11 



In the race for prosperity only one party can show a' 

 really definite advance; the cereal grower has not 

 achieved any advance on his previous attainments, has- 

 failed to come up to the mark altogether ; whereas he had 

 to his credit in 1913, $300 millions gold ; wheat 100 ; maize 

 100, linseed 30, etc.,; five years later he has even lower 

 figures. 



An increase in the value generally of all our exports 

 may be attributed to the war, and be of only secondary 

 importance in the long run, but in the case of live stock 

 it has been accompanied by increased production ; on the 

 other hand Agriculture or cereal growing which nas had 

 the same advantage of increased values has been accom- 

 panied by decreased production, or let us say, less profit- 

 able production ; the relative increase in value of our cat- 

 tle products has been accompanied by real profits (it has 

 been attained without decrease in the total of produc- 

 tion) which cannot be said of our cereals. 



Therefore, in considering the relative progress of our 

 two chief branches of farming enterprise, we are forced 

 to the conclusion that the cattle breeders have got lower 

 increase per unit but have profited by volume, whilst 

 our cereal farmers have augmented the average price but 

 have really not greatly increased their profits. 



This cannot be explained as the effect of the war 

 since assuredly at the beginning it should have been ad- 

 vantageous to both, and it has proved beneficial to all par- 

 ties, only with the difference that one has been able to 

 compete more successfully than the other, for our cereals 

 have been knocked out in the race for the world's mark- 

 ets. 



Both parties have seen a similar increase in prosper- 

 ity, both have seen their produce fetch higher and higher 

 prices, the prices ruling for cereals in 1916 were the high- 

 est ever recorded, equally so were the prices for wool, 

 altho those for meat (only now beginning to move up- 

 ward) have not recorded such phenomenal advances, yet 

 when we compare their respective situations to-day I ven- 

 ture to say that no one will attribute an equal state of 

 prosperity to the parties. 



REAL AND FICTITIOUS PROSPERITY. 



To both have been attributed prosperity by superfi- 

 cial observers, ye't it is difficult to conciliate the diverse 

 aspects of such prosperity : for whatever we hear from 

 the cattle breeders, it is certainly a different tune to that 

 of the cerealists. 



In the case of the "chacarero" five years of reputed 

 prosperity seem in truth to have remarkably curious ef- 



