ARGENTINA.- The great level plains of Ar gentina, with their wealth of agricultural and pastoral products, have made the river Plata region the centre of railway expansion in South America. From Buenos Aires a great network of lines stretches out to the north, west and south, connecting practically every important town or city of Argentina with the capital and bringing the country to a rank of ninth in point of railway mileage among the nations of the world. The following distances by rail from Buenos Aires to other cities of Argen tina will illustrate the extent of railway de, velopment: To Bahia Blanca, 446 miles; Tu cuman, 720 miles; Mendoza, 647 miles; San Juan, 745 miles; Santa Fe, 299 miles; Rosario, 186 miles; Cordoba, 433 miles; Salta, 996 miles,: Santiago, 628 miles; Jujuy, 1,006 miles; San Luis, 485 miles; Catamarca, 771 miles; Mar del Plata, 248 miles. Up to the outbreak of the European War the mileage was being steadily extended, but that event practically suspended construction through the curtailment of the supplies of foreign capital necessary for exten sive building.
The systems of Argentine railways, with their mileage (excluding private and other minor lines) are as follows: Buenos Aires and Pacific, 3,535 miles; Buenos Aires Great Southern, 3,792 miles; Buenos Aires Western, 1,870 miles; Central Argentine, 3,305 miles; C6rdoba Central, 1,205 miles; Entre Rios, 831 miles; Buenos Aires Midland, 322 miles; Ar gentine North Eastern, 752 miles; Province Santa Fe, 1,192 miles; Rosario-Puerto Belgranc, 493 miles; General Buenos Aires, 790 miles; Central Northern, 1 790 miles; Argentine del Norte, 1,196 miles; Buenos Aires Central, 252 miles. Most of these systems are owned wholly or in part by English shareholders (English capi tal having been invested in Argentine railways to the extent of almost a billion dollars), and the securities of the more important roads are quoted regularly on the London Stoek Exchange. Of the total mileage the govern ment owns some 4,000 miles, the longest roads being the Central Northern Railway, running from Santa Fe northwest •to the Argentine boundary at La Quiaca, and the Argentine Northern, running from Santa Fe west to San Juan, both roads having several branches. The government is interested in building and operating railroads chiefly in order to open up new territory, and the roads in many cases are run at a loss.
Argentine railways have three different gauges. The broad gauge of 5 feet 6 inches, said to have been introduced when the first railway builders purchased rolling stock of this gauge which had been used in the Crimean War, prevails on several of the larger roadi, including the Buenos Aires and Pacific, the Buenos Aires and Great Southern; the Buenos Aires Western and the Central Argentine. The middle gauge, 4 feet 8/2 inches, is used by the Entre Rios Railway, the Argentine North Eastern and the Buenos Aires Cen tral. The government lines mentioned, the Transandine Railway, the Cordoba Central, the Buenos Aires Midland and the Province of Santa Fe are of metre (3.28 feet) gauge. Freight carried on these roads naturally con silt very largely of grain, livestock and animal products such as wool and hides, but consider able quantities of wine and grapes are carried from the vineyards of Mendoza and other western provinces.
The passenger service of these lines is quite up-to-date, and all the comforts appertaining to modern railway travel are provided. The line of the Central Argentine between Buenos Aires and Rosario has been double-tracked, and the running time between these cities, a distance of 186 miles, has been reduced to four and a half hours. The fare is not ex cessive. One of the minor drawbacks to rail way travel in many parts of Argentina is the monotony of landscape, some lines running for hundreds of miles over level plains with prac tically no trees or hills to be seen in any direction. The railway system in general is such that every city of consequence in Argen tina can be conveniently reached from Buenos and tourists and commercial travelers find it a good plan to make the capital their headquarters, taking side trips to other centres as may be desirable. The fact that a great part of the import and export business of the country flows through Buenos Aires makes it unnecessary for foreign salesmen to visit many of the outlying cities. Tourists, however, will find it interesting to visit Tucuman, where Argentine independence was declared; Men doza, the centre of the wine industry; Rosario, second to Buenos Aires as a shipping centre; La Plata, where there are a large observatory and large meat-packing plants; and Mar del Plata, the great seaside resort.