BOLIVIA. 



action the Austro-Hungarian and also the Rus- 

 sian Government raised a protest. 



BOLIVIA, a republic in South America. The 

 legislative power is vested in the Congress, con- 

 sisting of a Senate of 18 members, elected for six 

 years, and a House of Representatives containing 

 ti4 members, elected for four years. The Presi- 

 dent of the republic is elected for four years by 

 the direct suffrage of the people, and is not re- 

 eligible for the next succeeding term. Gen. Jos6 

 Manuel Pando was elected Constitutional Presi- 

 dent by a national convention at Oruro on Oct. 

 23, 1899. The Constitution, which had been sus- 

 pended since April 14, 1898, was then again put 

 in force. Col. Lucio Peres Velasco was elected 

 First Vice-President and Dr. Anibal Capriles 

 Second Vice-President. Congress has since held 

 regular sessions. One-third of the Senators and 

 one-half of the Representatives are replaced every 

 two years. The Cabinet at the beginning of 1902 

 consisted of the following members: Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs and Public Worship, Dr. Federigo 

 Diez de Medina; Minister of Finance and Indus- 

 try, Dr. Demetrio Calvimontes; Minister of the 

 Interior, Anibal Capriles; Minister of Justice 

 and Public Instruction, Andres S. Munoz; Minis- 

 ter of War and Colonies, Col. Ismael Montes. 



Area and Population. The area, including 

 the territories, is estimated at 734,390 square 

 miles. The population, estimated from the in- 

 complete returns of the census of Sept. 1, 1900, is 

 1.788,674. The department of La Paz, area 171,- 

 130 square miles, had 423,800 inhabitants; Oruro, 

 area 21,350 square miles, had 86,081; Chuquisaca, 

 area 39,890 square miles, had 196,143; Cocha- 

 bamba, area 21,430 square miles, had 326,163; 

 Tarija, area 34,610 square miles, had 77,887; 

 Potosi, area 52,100 square miles, has an esti- 

 mated population of 365,500; Beni, area 100,580 

 square miles, is estimated to have 38,700; Santa 

 Cruz, area 87,700 square miles, has a population 

 <-ti mated at 210,800. The estimate of popula- 

 tion for the territory of Madre de Dios, area 

 13,400 square miles, is 18,600, and for the Purus 

 territory, area 192,200 square miles, the estimate 

 is 45,000. The people are mainly of the native 

 Indian race. There are numerous mestizos and 

 very few of pure European blood. Many Indian 

 tribes still retain their original organization and 

 customs. La Paz has 57,000 inhabitants; Cocha- 

 bamba, 21,886; Sucre, the political capital, 20,900. 

 Finances. The revenue for 1901 was esti- 

 mated at 7,965,350 bolivianos, the exchange value 

 of the boliviano, or Bolivian dollar, being 36 

 cents. The chief part of the revenue comes from 

 customs duties, estimated to produce 6,292,150 

 bolivianos. Excise duties, the mint, and licenses 

 for trading in rubber are the other sources. The 

 expenditure for 1901 was estimated at 7,152,359 

 bolivianos, of which 2,730,123 bolivianos were 

 for the army, 1,173,100 bolivianos for public 

 works, 929,658 bolivianos for the public debt 

 charges, and 439,124 bolivianos for posts and 

 telegraphs. The foreign debt, originally 6,550,000 

 bolivianos, has been reduced by applying 40 per 

 cent, of the Arica customs to its extinction, and 

 in 1900 only 818,813 bolivianos were outstand- 

 ing. The internal debt amounted in 1901 to 

 4.004.020 bolivianos. The departments received 

 in l!)01 from land taxes, excise (Cities on coca, 

 tobacco, and spirits, stamp-duties, and subven- 

 tions from the National Government a revenue 

 Btimated at 2.152.359 bolivianos, and spent 

 2,178,tiOO bolivianos, mainly for police, justice, 

 public works, education, and public worship. 



