80 



BOLIVIA. 



and several States have slat utes protecting insectiv- 

 orous birds. Such laws are frequently changed, 

 and can not lie expected to accomplish much unless 

 support nl by popular sentiment in favor of bird 

 protection. 'This object can only be attained by 

 <leMionsir;it in.;,' to the people the value of birds, and 

 how can il lie accomplished better than through the 

 medium of the schools! ... It is believed that Bird 

 Day can be adopted with profit by schools of all 

 grades, and the subject is recommended to the 

 thoughtful attention of teachers and school super- 

 intendents throughout the country, in the hope that 

 they will co-operate with other agencies now at 

 work to prevent the destruction of our native birds." 



So far as observed, the exercises for Bird Day in 

 the schools have consisted of original compositions 

 on birds, 6f talks by pupils and teachers on the 

 haunts of birds, of drawings on the blackboards, 

 and of appropriate recitations. Many of the schools 

 have also dosed the exercises of the day with a trip 

 to the woods for a study of the life and the songs 

 of the birds. 



BOLIVIA, a republic in South America. The 

 legislative power is vested in a Congress composed 

 of a Senate of 16 members and a House of Repre- 

 sentatives containing 64 members, elected by all 

 male Bolivian citizens who are able to read and 

 write. Moriano Baptista was elected President for 

 the four years ending in August, 1896. His Cab- 

 inet in the beginning of the year was: Foreign 

 Affairs, E. Cano ; Finance, T. Schazou ; Interior, 

 M. 1). Medina; Justice, J. V.'Ochoa; War, L. Paz. 



Area and Population. The area of the several 

 departments and their population, according to the 

 official enumeration made between 1890 and 1894, 

 are given in the following table, not including the 

 savage aborigines : 



The number of uncivilized Indians is estimated 

 at 250.000. Of the civil population about one half 

 is of pure Indian blood, one quarter of mixed race, 

 and one quarter pure Spanish. The littoral de- 

 partment, 29,910 square miles in extent, containing 

 the port of Antofagasta, was retained by Chili as a 

 pledge after the war of 1879-'80, in. which Bolivia 

 sided with Peru. 



Finances. The revenue for the fiscal year 

 1s!i4-'95 was estimated at 5.670,790 bolivianos, 'and 

 the expenditure at 6,077,264 bolivianos. The ex- 

 ternal debt consists mainly of claims made by min- 

 ing companies for losses incurred during the war 

 with Chili. Of such claims the Government in 

 1*711 allowed 6,550,829 bolivianos, the payment of 

 which is secured by the share of the customs duties 

 <>f the port of Arica ihat Chili agreed to pay to 

 Bolivia after occupying that territory, formerly a 

 part of Peru. This share is 40 per cent. Railroad 



companies hare raised claims against the liolivian 



menl ..mounting to ;:.( 165.000 bolivianos on 



unt of obligations undertaken toward them and 



never fulfilled. The f,,rd<:ri debt outstanding at 



tin- en. 1 of 1s|.J waa s ,, :t( , ( | tn ))( . o i0(l(M)00 | )( ,] iv j ;l . 

 not including these disputed claims. The in- 

 ternal debts amounted to 4,428,705 bolivianos. The 

 boliviano, equivalent to the 5-franc piece, has 

 ""' '' ''" l;ite at the Potosi mint, which 



BRAZIL. 



only issues subsidiary coins containing 8 per cent, 

 less than the standard amount of silver. No gold 

 pieces have been struck for many years. 



Commerce and Production. The foreign trade 

 of Bolivia passes through the ports now occupied 

 by Chili and to a small extent through the Argen- 

 tine Republic by way of Salta. Hence there are no 

 official reports of the exports and imports. The 

 total value of imports in 1894 was estimated at 

 6,800,000 bolivianos. The import trade is largely 

 in the hands of Germans, who deal in both German 

 and British goods. The chief articles of import are 

 provisions, hardware, wines and spirits, ready-made 

 clothing, and cotton, woolen, linen, and silk fabrics. 

 The chief exportable product is silver, of which was 

 shipped abroad in 1894 the value of 39,062,500 bo- 

 livianos out of total exports valued at 49,562,500 bo- 

 livianos. The quantity of silver exported was 15,- 

 000,000 ounces ; of tin and tin ore, 4,000 tons ; of 

 copper, 3,000 tons ; of rubber, 800 tons. The rub- 

 ber goes down the Amazon and is exported as Para 

 rubber. Other exports are wool, hides and skins, 

 gold, coffee, cacao, and cinchona. 



Communications. The railroad from the port 

 of Antofagasta to Uyuni, with a branch to Huan- 

 chaco, now extended to Oruro, is the only com- 

 pleted line, of which nearly 500 miles are built on 

 Bolivian soil. It is proposed to extend this line 

 from Oruro to Cochabamba, to build a branch from 

 Challapata to Potosi, and carry a line from Uyuni 

 to the Argentine frontier. Concessions have been 

 granted also for railroads connecting Mollendo with 

 Puno, on Lake Titicaca, Santa Cruz with the river 

 Paraguay, and La Paz with the Peruvian frontier. 

 The total length of telegraphs is 2,000 miles. The 

 postal traffic in 1893 comprised 1,532,458 domestic 

 letters, newspapers, etc., and 420,579 foreign ones. 



Presidential Election. The President in Bo- 

 livia is elected by popular vote. The voting popu- 

 lation, however, is not large. Only a small propor- 

 tion of the Indians and mestizos possess the simple 

 educational qualifications, although elementary ed- 

 ucation is free and nominally obligatory. The elec- 

 tion of President Baptista's successor took place in 

 May, 1896. Fernandez Alonzo was the candidate 

 approved by the Government. The opposite party 

 set up Gen. Pando. When Alonzo was declared 

 elected complaints were made that the Administra- 

 tion had tampered with the returns in such a way 

 as to change the actual result of the voting at the 

 polls. At the beginning of July an outbreak oc- 

 curred in Sucre in the interest o'f Gen. Pando, but 

 this movement was suppressed forthwith, as the 

 chiefs of the army sided with the Government. 

 President Alonzo was duly inducted on Aug. 20. 

 He appointed the following Cabinet : Foreign Af- 

 fairs, Gomez ; Interior, Sanguinez ; War. Oblitas ; 

 Justice, Pinilla ; Finance, Gutierrez. The new 

 President had explanations to make concerning the 

 killing of the Chilian minister, Juan Gonzalo Mat- 

 ta, who was shot by Jose Cuellar in a private quar- 

 rel. A controversy with the Argentine Republic 

 over boundaries was brought to an issue by the oc- 

 cupation of the territory of San Antonio. The Ar- 

 gentine Government in November demanded that 

 Bolivia evacuate this territory. 



BRAZIL, a federal republic in South America, 

 established after the fall of the Emperor Dom 

 Pedro II, who abdicated on Nov. 15, 1889, and pro- 

 claimed by the Constitutional Assembly on Feb. 25, 

 1891, at the end of a civil war. The Senators, 3 

 from each State and 3 from the capital, are elected 

 for nine years, one third retiring every third year. 

 The Chamber of Deputies has 205 members (1 to 

 every, 70,000 of population), elected for three years. 

 The President and Vice-President, who hold office 

 for four years, are elected, as well as the members 



