Evening star., 1942-09-02
President Appoints
| Technical Mission
Ito Aid braziIians
Morris |. Cooke Named
To Head Study Of
Wur Industries
BY BLAIR BOLLES.

President Roosevelt today ap-
pointed a United States tech
nical commission he is sending
to Brazil to increase that coun-
try's economic strength for the
fight against the Axis and save
United Nations shipping space
by developing Brazilian industry
and raw materials output.
Morris L. Cooke, whose most re-
cent official assignment was as ex-
pert for the evaluation of the United
States petroleum property expropri-
ated by Mexico, was named head of
the mission. 1t is comprised of in
dustrial engineers, but only Mr..
Cookies name was made public.
The plans for industrializing Bra
zil are expected to increase consider
ably the economic power of the
whole United Nations group.
Objective of Mission.
The mission will leave for South
America soon, the White House an
nounced, with these four principal
detectives:
l. Increase Brazilian production of
essential products, especially those
which formerly were imported from
the United States, in order to save
shipping space.
2. Convert Brazilian industries to
the use of substitute raw materials,
replacing supplies ordinarily i'm
ported.
3. Maintain and improve trans
portation facilities.
4. Lay the foundation for long
range strengthening of Brazil's
whole industrial economy.
The decision to send the mission
was reached before Brazil entered
the war, but, the White Hous
statement said, THE scope and ur-
gency of their work have been con-
slderably increased as a result of
Brazils declaration of war against
Germany and Italy"
Requested by Brazil.
The mission was organized by the
Board of Economic Warfare, the
State Department, and the War
Production Board at the request
OF the Brazilian government. A
group OF Brazilian industrial ex-
perts has been selected to work
with the United States technicians.
The Brazilian Embassy said that
the vital industrial needs of Brazil
include facilities for manufacture
Ing nat glass now imported from
the United States; for expanding
Brazilian output of aluminium by
| developing the bauxite mines in the
state OF Minas Geraes; for greater
iron and steel output, and for in
creasing the use of coffee bean
planting as a substitute material
instead OF plastic made from i'm
ported soybeans.
The Embassy said that Brazils
highway system needs great i'm
provement and that an urgent
transportation question Is the com
pletion of the 4,0O0-mile railway
from Brazil's seacoast to Bolovia,
which is rich in industrial raw ma
| terials.
Building Coastal Highway.
Brazil is constructing a .super-
highway along the Atlantic coast
from Rio de Japeiro to Bahia that
Is aimed at reducing the need for
using ships to transport goods from
one part of Brazil to the other.
Another feature of the United
States cooperation with Brazil, the
White House said, is that the Office
OF o-ordinator of Inter-American
Affairs will assist in the develop
ment of an enlarged force of trained
workers to man Brazil's expanding
war production program. The CO.
ordinator will work through the
facilities of the Brazilian Inter-
American Development Commission
The Cooke mission will consider
measures to increase Brazils power
production. or to convert its US
to alternative fuels ;" So White
House said r .uel and power
are prima problems in the Bra
lillian industrialization program"
t The White House statement
added:
Expansion of existing ore reduc-
ton plants in Brazil will be studied
with the purpose of releasing con-
siderable equipment in the United
Nations and at the same time saving
thousads of tons of vital shipping
space"
This was taken to mean that ore
plants now turning out pig iron for