The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-06-19


items are only approximately accurate ow-
ing 20 the complicated nature Of the va
rious national and state guarantees and the
lapse Of some Of them. no
The national guarantees. aggregate 2,660
miles under traffic. The Union and the
States have constructed 2131 miles.
Four Government lines with total length
OF 734 miles were leased to companies
within the last two years. Propositions
for similar leases Of three other Govern
ment lines are now under consideration
One state line has just been sold 20 the
Union. Propositions 10 lease another TO
a company are now being considered by
the administration Of the state which owns
il.
The population of Brazil is scattered
along the coast The large cities are,
with one exception, seaports. The interior
Is mountainous. Inland communication
between the ports is difficult, and each
has its tributary territory dependent for
intercourse with the outside world upon II
alone The railroads are therefore divided
into separate systems, each having its ter
minus at different port and. except in
two instances. not connected with each
other
Beginning at the most nOrtherly FORT
and following around the coast. the sys-
tens may be enumerated as follows:
para, with a single short line.
"Maranhao, with one short line begin
ming a considerable distance UP the uavi-
gable River ItapicUru. which flows into the
sea az the port Of MaranhaO-
"CaMocim, 4 small seaport in the Stats
Of Ceara, with one line.
"Fortaleza, the principal seaport OF he
same state, with one line
Natal, the capital and port OF Rio
Grande do Norte, with enc line.
"Parahiba. the capitaIsof the state OF
the same name. with one line
"Recife. or PeTuambucO. which is he
| centre from which six lines radiate, COW
| erinG pretty we'll the eastern part OF the
state. The most southern Of them con-
meets with the next system
"Maceio. the capital and port Of Alagoas,
| with one line.
'PI-anhas. 4 river port at the head OF
navigation on the Lower San Francisco.
1t has a line. the Paulo Alfonso which
runs around the great cataracts and con-
meets the uav.gable upper and lower
waters of the river.
Bahia. or rather the great hay which
is that city's harbor, is the centre Of four
lines
"CaraveTas. the southern port Of the
State of Bahia, has one line.
Victoria. the capital Of Espiritu Santo,
has one line now under construction,
which it is intended TO connect Win the
Rio system
"Cachoeiro da Itaperim. an unimportant
port at the head Of smalI-bOat navigation
on the river Of that name. which is in the
southern part Of the state Of Espiritu
Canto. This viii shortly be connected with
the next. and its outlet viii then cease to
be By the river.
Rio de Janeiro IS the centre CT the most
extensive system II covers the state OF
the same name and the southern part OF
Minas Geraes. and has an extent OF 3.7e0
miles. nearly half the total mileage Of the
country. This system is connected at two
points with the next. and the two may be
considered as constituting a single sys-
tenn
santos. the sole port of the principal
coffee state. Sac Paulo. and the city of
Sac PaulO. the capital and largest city Of
the state. have an extensive system-over
2 COO miles. tta-.
"Laguna, an unimportnnt port in Santa
Catharina. has one short line
"Paranagua. the port Of the state Of Pa
rama. has one considerable line which in
the near future will be connected with the
Sac Paulo system ..
Porto Allegro. the capital and second
port Of Rio Grande do Sui, has four lines
tributary TO il
Rio Gr4nde. BraziTs most southerly
l.
be connected with the Porto Allegro sys-
ten and ultimately with the next given.
"UrugUayana. a river port on the Uru-
quay River. which is there the Argentine
frontier. has a line isolated from the other
Brazilian roads, but connected with those
OF the Republic Of Uruguay.
THE first railroad in Brazil was opened
for traffic in 1856. II ran from the head
of Rio Bay to the foot OF the mountain
range upon the crest Of which is the sum-
mer capital-Petropolis. The enterprise
was private, and no subvention was given
by the Government. With this exception
the early railroads OF Brazil were tuilt
with Government assistance, and very few
of the railways in this country owe their
origin to unaided private initiative
The late EOS and early SOS we're the
years Of the greatest activity in railroad
building in Brazil. The country had re-
covered from the effects of the expensive
and tedious Paraguayan war, the culture
Of coffee and rubber had been greatly DE-
velOped and we're profitable, the country
enjoyed an entire freedom from revolutions
and serious political disturbances. and the
credit of the Government was excellent
In the ten years since the establishment
OF the Republic {, SOS miles of railroad have
been built and put in operation, all mar
row gauge except the duplication Of por-
lions of the Sac Paulo and the Central
financial results Of the management of the
Central, which is under Government con-
troll, Is that for the last several years the
| expenses have exceeded the income by
nearly 1000, 600 a year. and that the total
expenses have been greater than those es-
timated in the annual reports made by the
/ management TO the industry department
The Central is not only the greatest bust
ness enterprise in Brazil, but 1t is also a
powerful political agency. It's officials and
! employees are usually considered to be sup
| porters of the administration. The renting
Of this great property in order to convert
what is an occasion for serious loss into a
| producer of an income has been the subject
of much discussion Congress has author
| lied the Executive on several occasions TO
| lease it, and propositions have been re-
| ceiVed.
THE great coffee state of Sac Paulo is
well supplied with railroads, and they are
the most prosperous and profitable In the
republic. They are all privately owned,
and the governmental guarantees are Civ