The immigration offices and statistics from 1857 to 1903 : $b Information for the Universal Exhibition of St. Louis (U.S.A.)

The opening pages lay out a thorough picture of how Argentina managed the flow of newcomers in the late 19th century. It details the hierarchy of the Immigration Department, from the chief officials in Buenos Aires to the 42 auxiliary commissions scattered across the interior. Readers also learn about the many specialized offices—archives, treasury, statistics, interpreters, labor and forwarding, and the immigrant hotel—each designed to smooth the arrival and settlement process.

Beyond organizational charts, the work presents regular statistical reports that break down arrivals by nationality, gender, age, profession, and even ship flags, offering a rare quantitative glimpse of migration patterns between 1857 and 1903. The description of services such as medical care, translation, and baggage handling shows how the government sought to protect and employ new arrivals. Listeners will come away with a concrete sense of the administrative machinery that powered one of South America’s most ambitious settlement campaigns.