42  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

observer  counted  over  600  vessels  in  the  harbor ­
  of  Buenos  Aires  flying  the  American  flag
or  more  than  double  the  number  of  all  the
other  nations  combined.  To-day  but  few  are
to  be  seen  in  the  vast  shipping  of  this  busy
port.
The  Argentine  Republic  stands  ninth
among  the  world’s  nations  in  the  length  of  her
railways,  having  about  22,000  miles  of  track.
Many  lines  are  in  process  of  construction  or
contemplated,  the  public  and  the  government
both  realizing  that  a  complete  network  of  railways ­
  leading  to  the  ports  accelerate  the  moving ­
  of  crops  and  cattle  and  are  absolutely  essential ­
  to  its  prosperity.  Buenos  Aires  quite
naturally  is  the  principal  terminal  of  most
roads,  while  Santa  Fe,  Rosario,  Bahia  Blanca
and  La  Plata  are  rapidly  coming  to  the  front
as  shipping  centers  and  are  providing  appropriate ­
  facilities  for  handling  trade.  It  has
been  said  that  every  railway  in  the  country
is  extending  its  lines  more  and  more  into  the
interior,  and  railway  journeys  to  Brazil,  Paraguay ­
  and  Bolivia  as  well  as  Chile  are  now