The Southern Herald

LIFE IN BUENOS AYRES.

Social Condition and Commercial Importance of the Argentine Republic.

There is no "middle class" in the Argentine Republic. Society is composed of those wealthy enough to refrain from manual labor and working people. Wages as a rule are low, and the cost of living as high as in the United States, and not half as good. In the "camps" peons engaged in herding are paid from $9 to $12 per month and supplied with meat and maté. Should they wish to vary this diet it must be done at their own expense. Few care to do so. Maté is a peculiar herb grown in Paraguay, and is the national beverage of the country. It is dried, powdered and steeped in hot water and used as a tea. It possesses considerable stimulating powers, and enormous quantities are consumed. All classes use it. A gourd is hollowed and filled with maté, a tube to suck through inserted and the contents absorbed. It is considered a serious breach of etiquette to refuse the maté cup when it is passed around. The same tube passes from mouth to mouth!

Skilled labor does not command high wages. Locomotive drivers receive from $60 to $75 a month; guards or conductors, $45; good mechanics average $2.50 a day. When the value of Argentine money is reckoned, these are low wages. A constant speculation in gold is carried on, and the value of national money constantly fluctuates.

Certain professions are well paid. Dentists, photographers, civil engineers and school-teachers find occupation and make money. A laboring man entering the Republic finds himself thrown into competition with the hungry hordes of the old world, and must accustom himself to strict economy and hard living to get along. The Italians employed on the streets or in public works are paid $1.25 a day. This is the rate for ordinary labor. Stevedores and men around the docks not steadily employed, $1.50 and board; clerks, from $30 to $70 per month. A knowledge of Spanish is absolutely required of the latter.

The country maintains a standing army of 18,000 men and has a good navy, comprising several powerful armored ships. Military distinction is eagerly sought and the sons of rich families enter the service. It is not unusual to see boys of fourteen and fifteen years wearing officers' uniforms. English, Germans and French are found among the officers. The total population of the country is estimated at 3,000,000.

House rent is excessively high and city property held at exorbitant figures. The same may be said of outlying lands. Compared with prices a few years ago, their valuation is excessive and a crash is inevitable. Camp lands for grazing purposes in remote districts sell from $10,000 to $15,000 per square league. This country is generally level from the coast line back to the Andes. The average rise in altitude is four inches to the mile. This is the region of the pampas, vast treeless plains, covered with grasses and comprising rich soils.

Twenty-two foreign steamship lines touch the Buenos Ayres, and thousands of immigrants are landed yearly. Fast and well-equipped river boats navigate the Uruguay, Parana and Plate rivers.—Cor. San Francisco Chronicle.