The Army. There is a standing military 

 force of 2.560 men. The militia held in readiness 



number about 30,000, and the regular and extra 

 reserves 40,000, besides which there is a terri- 

 torial guard of 10,000 men. According to a law 

 made in 1892, military service in these various 

 bodies of the National Guard is compulsory on 

 all Bolivians between the ages of twenty-one and 

 fifty years. The active army consists of 2 battal- 

 ions of infantry, each of 4 companies of 220 men, 

 armed with Mauser rifles of the Argentine model 

 of 1893 and the Bolivian of 1898, having a caliber 

 of 7 millimeters; 2 cavalry regiments; and 2 

 regiments of artillery. There is a garrison bat- 

 talion in each department. 



Commerce and Production. Coffee is ex- 

 ported to Chile and the Argentine Republic. 

 Sugar is grow r n to be distilled into rum, but the 

 supply of this beverage is supplemented by im- 

 ports from Peru. The production of coca, mostly 

 in La Paz, is valued at 3,000,000 bolivianos a 

 year. Cinchona is another important export. 

 Large quantities of rubber are obtained in the 

 Acre region and shipped down the Amazon. The 

 production of silver, including the contents of 

 concentrated ores, in 1899 was 11,155,190 ounces. 

 The export of barillas, or tin ore, in 1900 was 

 10,080 tons, and of bar tin 1,591 tons. The an- 

 nual production of copper barillas is 3,000 tons. 

 Gold is washed by Indians, and companies have 

 been formed to work some promising locations. 

 Lead, zinc, antimony, bismuth, wolfram, salt, 

 and petroleum are found. The total value of 

 imports in 1900 was 13,344,116 bolivianos, and of 

 exports 35,657,690 bolivianos. Imports of cotton 

 goods were valued at 2,011,494 bolivianos; wool- 

 en goods, 1,549,409 bolivianos; provisions, 1,454,- 

 406 bolivianos; cattle, 1,004,294 bolivianos; ma- 

 chinery and hardware, 1,060,177 bolivianos; spir- 

 its and wines, 971,628 bolivianos; clothing, 731,- 

 053 bolivianos. The value of mineral exports 

 was 23,794,268 bolivianos; of vegetable products 

 exported, 11,249,295 bolivianos; of animals and 

 animal products, 614,127 bolivianos. The exports 

 of silver and silver ores were valued at 13,691,268 

 bolivianos; tin and tin ores, 8,579,539 bolivianos; 

 copper ore, 1,025,030 bolivianos; bismuth, 271,702 

 bolivianos; lead, antimony, wolfram, gold, and 

 zinc, 106,467 bolivianos; rubber, 10,403,959 bo- 

 livianos; coca, 563,713 bolivianos; coffee, 157,068 

 bolivianos. Silver is exported largely in the 

 form of coin without being reported, and there 

 are great quantities of rubber shipped from river 

 ports unknown to custom-house officers. The 

 principal merchants are Germans, who deal in 

 English and other goods besides German. The 

 imports from Germany in 1900 were valued at 

 3,109,521 bolivianos; from Great Britain, 2,265,- 

 344 bolivianos; from Peru, 1,710,306 bolivianos; 

 from the Argentine Republic, 1,028,715 bolivianos. 

 About 44 per cent, of the exports are destined 

 for Great Britain, 35 per cent, for Germany, and 

 6 per cent, for France. The Government in 1899 

 established a custom-house on the Acre river, 

 which flows into the Purus. at a newly estab- 

 lished port called Puerto Alonso. The bulk of 

 Bolivian commerce passes through the seaports 

 of Arica and Antofagasta, formerly Bolivian, 

 \\liidi wore occupied by Chile after the defeat of 

 the Peruvian and Bolivian alliance in 1880. The 

 seaboard province of Bolivia which Chile retained 

 as a pledge for the payment of an indemnity has 

 an area of 29,910 square miles. The value of the 

 nitrates obtained for the benefit of the Chilian 

 Government since then from the coast prov- 

 inces has been estimated at 700,000,000 bolivia- 

 nos. In reply to the demands which the Bolivian 

 Government has made for the fulfilment of the 

 promise of Chile to restore a seaport to Bolivia 



