in its original state or in the form of butter or cheese, at 2d. per litre, or 1·136d. per pint, we obtain a sum of £64,000 per diem, or £23,000,000 per annum.

But these calculations are purely theoretical. One thing, however, we can say to the credit of the country, and that is that its dairy industry is admirably adapted to the requirements of a great city such as Buenos Ayres, which must perforce obtain that essential aliment, milk, under the most favourable conditions of price and quality. An extremely perfect equipment enables the industry to utilise its by-products. The problem is not whether the Argentine can produce such a quantity of butter, but to whom it can sell it, for in America Brazil is its only customer, while in Europe it has to struggle against the competition of such countries as France or Switzerland, which countries it would be difficult to displace.

As for cheese, we quote only from memory; its production is practically limited by local requirements. The most important establishment in this line is that belonging to Señores A. & R. Luro, on their estate, San Pascual del Moro. Here the “moro” cheese is made, an imitation of the Roman cheese, which is consumed in large quantities by the Italian colony.

Breweries.—Although not directly dependent upon the produce of the soil, since the country produces no hops, and, very little barley, we will nevertheless mention the industry of brewing, as one which is at present in a prosperous condition. It is undertaken by a number of limited liability companies, of which the most important, due to the initiative of M. Bemburg, is the Brasserie Argentine de Quilmes, a French company with a capital of £360,000, which brews about 3,960,000 gallons of the 8,360,000 gallons consumed by the nation.

Next, with a much smaller output, comes the Bieckert Company, with a capital of £362,880, and an output (in 1904) of 1,349,390 gallons; the Cerveceria Palermo, with a capital of £132,000, and an output of 1,264,690 gallons; the Rio Segundo, in the Province of Córdoba, with a capital of £80,000, and an output of 423,810 gallons; and the Fabrica Nacional de Cerveza, with a capital of £120,000, and an output of 540,540 gallons.

Here are the statistics of production and consumption for the last six years of the thirty-two Argentine breweries:—

The national product has won a complete victory over the foreign article, the importation of which is now negligible; and it has also popularised the liquid dear to Cambrinus, which ten years ago was still a luxury. One can only regret that agriculture, whose development has of late been so enormous, has not as yet liberated the brewery from the necessity of going to the foreigner for his malt, a product of barley which is the principal raw material of beer. Hitherto, according to Girola, the native barleys have been very little used, as they are not appreciated as they deserve to be; and the growers, on the other hand, have not taken sufficient pains to produce a good brewer’s barley. We must hope that this situation will soon be changed, and that more pains will be taken in the numberless fertile valleys of the Argentine in the growing of barley and its improvement.

Spirits.—The production of alcohol, unlike that of other industrial products, is rapidly decreasing. In 1907 only 3,823,336 gallons were produced, while in 1897 the production was nearly 6,600,000 gallons. But we must not forget that the duty, which was originally 7 centavos per litre (6·72d. per gallon), was in 1898 increased to 1 piastre per litre, or 8s. per gallon; nearly five times the prime cost of the spirits.

Weaving.—In concluding this sketch of the chief industries of the country which are connected either with agriculture or stock-raising, it is not out of place to speak of those which, although so far scarcely developed, may do better in time under favouring circumstances.

With the development of cotton-planting and a plentiful supply of wool, it seems that a large number of looms might be profitably established and operated in the Argentine. But hitherto this industry, of prime importance though it be, has been held in check by the expense of the necessary machinery and of coal, which has to be imported from abroad, and the scarcity of labour.

Tanning.—This industry too, ought in time to occupy a place of far greater importance than it does now; for the raw materials—hides and quebracho, the best of tanning media, are present in abundance. To understand the stationary condition of this industry we must remember that it would require a considerable spare capital, as the hides have to remain in the vats for several months, during which time the tanner has need of capital at low terms of interest, which up to the present time has not been available in the Argentine.

Quebracho Wood.—Considering its future prospects, we must give a special place to the industry which exploits quebracho timber; converting the balks into railway sleepers, or extracting their tannin.

