In travelling over Argentina one sees very few soldiers. A man in a navy uniform will be encountered much more frequently. The standing army only numbers twenty thousand men, while the active naval force is not less than twenty-five thousand, most of whom are young men of twenty and twenty-one years of age. This force is kept recruited by conscription. All citizens are registered at birth and a number placed opposite the names on the register. Numbers are drawn each year of the young men who have reached the age of eighteen. The higher numbers pass into the navy for two years, and the lower numbers enter into the army for one year. Then after their discharge from active service these men pass into the reserves, where they are kept enrolled until they are thirty years of age. This keeps a large reserve force ready for duty in both army and navy. The Escuela Naval Militar, a naval college, is maintained where young men are trained to take positions as officers in the navy, similar to our own naval school at Annapolis. In nearly all the public schools the boys are given a military training under the direction of retired naval and military officers, and are allowed the gratuitous use of firearms and ammunition. Nearly every city and town has a shooting range where target practice is carried on under the direction of officials. The tactics are German, but the uniforms in both army and navy are of French design. The Argentinians are very proud of their navy. There is a great jealousy between that republic and Brazil, and a consequent rivalry in building up a navy. A few years ago Brazil ordered three Dreadnaughts from English builders, the first two of which have just been received, and the other one will be delivered very soon. These boats were supposed to be the most powerful representatives of this style of war vessels ever constructed, but the Argentine naval experts believe that their new marine monsters will be still more effective. They considered the proposition for a long time, and maintained a committee in Europe for a year in order to peruse plans and keep in touch with the very latest developments in naval construction. The plans finally adopted were the result of this careful and painstaking study. The boats will be seventy feet longer than the Brazilian Dreadnaughts, twenty-five hundred tons greater displacement and will have a guaranteed speed of one additional knot.