Bolivian tin carries certain peculiar impuri ties which have made it very difficult to refine by ordinary methods. The high cost of fuel has rendered impossible smelting at the mines and the tin has been shipped to foreign coun tries with generally not less than 25 per cent impurities which had to be transported for long distances over land and then by sea. In 1917 the American Smelting and Refining Company announced that it had discovered an electrolytic process for the refining of Boliv ian tin. By this method a metal as pure as that produced anywhere can be obtained at or near the mines where there is plenty of water for the production of electric motor power. This promises to give a still greater impetus to the mining of Bolivian tin, which. in 1917, stood second on the list of the world's produc tion of tin. Tin is already the backbone of the industrial life and the system of public finances in Bolivia and the foundation on which all the foreign trade of the country has been devel oped of late years, and the increased exporta tion of tin to the United States from 1914 to 1917 is in line with the increasing interest of the latter country in the hermit republic.
Bolivia has already begun the manufacture of shoes by machinery under an almost pro hibitive import duty on foreign shoes; but the shoe business is growing rapidly and either more native factories will have to be estab lished or shoes will have to be imported. Con sult Pan-American Union; 'Bolivia' (Wash ington 1916) the Bolivian 'Memorial' ; Walle's 'Bolivia.' Banking and Finance.— The principal banks are: Banco de la Nation Boliviana (al ready mentioned) Banco Mercantil, Banco Nacional de Bolivia and the Banco Francisco Argandofia. A gold reserve of 40 per cent is required by law. Under an act recently passed relating to the organization of the Bank of the Bolivian Nation, above mentioned, the said bank has been granted the exclusive right to issue notes, the National de Bolivia, Mercantil and Francisco Argandona banks having been deprived of such right, and directed to redeem the notes issued by them within five terms of six months each, beginning 1 Jan. 1913. The only foreign bank established in Bolivia is the Banco Alemin Transatlantico — the German bank The annual dividends declared by the banks vary between 10 and 20 per cent. Four institutions doing business in the country con fine their operations to loans on real estate, against which they issue mortgage bonds. They are: Credito Hipotecario de Bolivia, Banco Hipotecario Nacional, Banco Hipote cario Garantizador de Valores and the Banco Hipotecario Mercantil.
All banks are compelled by law to issue half-yearly statements of their profit and loss. The three principal banks, at the close of 1916, showed profits for the six months preceding as follows: Banco de la Naci6n, $520,025; Banco Nacional, $116,607, and the Banco Ar gandofla $44,860.
Under a law passed by the Bolivian Con gress on 27 Oct. 1916, the banks of Bolivia advanced to the government the sum of f96,500 sterling ($469,600), the amount advanced by each bank being in proportion to its authorized capital. The purpose of this loan was to assist the government to meet its internal obligations, and especially to meet the interest due on its foreign debt. The amount was to be refunded to the banks not later than 31 Dec. 1916. The 31st having been a holiday, 4 Jan. 1917 was the first day upon which payment could be made to the banks. On that day the National Treasury of Bolivia transferred to the credit of the banks the sum of 1,206,250 bolivianos, which was the full amount due. The amounts advanced by the four banks participating in the loan were: Banco de la Nacion Boliviana, f45,800 ($222,875); Banco Mercantil, f.22.500 ($109,500); Banco Nacional, f18,800 ($91,475) ; Banco Argandofia, 19,400 ($45,750).
According to a memorial of the Minister of Finance, the public debt of Bolivia on 30 June 1916 totaled 53,211,355 bolivianos ($20.715,180 at exchange of $0.3893)-36,340,595 bolivianos ($14,147,395) as external debt and 16,870,760 bolivianos ($6,567,785) as internal debt. The foreign debt is made up of the following items: Morgan loan, existing balance, 5,124,929 holly ianos ($1,995,135) • French loan of 1910, exist ing balance, 17,486,750 bolivianos ($6,807,590); French loan of 1913, existing balance, 12,117, 250 bolivianos ($4,717,245); value of warrants issued in favor of the bankers of the 1910 loan, 337,500 bolivianos ($131,390) ; National City Bank loan, 1,274,166 bolivianos ($496,035).
Referring to this last-named obligation, the Minister of Finance gives account of the im portant operation effected by the government, which, taking advantage of the high rate of international exchange, transferred the Na tional City Bank debt to the Banco de la Naci6n Boliviana. On 1 June 1916, the latter institu tion paid the balance due the former, 1,390,000 bolivianos ($541,125), and the government is therefore under obligation to pay the Banco de la Nation the monthly sum of 115,833 boliv ianos ($45,095) in currency.
The internal debt on 30 June 1916 com prised the following items: Compensation Mili tar Acre y Pacifico, balance of bonds in circu lation, 1,902.200 bolivianos ($740,525) ; Acre indemnity, 177,600 bolivianos ($69,140) ; inter nal debt, 1,419,100 bolivianos ($552,455); 1914 bonds, 9,788,000 bolivianos ($3,810,470); gold banking loan,206,250 bolivianos ($469,590) ; N Banco de la Nation, Koening Bros., and other obligations, 1,050,000 bolivianos ($408,765); Banco de la Naci6n, advances on customs war rants, 1,327,610 bolivianos ($516,840).