Red quebracho is found scattered profusely through the hundreds of square leagues of the country known as the Chaco, which is situated between 24° and 28° of south latitude, and 59° and 64° of west longitude, and also in the Provinces of Santa Fé, Santiago de l’Estero and Corrientès. The Chaco quebracho is superior to that of Santiago, which has the misfortune to grow in nitrous alkaline soil, where the trees do not reach any considerable dimensions. The Tucuman product is good, as it grows in a damp soil, when it grows well and is full of sap. Best of all is the red quebracho of Chaco; it is the richest in tannic products; according to an analysis made in the United States, it contains 30 per cent. of tannin, while the Santa Fé product contains less than 26 per cent.

Although quebracho wood is absolutely impervious to rot, and may thus be used in building, for piles, quays, sleepers, etc., it is exploited more especially for the production of tannin, as more profit is made by so treating it. A sleeper requires a good-sized log, considerable time, and much labour, to say nothing of the loss of wood; while the quebracho extract may be obtained from logs of any size. To-day the value of a sleeper, loaded on the track, is worth 6s. 2d., while three times as much may be made by extracting the tannin. For this reason the principal companies engaged in the quebracho trade have abandoned the manufacture of sleepers, so that certain railway companies—the Buenos Ayres Western, for example—have had to content themselves with iron sleepers.

Until quite lately quebracho wood was sawn into large round or squared balks, which were then sent abroad, chiefly to Germany, where the tannin was extracted. During the five years, 1899-1903, 1,044,000 tons of logs were exported; in 1903, 200,201 tons; in 1904, 252,723 tons; in 1905, 285,897 tons; in 1906, 230,000 tons; in 1907, 246,514 tons; and during the first six months of 1908, 127,609 tons. Various foreign and native companies were formed, with large capitals, to convert the wood into extract of tannin, and to export it in this form.

These companies are: the Compañia Industrial del Chaco, with a capital of £348,000 and two factories; one at Las Toscas, in Santa Fé, with a monthly output of 1000 tons of extract, and one at Calchagin, in the same Province, which produces 600 tons per month. These factories are equipped with German plant.

This company enjoyed a season of great prosperity in 1904; although its factories produced only 12,000 tons of extract instead of 36,000, as they could have done, a dividend of 42 per cent. was declared. Since then the lack of outlet and the low prices have paralysed the development of this industry.

Another tannin factory, able to produce 250 tons of extract, has been established by Herwig Brothers at Pehuajó, Province of Corrientès.

The Compañia Industrial del Chaco is also about to erect, at Resistencia, a factory with a capacity of 300 tons of extract per month.

El Quebracho is the last of the companies established for the extraction of quebracho tannin, and this also began to work under the most auspicious financial conditions. Its factories are installed at Fives-Lille, Province of Santa Fé, on land belonging to the “Kemmerich Products Co.”; these have been equipped with the most perfect machines of German make. The capital of this enterprise amounts to £32,000, which it is hoped will be repaid by the profits of the first few years. The monthly output is 450 tons.

The Mocovi Tannin Co., floated with a capital of £60,000, has a factory some 60 miles east of Los Amores (Santa Fé), and has a capacity of 300 tons per month.

The firm of Hardy & Co., of Las Palmas, near Resistencia, own a factory which cost £50,000, and produces 200 tons of extract monthly.

The Formosa company, which deals in timber and quebracho tannin, has a capital of £200,000. This company owns 96 square leagues of forest—some 880 square miles—which are estimated to contain 2 million tons of quebracho. This company intends to establish a factory capable of producing 15,000 tons of tannin yearly.

The Compañia Azucarera de Resistencia, with a capital of £22,700, produces 80 tons of extract monthly, and the factory of M. Benito Pinasco, at Guaycurú, on the Santa Fé railway line, produces 30 tons.

Besides these factories, Señors Charles and Joseph Casado, the Argentine owners of 2800 square leagues of land (over 25,000 square miles), in the Paraguayan Chaco, have established two factories, one at Puerto Casado and the other at Puerto Sastre, which produce, respectively, 500 and 1000 tons of extract per month.

