CHILE

Agriculture

The agricultural activities of Chile are almost wholly confined to the great central valley. This is the region of large estates equipped with modern machinery and owned by the wealthy classes, who are so potent in the political life of the republic. Furthermore, a large part of the best agricultural land is held by the Roman Catholic Church, whose political and material power is relatively greater in Chile than in any other of the Spanish-American States.

It is estimated that about 50 per cent. of the population is engaged in agricultural pursuits. A large proportion of the natives are engaged as farm laborers on the extensive estates. The high price of lands prevailing in the central valley (based more on the mineral deposits they are supposed to contain than on their fertility) makes purchase difficult for the lower classes. The unoccupied land in the less favorable part of the country usually requires a considerable outlay of labor and capital before it yields crops; even then its fertility is not always sufficient to repay the farmer. Another obstacle to the development of the farming resources of the country is the "nitrate boom." Owing to the rapid development of nitrate-mining and the scarcity of labor in Chile, wages increased in a considerable degree, and many families from the agricultural districts of the south were induced to move to the mining districts of the north, thereby greatly raising the price of agricultural labor.

Manufactures and Commerce

The manufacturing industries of Chile are as yet unimportant. The natives, like most Spanish Americans, do not take readily to manufacturing, while the foreign element is still too small to exercise a perceptible influence on the industrial life of the country. In the southern part of Chile, and especially in the German settlement of Valdivia, there are a number of large breweries, distilleries, tanneries, and sawmills. Soap, furniture, and shoes are also manufactured. The scarcity of labor and inadequate communication facilities will probably prevent the industrial development of the country for some time, foreign capital confining itself chiefly to the more remunerative exploitation of the mineral products of the country.

Population

The number of foreigners in 1895 was 72,812, as against 65,000 in 1885,and included 8296 Spaniards, 7809 Frenchmen, 7049 Germans, 7586 Italians, 6241 Englishmen and natives of ten more European countries, 13, 695 Peruvians, 6654 Bolivians, and only 701 persons from the United States.

Immigration

Notwithstanding the energetic efforts of the Chilean Government, has been rather light , and attended with little success. One of the most promising colonial ventures is the German colony of Valdivia. Its success, however, has been due to the exceptional character of the colonists, as well as to the conditions under which they came. When the Chilean Government , encouraged by the example of the Valdivia colony, began to encourage colonization on a larger scale, by means of foreign agencies and free passage to the country, the immigrant population became less desirable in character, and only a small proportion became permanent settlers. Still the foreign population has played not a little part in the development of the country. *(N.I.E.)

BOLIVIA

Immigration and Colonization

The lack of population and capital has been and will continue to be during the coming years, a major "obstacle" toward the development and perfect advantage of the natural wealth of the country. All those that have exploited the Bolivian territory affirm that it constitutes a true emporium of wealth to which it lacks a considerable outlay of labor in order for it to be properly advantageous. The native, indolent and routinist by nature, cannot be considered as an element in the progress of Bolivia, while the white population, is still too small to exercise a vigorous influence on the industrial life of the country.

 There does not exist in the country a single department that will not offer the immigrant an abundance of resources that will enable him to become established and procure a living with little effort, thanks to the fertility of the soil and excellent conditions of the climate. On the other hand, the government facilitates immigration. The foreigner in a short time can become a Bolivian citizen and a large landowner in the country. The person that invests a small amount of capital, achieves without great difficulty a rapid increase, employing it in the exploitation of rubber or in one of the native industries.

In recent times the government has tried to make immigration permanent by means of a series of widely liberal dispositions that did not prove successful or fulfill their expectations. With the object of facilitating the information on the advantages granted to the immigrants, the National Office of Immigration, Statistics and Geographical Propaganda was created in 1896.

Several attempts have been made with the intention of establishing colonies in Bolivia, but because of the initiators not having at their disposal sufficient capital, and lacking the required knowledge, the intent was met with little success. The government has always been generous in its concessions to the colonizing companies. Of these the "Arming Company" and "L' Africaine, actually exist.  Several railway lines and the exploration of the eastern and southern regions of the country are in progress.

The territories that are most suitable for immediate development are those areas where the rubber grows in abundance. The establishment of industries  that derive from agriculture and live-stock, within those areas, would necessarily have to be very productive. The territories of Guarayos y Otuquies in the SE. do not have a rival for colonization, due to their proximity to the Paraguay river, which facilitates traffic. In the department of Beni and the Province of Caupolican, department of La Paz, there are two regions that can be truthfully called the region of gold and of rubber and the region of the pastures. In the sections of La Paz, Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca and Tarija, there also exist great land extensions that only awaits colonization, and where the agriculture, live-stock, exploitation of the forests and other industries can be established on a large scale rendering important benefits.

Some of the following data may be useful to the immigrant: Calculate in 635,000 kms (kilometers), the surface of uncultivated land whose acquisition can be effected by any resident, national or foreign, up to 20,000 hectares, paying ten cents for each one if they are appropriate to agriculture and cattle-raising, and one "boliviano" per hectare of rubber producing tree forest. The request must appear in a sealed paper, stamps of 10 Bolivians, before the prefect or delegate of the corresponding jurisdiction. There are lands called 'of colonization '(270,600 kms.) which the government reserves with a purpose of colonizing with the immigrant or native element of the country that lends itself to the promotion and development of certain wealth of the soil. *(E.U.I.E.A.)

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