The Washington herald., 1909-05-23

extraordinary completeness in al Its
municipal details Electric lighted. with
troieys, modern houses. hotels. and well
paved streets. il seems % have been q
magic city. picked up bodily from an old
I civilization and stationed here iH the
midst OF the iuxuriance of the South
American tropics.
These two cities. Para and Manaos. are
not however merely show places. They
have 2 sterner purpose and a more seri-
Gus ambition. They have become pres
porous because the commerce OF the
Amazon Is so immense that much Of the
( Industry OF the world. besides a great
/ deal Of its comfort and well being depend
upon II The Traveller from the United
States may wish 10 investigate this part
OF the earJh's surface a. he does Europe
Of the far East. but the merchant OF
the United States must soon learn that
something besides curiosity is 10 be sat
isied there.
Rubber Comes from the Amazon.
From the Amazon comes the larger
share Of the rubber Of the world; a
high per cent OF The cacso. and every
year the shipments OF cattle. hides and
other pastoral and agricultural products
are greater.
In l9oS there registered from Para Tor
navigation Of the inland waters OF the
Amazon and its tributaries IJ4 first-class
steamers. In one year 1,7S steamers
entered the port. aad altogether in 1917
4S55 vessels. Of over 2.Go0.o09 tons capac-
iJy we're needed to handle the local and
foreign traffc- Five transatlantic steam
ship laes, with a feet Of over zoo modern
vessels carry on regular service between
the Amazon River and Europe and as
return cargoes. in place Of the rubber
and cacao. they supply the needs for
both necessities and Injuries OF pcpu-
lalicn already beyond l,e0o,o0e.
Aianaos has constructed modern. COM
r0d.ous docks and warehouses capable
Of accommodating this immense trade.
Para finding that its docks we're too
small. has now nearly finished port
works. az the expense OF several millions
of dollars. and plans 10 harbor steamers
from all over the world. with permanent
depth alongside OF fully thirty feet
Lesson for the south.
There Is great lesson IN this. for the
readers Of The Washington Herald. The
southern section of -he United States
Is in reality only short distance away
from the producing area and consuming
markets implied by the Amazon River
The rubber cacaO. hides. and hardwOods
are needed in the United States, and
quite as much in the South as n the
North TIE immense territory Of the
Amazon : demanding each year more
and more Of the products-cotton and
cotton goods. all sorts OF manufactured
articles-from the Industrial centeTs OF
the South, which can so easily be trans
ported directly thither. II behooves the
manufacturers of Atlanta, of Birming
ham. and other cities OF similar am5i-
ton: the merchants OF Savannah. Mobile.
Charleston. and New Orleans. 10 study
these markets and to determine % estab-
Hsh close and intimate association
between their growing cities
4 recent Florida news item stated that
tvvo cargoes Of Birmingham steel rails
we're about 20 be shipped from Pensacola
TO a point high up on the Amazon These
steamers can return with their holds
fun OF freight useful al the port from
which they started Let Us hope that
this cargo Is only the 8rst of many others
10 be sent regularly hack and forth 10
Strengthen the friendship between the
United States and Brazil