The average yield of quebracho wood is 25 per cent. of extract; but as the extract contains a number of resinous and colouring matters, which must be eliminated during the process of manufacture, the net yield is 22 to 23 per cent. of solid extract containing 20 per cent. of water, which contains 70 to 73·5 per cent. of tannic oxide—that is, pure tannin.

The system employed in extracting the tannin is based upon diffusion. Firstly, the wood is reduced to powder by means of machines which cut or saw the wood, into which the logs are fed entire. Then, when the wood is converted into sawdust or fine chips or shavings, it is passed through extractors or diffusers, which separate the cellulose from the tannin, which is finally concentrated to the degree demanded by the market by means of vacuum pans.

During five years, from 1904 to 1908, the exports were: 20,111 tons in 1904; 29,408 tons in 1905; 30,839 tons in 1906; 28,190 tons in 1907; 48,160 tons in 1908.

Germany and the United States are the chief buyers of this valuable product, which forms the principal wealth of the northern part of the Argentine.

In the first edition of this book we prophesied a rapid and prosperous development for this industry, which had already received a considerable impetus; unhappily this prediction has not been realised in practice, and the quebracho industry has suffered, not precisely a crisis, but a diminution of its outlets which has seriously prejudiced its interests.

This trouble is due to various causes. Firstly, the ruinous competition between the various firms producing quebracho tannin; a competition which has now happily disappeared, thanks to an arrangement concluded between the principal companies, on the initiative of M. Hermann Schlieper; secondly, to the almost prohibitive duties which the German Government has imposed upon the importation of the product; thirdly, the indifference shown by the railway companies in using on their permanent way sleepers of steel rather than of quebracho, although the latter is more durable. It is to be hoped, however, that in course of time these causes will disappear, and that this industry will in future recover all the elements of progress.

The Timber Industry.—Another industry which is equally dependent upon the forestal wealth of the Argentine is that whose object is the exploitation of the various and valuable kinds of wood to be found in various parts of the country, especially in the forests of the Chaco and of Formosa.

The variety of costly woods to be found in these forests is astonishing. Recently more than thirty-three species have been classified, all of industrial value; the best known, besides the quebracho, being the acacia, algarrobo, button-tree, lapacho, bay, the smaller cedar, and many other varieties, black, white and red.

To exploit this forestal wealth a limited company has lately been formed with a capital of £352,000, which proposes to erect two important saw-mills in the Chaco. This company already owns about 2300 square miles of forest, and is thinking of increasing its domain by further purchases.

Fisheries.—Finally, quitting the forests for the seas, we must mention one other industry, at present unimportant, but apparently capable of considerable development: namely, the sea fisheries.

Owner of an immense coast-line bathed by the southern seas, the Argentine has an appreciable store of wealth at her disposal; which so far has been drawn upon only in a modest and almost secret manner, but which is now beginning to attract attention, to the great benefit of the country and of those who have entered upon this industry.

Since Prof. Nordenskjold wintered in Antarctic waters, Captain Larsen has been able to report a source of great wealth, which can be easily and profitably exploited, in the fishing of these waters; and upon his arrival in Buenos Ayres he put himself in communication with a group of Argentine capitalists, who decided to form a limited company by the name of La Pesca, with a capital of £32,000.

The results of the first season’s fishing was so productive, and the number of whales harpooned and “cut in” so large, that, according to a report which has been sent us, this company was able, at the end of the first year, to return the capital sunk in the firm of dividends.

Naturally such results cannot fail to draw new adventurers into this industry, which in turn will increase and develop the wealth of the country, at the same time procuring for the country a class of men formed by the strenuous labour of Antarctic life; a class of which the young Argentine navy has the greatest need.

CHAPTER III

The Argentine Republic, as we have already on various occasions explained, has not yet entered upon the industrial phase. All its capital and all its energies tend toward the exploitation of the soil, and as the results are greater than the boldest speculator could have predicted, the country has no need at present, with its small population, to launch itself into the unknown by entering the province of industry.

Moreover, the Argentine does not so far possess coal or iron measures easily workable, and has very little labour at its disposal, and therefore should not disperse its activities among too many objects. It is its best policy to limit itself to producing articles that it can make more cheaply than the foreigner; not artificially to develop its industries in the shelter of an ultra-protectionist tariff. It would fall to the consumer to pay for such products of the national industry, and the state would lose a serious portion of its revenues.

