Argentina from a British Point of View, and Notes on Argentine Life
History
Argentina from a British Point of View, and Notes on Argentine Life
Argentina -- Description and travel; Argentina -- Economic conditions; Argentina -- Social life and customs
Argentina will embrace and reward them, but she will spurn
and despise the dissolute and drunken.
The advice I would give to all those thinking of trying Argentina as a
field for agricultural work is to remember that to be successful one
must begin at the bottom, the harder the school the better will be the
result: you cannot detect and correct the faults which militate against
success unless you have been through the mill. Not long ago I sent a boy
out to Argentina and painted the first two years of learning in the new
country in rather lurid colours. I explained and dwelt on the
hardships--indeed, I described it as "a dog's life." Within a year, the
lad wrote home to his parents and mentioned all that I had told him, but
finished up by saying, "There's plenty of 'life' about it, but not much
'dog.'" The truth is that the boy had accepted things as they came along
and had adapted himself to his surroundings, and, I predict, he will
never regret having left his home, where opportunities were cramped by
small surroundings, for the wider field of Argentina.
A great many Englishmen resident in Argentina, whose sons are looking
forward to finding their life's work in that country, send their boys
home to England to be educated. Far be it from me to deprecate the
training acquired by English public school life, but it might well be
worth while to consider the other phase. The boy who has had his
schooling in Argentina and goes through his training and passes into one
of their Universities will have to his credit something which cannot be
bought by money or influence by boys straight out from home. He will
have been a fellow student, and worked shoulder to shoulder with men who
will in due time occupy positions of power and influence, and it is just
as well to weigh out these things before deciding where to educate your
boy. A boy born in Argentina, whatever the nationality of his parents
may be, is by Argentine law an Argentine subject, and should be brought
up to appreciate that he is liable to be called upon to go through a
military course: the Argentine boy, who has had just as gentle an
upbringing as the English boy, is compelled to serve his time in the
army if called upon, and generally the discipline engendered by this
training has not only been good for him, but is a distinctly valuable
asset to the country, and the English boy, as well as a boy of any other
parentage born in the country, will be obliged to go through this
military training if required.
I venture to think that were England to adopt compulsory military
service in some shape or form, we should hear a great deal less of the
unemployed and "don't-want-work" demonstrations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account