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1!)0 INTERNATIOr AL AMERICAN CONFEH.ENCE.
jo\\ anls Ralto and .Tujny 1hP work is.·till prog rt's.·ing, hnt. tlu' rr are lll~W)T enp;incrrin¡;
•lilli 'lllties to O\'C I\'0111•' ~111d w>t IIIIH:h has as yd lwen :-v·complislJctl. The liue from
ilncnos Ayrcs to ~lereet!Ps, '' h is a l i:d·: of tLn Transardiuc Hailwa.v, i · now COlll–
pletecl and openc!l to trafliC', ' giving a tbrongl.t lino from Bneuos Ayre ·as far as
Mendoza. \Y continu••¡; 10 ogrcss on tho link from Memloza towanls Valparai o,
Cllili, somc of traek ha,·illg" al1 ead.Y lweu bit!, rtnd hy the end of tbe year it is ex-–
pected tLat t ;;pallata Pas!:l or the Aulles will l>' rea.ched. :F'or the construction
of thc r:1ilwav from Monte Ua'leros to Corrieutes anrl Posadas in the Misiones the
n e ssary matcrials are now being reeeivcd, ancl the work has comrnenced. Tbe oew
lino from Rosario, via nllcbales, to Tn cnman is being rapidly pushed forward, aod
th rails :~re 1aid for 50 or liO miles heyon!l Snnehalcs.
The la;,t ession of the Arp; ntinc cÓng rcss, in response to the recommen•lations of
the presi<lent, m::11l e a Yery tinn stau<l against tbe granting of any more cllfl:rte~ or
conees.· ion with (,.n,·prrmH'nt !l'narauti ·s, and the fact tl.w.t uumerou apphcat10os
wcre UJatlc for new 1incs with-¡;nt tiUch guarauties hat the condition of the
conntry is uow so prowising that capital is r-eatly to in snch euterprises with–
out Goverument ai<L (Rt>port by Consul Baker, B res, Decernber 13, 1 .)
From tue report of the Sonth American commi íoner I extract the following, dated
June, 1 i35.
Th eifect of rai]roatl bnilding which during the 1:1 t few years has been very
marked, seems to stimnl.ate tbe raising of graiu and tlle growth of tlocks more than
auy otbcr agricultura! pur 'Hit. The completed railroad!:! embrace over 2, 00 miles,
and t!Je exteusion of those lines now under construction amonnt to nearl.y 900 miles.
Tbere are projec , many thou and miles more, wh ich in tlle course of time
will l>e bnilt. A man (au American) lle cribes this country in t.his re pect
a1:1 being in the c of our countl'y tbirty years ago. The cost of building roads
thronghout Argeuti ne is very 1ittle, so far as gradi ng 1s concerned. Many of the lines
had bu t. little todo for loug taugent e:s:cept to la.y down tlle rails on the e ven plaius.
At first some tronble was fouucl on certaiu liuel:! to provide stooe for culverts aod
abutrnents, bnt afterwards pl euty of good bnilding rock was di covered. Tbe co t
of procuring tie is heavy, as they mn,;t IJe bronght from the nortbern provincc or
from Paraguay. Now a liue of road is IJeiug cou;;tructed toward aod throu){h the
Gran Chaco and tbe fine t(Hest landsof tbe Repnblic. This extension is also de. Í"oed
to r uch into Bolivia and its •)'reatest timber tract:, thereby giviug to tl.Jat H.epu ulic
an easteru ontlet for it~ ricb tnines aod agricnltuml products. The completiou of
tbi · road will cheapeu the cost oflumber to all the Republics, aud open up au iodn t1y
of grt>at profit in the lux ut forests of the Upper Pamua and other stream . At
pre¡;;eut the largest co t. to estancia holders in rencing grows out of the 'é~rcity of
po. t . The policy of inclo all tlle pastura lanrl of the owner is Lecoming uni ver a.l,
anrl tbe erectiou of corriris-increa e.-. the- expPnses of a good esta.ncia very matcrially,
for they are made almost entirely of lumber irnported from our cou u try.
At pre. ent tuere is no eottl founu in this conntry aucl the engines are all clri veo by
fnel IJronght frorn Cardi tr. Tbi Ítia serions the rail.roads of the Re
Those lines rnnuing towanl tbe north can iu wood frorn that region.
1'>"i11 probably al ways be cheaper to import.co st ofthe roads than to r
on t he northcrn forest . There ba.1:1 been a recen t discovery of petroleurn in the
part of the Repnhlic, in the proviuce of ~1eudoza, anda. company has beeo orgaoized
to develop the oil-prodncing- di tricts, and rnauy l>elieve that near by will be fonod
coal measnre of con iderabl.e extent.
'fbe railroad. are in part ownetl and managed by tbe Goverumeut. If we trust
tlle sta.temeut of l\ir. IIopkin:-. hercwitb snumitterl, we find the resnlt of tbi!:! man–
aO'emen~ to be_llere. as in Chili, >cry nnsatisfactory; anrl great complaints are UJacle
at the higu rallroad charg-es of all th•' companies. Bnt the co t of operating roust t>e
very ·~non , antl no people ever think tlley are charged too little for railroad tran .–
portatro~ ; bnt ~tll n.gree ~bat uc w rf'gion are being ruade acce sible and gre~t a~ri­
cnlturalwdn tne are bemg promoted by tllese mudes of iuternal comrnumoatwn,
thongh they are expen. i>e.
'l'he ~ailroa.d map of th~ Repnblic shows l10w little ofit territory has yet fdlt the
benefiCia! effects of the e arteries of commerce. Ten time its pre. ent rail.road devel–
o_pmellt wouhl fail to bring the w hole conntry into an.vthin"' like clo e commnnLa–
t•on. But the. fcYer .of railroacl building has tonched the people, aud in ome w~y
the ·e needed lmes. wlll be pu b ompletiou. O an ohserved tbat m
mauy re.pect it wa cheaper to railroaa~ than , of which there are
ve~y few, called cart roads in t otry. A yet t railroads ha>e been
hmlt al.most wbolly b.v Engli h and F capital but ere aided by liberal
con e IO';!S from the Government 1and;¡ uamnty of a certaiu intere t on the
?onstrnct10u bond.s, an~ the e gua.rauti not beeu called into force in but one
mstance, eo rdmnnera.tive ha.ve the inves proven.