In other words, we may well ask whether the Argentine, in addition to its agricultural wealth, should pretend to a great industrial future, like that of the United States.

So far we cannot reply in the affirmative; not, at least, under present conditions. However rich the subsoil of the country may be, a matter at present uncertain, especially in respect of coal and iron measures, which are the basis of all industries, we must remember that the majority of these measures are situated in the region of the Cordillera, 4000 to 5000 feet above sea-level, over 900 miles from the coast, far from roads or waterways, and are consequently very badly situated for the establishment of industrial centres.

What coal and iron the Argentine may possess is distributed over a region of some thousands of miles in extent, which does not appear to contain continuous lodes or measures, and in which there are no real valleys or river-basins. Putting all questions of tariff aside, but considering the constant lowering of freights, we think the Argentine will always find it cheaper to obtain its supplies from abroad, except such as it can produce economically, rather than attempt to embrace all industries in its dreams of greatness.

Neither can we expect from the utilisation of natural motive forces a development which might in some degree compensate for the absence of fuel. There are a few waterfalls in Córdoba and in Tucuman, but such energy as they might furnish would hardly allow one to hope much from their adaptation to industrial uses. One of the most important of these falls is that below the Barrage San Roque, in the Sierra de Córdoba; it belongs to the North American Company, “Luz y Fuerza” (Light and Force). The company’s plant gives a yield of about 3000 horse-power, which is employed, for the greater part, in providing light and motive power to the town of Córdoba, and also for the production of carbide of calcium. Another installation, belonging to the Molet Company, has a capacity of some 700 or 800 horse-power, which is employed in the same manufacture.

The falls of the Yguassu, on the upper Parana, some 230 miles above Corrientès, on the confines of Brazil, Paraguay and the Argentine, have been described as a marvel of nature. It would seem that these falls represent a force three times greater than Niagara; their width is 12,000 feet, or more than two miles, with a fall of 212 feet. Unfortunately this cataract is on the border of the Argentine territory, in a region of forests accessible only with difficulty, and will probably flow for many years yet before any one profits by this enormous natural source of power.

Mines.—Although the industrial future of the Argentine is as yet by no means clear, we must admit that during the last four years there has been a livelier movement in favour of gold, silver, and copper mining, which has resulted in the flotation of several important limited companies. It was to support these first steps that the Government built an aerial railway—one of the boldest works ever attempted in the whole world—to exploit the rich mines of Famatina.

“Over the whole stretch of the eastern slopes of the Andes,” says an important official publication[84] which we take for guide, “from Bolivia to Tierra del Fuego, the existence of numerous mineral-bearing regions is proved; notably in the Provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja, Catamarca, Salta, Jujuy, Tucuman, Córdoba, and San Luis, where traces of ancient mineral workings have been discovered.”[85]

There are many villages which ever since the Spanish Conquest have drawn their sustenance from the gold and silver which their inhabitants obtain, by rudimentary processes, from the beds of stream or river, and by plain mining. Also, despite the difficulties of transport, various well-organised companies have obtained very fair results from their workings, since they obtained their concessions a few years ago. Now that the feelers of the railway systems have reached these districts, and the mining companies have established aerial cable-ways to connect them with the mines, we can already perceive a greater vitality in this industry.

In addition to the wealth of the Cordillera, prospectors are discovering new lodes in the interior of the country; but, as always happens, miners prefer to gather in already familiar districts, rather than undertake long journeys, and the labour of prospecting at their own expense.

The best-known mines of the Argentine are distributed as follows:—

In the Province of Mendoza there are mines of copper, silver-bearing galena, gold-bearing quartz, coal, alabaster, slate, and marble, and wells of petroleum; in the Province of San Juan, of gold-bearing quartz, silver, copper, antimony, coal, sulphur, and amianthus.[86] In view of the development which this region may undergo through the exploitation of the coal-measures, the Great Western Railway has decided to construct a branch line as far as the coal mines of Salagasta (Mendoza).

