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Show I EYE-OPENERS FOR AMERICANS. Americans are disposed to boast of their country's great progress, but in many things America Is far behind many of the nations of Europe, and even South America, which is thought of as a backward, glow going region of the world, can give us instructions in government. Recently Argentina has sent agents to the United States to buy lumber and other material for 10.000 homes to he erected In Buenos Aires for the worklncmen of that City. The gov ernmemt has entered Into a contract with a large New York company for the erection of two-story houaee In an outlying district of the Argentine capital. Each house 1b to hare not less thnn five rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, sewer connections, etc., must front on a strcr t or public parage, par-age, and must be within four squares of a street car line or a railway ta-lion. ta-lion. These houses are to be sold, preferably to Argentine citizens in the employ of the government, on an installment plan whereby the pur chaser obligates himself to pay $23.65 per month until the mortgage loan of 2580 has been repaid with interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum Houses not taken up by employes of the government are to be sold to other applicants. Similar projects arc under way in Santa Fe and other provinces of Argentina, the houses in most cases being smaller and les? expensive thus reducing the amoun' of the installments and enabling workmen with incomes of less than $100 per month to become purchasers. The feature which makes the plan f bit is the fact lhat the govern-I govern-I ment is to issue a series of what are known aa "internal bonds, bearing Interest at the rate of 6 per cent which it lends to the construction I companies, thereby enabling them to fl nance these large projects. Much of the imported building material It also to be admitted free of duty While the Buenos Aires project 13 1 perhaps the largest lauuehed so far, i the Idea of governmental aid in the building of homes for working men ;s not so very new in Latin American I countries In 1910 the Cuban congress con-gress passed a law authorising the executive ex-ecutive department to construct 2000 small cottages, each to be assigned by lot to native-born or naturalized Cuban heads of families, of good conduct, con-duct, having no personal resources other than the results of their labors, la-bors, and whose names arc properly registered. The houses were to be built of brick and tiles, at least thir tcen feet high, and to contain a lit I ing room, dining room, two bed rooms I kitchen, bath and toilet, the lots to be at least 10 1-2x65 feet Workmen ! placed in possession of these houses pay $2.05 within the first ten days of each month, which amount is applied ap-plied to the interest and amortization, payment of water service, and expenses ex-penses of administration. When the possessor has repaid the amount of the actual cost of construction and the other obligations the state giv. it him R deed to the property. The houses are exempt from the payment of buildinp fees official charges, and of all taxes during the ten jears In which the purchaser agrees to pay for the property. Under the provisions of this law, up to January 1, 1014, 950 houses had been constructed in Havana, forty five miles in Pinar del Rio. and fifty-eight in various places In the province of Santa Clara. Plans similar to these have been in operation for some years in Chile. Brazil and Colombia, and arc bein, projected in Salvador, the dominican republic, Peru and other 1 atin mer ican countries. Here in the United States where the people are supposed to rule, less is done for the working people than In any one of ten countries that can be enumerated. In Germany and England Eng-land old-age pension exists. Here, when a man grows old, we send him to the poor houses throw him on the scrap heap. Note how we treat the unemployed Every man out of employment is forced to become a mendicant. There is no plan whereby work of an kind is to he offered those out of work. We give less attention as a nation (o housing and coring for human be inga than In, looking after livestock |