New York, with a population of over 5 million, has at the present time about 2000 licensed taxi-cabs. Chicago, with a population of over 2 million, has 700 taxi-cabs. Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, with a population of but one million three hundred thousand, has 3000 taxi-cabs; or more than New York and Chicago combined. Do you believe she would have any less if we did away with the Monroe Doctrine?

Let us look a few facts squarely in the face, even though we cannot visualize them as sharply as the South Americans do. Our imports from China and Japan in 1910 amounted to 81 million dollars. Our imports from Argentina and Brazil amounted to 129 million dollars. In the same year there were 57 million sheep in the United States. Argentina had 67 million. In 1911 we built over 3000 miles of railroad in the United States. To be sure, Argentina did not build as much, but she did build over 2300 miles.

During the past five years we have exported 153 thousand tons of meat. Argentina has exported 1500 thousand tons or nearly ten times as much. During the past

three years, while we were exporting 118 million bushels of wheat, Argentina exported 226 million bushels or nearly twice as much. We have always considered ourselves great corn producers, and so we are, but last year while we were exporting 30 million bushels, Argentina was exporting 172 million bushels.

The total exports of Argentina for last year amounted to $480,000,000, of which $278,000,000 represented products of agriculture and $188,000,000 represented pastoral products. Argentina will soon be the world's greatest purveyor of food-stuffs; in fact, she already leads in several lines. This enables her to be a great buyer. Last year her purchases abroad amounted to $384,000,000. It will be noticed that the balance of trade in her favor was nearly $100,000,000.

Brazil has about the same favorable balance, and yet she is only on the threshold of her development. Last year she was only able to purchase $270,000,000 worth of goods abroad. These two little republics, whom we are trying to shelter under the Monroe

Doctrine, together imported $650,000,000 worth of goods last year and had about $200,000,000 left over.

Some of my readers will be thinking, "But Argentina and Brazil are only two countries and there are eleven others in South America." And this is true, but it is also true that we have been talking about the majority, for Argentina and Brazil contain more than half the total population of South America and comprise four-sevenths of the total area. Furthermore, we have said nothing about Chile, which is by nature a small country, but has a very active population and an excellent government. Her political upheavals have been no more frequent than our own, and her record for courage and daring in time of war has not been excelled in any part of the world.

Another reason why we should focus our attention on Argentina, Brazil, and Chile is that the volume of their foreign commerce is four-fifths of the total for South America. While Chile has not the great agricultural possibilities of her neighbors, she is nevertheless in a strong financial position.

She has recently given contracts for harbor improvements at Valparaiso and San Antonio involving an expenditure of over $20,000,000. She is drawing the plans for further improvements in other harbors which her Minister of Finance estimates will cost $25,000,000 more. There is no evidence that Chile is a weakling, even if her territory is not very broad.

One thing more. The amount of British capital invested in the countries of Latin America is a fair criterion of their importance. According to the latest figures, as given in the "South American Journal," a weekly devoted to the interests of the British investor, the amount of British capital invested in Argentina amounts to about £330,000,000 or $1,610,400,000. In Brazil Great Britain has invested £211,000,000 or $1,029,680,000, of which about one-half is in government bonds. In Chile she has £61,000,000 or $297,680,000, of which one-half is in government bonds. In the whole of Latin America British investments amount to £937,140,000 or $4,573,243,200.

Such figures really surpass our powers

of imagination. But even if the tops of the mountains are in the clouds, we can at least realize that we are confronted by mountains and not molehills.

Although the average American does know far more about South America than he did a few years ago, when I heard a member of one of the larger University Clubs in the East admit that he did not know whether Venezuela was in Central or South America, and cared less, we are many of us actually groping in the dark, and undoubtedly it is difficult to grasp present conditions in the three largest states of South America.

We know that they are not the hot-beds of revolutions and fevers that we once supposed them to be, and that there is something there besides earthquakes, jungles, and generals. Yet very few of us actually appreciate the present state of affairs. How many people realize, for instance, that there are twelve steamers a month sailing from New York, which carry freight, passengers, and mails to the ports of Brazil, or that there are fifty mail steamers a month between Europe and Argentina?