The Province of La Rioja has been known for a long time for its rich mines of metallic silver, and also for its copper mines, whose ores contain a high percentage of gold and silver; and for its gold “placer” mines. It is to facilitate the working of these mines that the aerial cable-way is being constructed, which will unite Cerro de Famatina and the mining centre of Chilecito with the railways. Here, as everywhere, skilled miners are somewhat scarce.

The Province of Catamarca, the centre of the Capillitas mining country, possesses copper mines with a high percentage of silver and gold, which have been worked for more than thirty years. These mines, which are, it appears, very rich in minerals, have been acquired by a foreign company, and will be the object of an important enterprise; here, too, an aerial cable-way will be built to transport the ore from the mines to a lower level.

There are also in this region two important smelting works; “Le Pilcian” and “La Constancia,” which are buried in the depths of the forests of carob-trees, which furnish abundant fuel. In other parts are found surface veins of copper, silver-bearing galena, bismuth, antimony, mica, gold-bearing quartz, as well as “placer” mines and coal-measures.

The Provinces of Salta and Jujuy, which possess rich veins of auriferous quartz, argentiferous galena, copper, borate of lime, lignite and petroleum, are famous for the gold obtained from the streams that descend from their mountains. Undertakings have been formed with foreign and native capital, and profitable results are expected. The extension of the Argentine railways to Bolivia will still further develop the exploitation of mining districts all through this region.

In former times silver mines were worked in the Province of Tucuman. In Aconquija also we find mines of copper which must be a continuation of those of Catamarca.

The Provinces of Córdoba and San Luis, besides ascertained veins of gold-bearing quartz, galena and copper, contain mines of manganese and wolfram, and well-known quarries of marble, and of onyx, both green and of other shades.

In the Territories of Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz the sands along the Atlantic coast contain, especially after storms, an abundance of gold in powder and small nuggets, whose extraction gives employment to numbers of workers.[87] There also are seams of lignite and of peat. Finally, in Santa Cruz there are several salt workings, the produce being sent to Buenos Ayres.

The River Chubut, in the Territory of Chubut, brings down fine gold along its bed, as do its numerous small tributaries, which rise in the Andean slopes. The presence of gold more than 100 miles from the Cordillera tempted some colonists to organise an expedition; at the foot of the mountain they found gold in nuggets.

Another company exploits the salt pits of the Valdez Peninsula, and another the quarry of flat granite slabs, known as the Atlas Quarry.

For many years now large quantities of gold have been found in the rich “placers” of the Territory of Neuquen, where copper also has been discovered, silver-bearing galena, coal, and petroleum. The gold taken out of the washers of Villa Michicó and the neighbourhood is estimated at 330 lb. avoirdupois annually.

In the Territory of Rio Negro there are abundant quarries of gypsum, limestone, and other building materials; in that of the Pampa Central copper has been recently discovered and is being worked; in that of Misionès there is native copper, iron, and manganese; in that of the Andes (Puña de Atacama), there are immense deposits of borate of lime, as well as veins of quartz and “placers.”

Considering the vast extent of these territories, which have never been seriously explored except at a few points, we have every reason to believe that it will be many years before we have even an approximate knowledge of the mineral wealth they contain; but the data gathered up to the present time augur well for the future of the mining industry in the Argentine.

We will add finally, as a further reason for success, the fact that the law regarding mines is remarkably liberal; the State may not exploit them on its own account, but concedes them to any adult applicant capable of administering his own property.

The same mining laws are in force throughout the country. To acquire a claim it suffices to present a written demand, containing an exact indication of the position and nature of the claim demanded, the details of its discovery, and all other useful information, accompanied by a sample of the mineral. Immediately upon the presentation of this demand the administration enters it with the date of deposition, in order to prove the right of priority; and directly the concession has been surveyed and delimited, the claimant has full rights in his mine and may dispose of it as he wills. The mine is untaxed, and so are the mineral products, whether sold at home or abroad. The only obligation imposed upon the miner is that he shall work his mine with at least four miners during 230 days of the year; if this condition be not fulfilled, any other person may demand the concession of the abandoned mine.[88]