The Washington times., 1915-03-06

Brazil, the largest country in area IN
| the Western Hemisphere, Is in need of
economic support. TO give 1t means the
preservation Of n great field OF oppor-
tunity for American business.
Brasil Is thought about nowadays, not
as where the nuts come from" as It
used to be In the days OF o certain
farce comedy. but as the place from
| which como most of the coffee and the
rubber Of the world In the handling Of
both coffee and rubber. Brazil has made
! mistakes which nre responsible for It's
present troubles.
In coffee. II went too far in tho direc-
| ton of strictly modern and somewhat
| fricnz!ed financial operations. In rub
Der 1T adhered too closely to medieval
methods.
| As a result both coffee and rubber are
| in a condition Of depression. In each
| direction there is need for the guidance
of good business organization and man
| agcment.
MonOpOlized Industries.
Not many years ago. Brazil Inonopo-
llzed these two industries just about as
the United states controlled the busi-
| ness OF raising for the world. Today
| liraail Is fast losing It's grip on rubber
production. because 1t was not enter
prispg enough; and II has shattered its
| coffee monopoly because 1t was over
| enterprising.
As result. Brazil IL now In the
grip OF depression that in some sec
| tions amounts to panic. Its credits
| abroad are In bad shape. and its people
are unable to get more credits because
of the war In Europe.
| Plantation rubber and syndicated cof-
fee have brought Brasil its difficulties.
natural source OF this staple. The COM
ing OF the automobile ought, in the ordi-
| nary processes OF nature and commerce,
10 have made Brazil richer than 1t had
Nreamcd Of being. But Brazil was 80
busy trying to establish a monopoly OF
coffee that It didn't see rubber in time.
Now It Is threatened with losing the
rubber business. while the coffee
monopoly has fattened out and brought
| disaster.
| The trouble began a number Of year-
ago with overproduction Of coffee. II
| the Brazilian people had recognized the
conditions as they really were there
would have been no immediate govern.
which there was no profit. But if Brazi
has been willing to stand tho discornfor,
for little time. If would have put al
world. No other country would hav.
| been able to compete with it. Venezuela
| Central America. Porto Rico. Arabia
| and the rest would have been swampec
cheaphess of the brazilian crop. ano
Erazil would have had everything IT.
own way.
Money From Government.
But instead tho Brazilian financiers
bethought themselves Of establishing
the coffee valortzation project, under
which the Government loaned its credit
TO a great scheme of monopolizing. reg
ulating and directing coffee production,
Bankers in Europe and the United
States were induced to finance the
project. which involved strict limita-
ton upon the production Of coffee IN
world market 1t worked we'll for a
time. and the world paid abnormal
prices for coffee. But In the end the
Porto Rico: Mexico. the Philippines, and
other regions went heavily into produc.
| tlon; protective duties were levied in
various countries to take care of theil
end Brazil found herself trying to keer
u pthe worlds price. while other and
rival producers were Increasing theii
output while carrying none OF the bur
dens OF the price stimulation.
This collapse OF the coffee valoriza tior
enterprise started Brazil's visible trou
hles. But rubber has been hndled nc
more fortunately.
The natural rubber producer of The
world Is Brazil. The staple comes from
jungies which few white men have pen
rtrated in the tropical upper waters OF
the Amazon system OF rivers. Some o
Il. even from Brazil, 10 marketed
through Peru.
Must Be Increased.
1t is fifteen or twenty years since the
out side world awoke to realize that rub
Der supplies must be vastly increased OF
there would be a famine. The Londor
era of speculation in rubber plantation
shares will not be forgotten in man,
decades. 1t represented the effect tt
cultivate the rubber tree in compe titior
with the naive rees OF Brazil.
All over the tropical world, rubbe