

BOLIVIA. 



85 



*J.1( ),000. The department of the Littoral, containing 

 the ports of Antofagasta and Arica, embracing 29,- 

 910 square miles, was retained as a pledge by Chili 

 in 1880, after the war in which Peru and Bolivia 

 were defeated, with a provision for its redemption 

 after ten years. 



Finances. The revenue for the financial year 

 1897 was estimated in the budget at 6,963,124 boliv- 

 ianos, and the expenditure at 6,785,596 bolivianos. 

 The foreign debt amounts to 2,000,000 bolivianos, or 

 dollars, the funded internal debt to 4,382,000 boliv- 

 ianos, and the floating debt to about 3,000,000 bo- 



3,200,000 ounces in 1896. About 4,000 tons of tin 

 concentrates, 2,000 tons of tin bars, and 3,000 tons 

 of barilla are exported annually. The total value 

 of the imports in 1894 was estimated at 6,800,000 

 bolivianos, the principal articles being provisions, 

 hardware, wine and spirits, textile fabrics, and 

 clothing. The value of the exports was estimated 

 at 30,000,000 bolivianos. The export of silver through 

 the port of Antofagasta was valued at 1,914,500 

 sterling; that of tin at 433,900. The export of 

 rubber is increasing. Other exports are copper, 

 hides and skins, cinchona, coca, and gold. 



livianos. Of the expenditures of 1897 the sum of 

 1,748,697 bolivianos was devoted to the army, con- 

 sisting of a standing force of 1,500 men and the Na- 

 tional Guard, in which all citizens are bound to 

 serve under the conscription law of 1892. 



Commerce and Production. Agriculture and 

 communications are still very primitive. Wheat, 

 corn, potatoes, and other food products are raised 

 in sufficient quantities to feed the people, and large 

 numbers of sheep and llamas, from whose wool 

 the garments of the common people are made. 

 Some coffee is exported. The silver mines produced 

 U,500,000 ounces in 1894, but the product fell off to 





Communications. A railroad from Antofagasta 

 extends for 500 miles in Bolivian territory from 

 Ascotan to Ururi. A railroad is projected to connect 

 La Paz with the Peruvian line that runs from Lake 

 Titicaca to the seaport of Mollendo, another to join 

 a line traversing the Argentine Republic, and con- 

 cessions have been granted for lines running from 

 Ururi to the mining districts of Cochabamba and 

 Potosi. 



The length of telegraph lines in the republic is 

 2,980 miles. The post office in 1896 carried 1,847,- 

 009 internal and 528,088 foreign letters, post cards, 

 and journals. 



