150 



during the first five months of the year, and the other 

 seven months, when we have nothing to export, but on 

 the contrary are getting in the money from abroad, 

 must represent millions of pesos annualty. In this 

 respect it is certainly curious to have to record that 

 annually the Banks working here have to lend money 

 to Europe, not because Europe wants it, but because it 

 is too costly to bring it all away at once. 



The "Banco de la Nacion", to cite alone the prin- 

 cipal bank, has at times had to leave nearly $ 30 mil- 

 lions in gold lying about in European banks, for 

 months at a time, in order to avoid the congestion 

 which our insane and disorganised way of selling our 

 crop brings about every year that we have a good crop 

 to dispose of. 



ARGENTINA LENDS EUROPE MONEY. 



And the disorder of our business methods ex- 

 tends to the "Caja de Conversion" where, strange to 

 relate, instead of money pouring into it as we harvest 

 our crop, we see the gold flow out, which supposedly 

 means that the circulation of paper money is reduced, 

 precisely when there is the most demand for it. During 

 January and February there is one four*li less gold 

 in the coffers of the "Caja de Conversion' than there 

 is at any other time in the year; the difference has 

 reached some 50 millions gold at times. 



How important is this question of giving flexibil- 

 ity to the monetary system of the Republic so as to 

 meet a-ll demands without everlastingly disturbing the 

 whole economy of the country evory year ! ! 



And it all hangs on how we undertake the hand- 

 ling of our cereals; our cereals are the chief source of 

 all the difficulties. Were it not for the constant steady- 

 ing effect of our meat exports, the difficulties would 

 be trebled ; and as matters stand the future holds out 

 the prospect of even greatly increased complications, 

 for I believe no-one will deny that the epoch of easy 

 going competition has passed for many a year, and that 

 we have entered on a period of intense struggle, in 

 which the country will have need to husband all her 

 resources, unless she wishes to see herself displaced in 

 the markets which she has won with such happy ease 

 in the past. 



Tt is one of the problems crying out for the hand 

 of a competent statesman. 



T have touched largely on some aspects of the ques- 



