November 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



57 



The Story of the Para Congress. 



By Our Special Conesl>ondcnt. 



[The September and October numbers of THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD contained brief descriptions of the im- 

 portant Congress for the Economic Defense of the Amazons. The proceedings in detail, with adequate illustrations, are 

 now presented by our special correspondent.] 



THE members of the Congress for the Economic Defense of 

 the Amazons being assembled at Para, Dr. Eneas Martins, 

 honorary president, declared the congress duly opened. On 

 the platform, with his Excellency the Governor, were, to liis right, 

 Dr. Augusto Borborema, president of the State Senate, and Mr. 

 J. Siniao da Costa, representing the Ministry of Agriculture; and 

 on the left, Dr. J. Ferreira Teixeira, president of the congress, 

 and Mr. J. A. Mcndes, secretary. 



Dr. Bento Miranda addressed the audience in a very eloquent 

 and scholarly speech, as to the necessity of cooperation towards 

 the maintenance of the wild rubber industry of the Amazons. 

 and the creation of other industries side by side with this whicli 

 is now almost the only industry prosecuted in the whole region. 



Dr. Miranda referred to the time when the East Indian gov- 

 ernment proposed a legislative measure for the purpose of send- 

 ing a competent expert to Brazil to bring back the products of 

 the Hevca tree. Brazilian statesmen then gave their attention 

 to matters of detail rather than to the palpable necessities of 

 the situation. This is, however, no time for recrimination. After 

 dealing with the historical and philosophical aspects of the 

 queston, Dr. Miranda in his concluding words referred to tlie 

 proposal of combining the existing regional banking concerns 

 into a large credit establishment for handhng rubber. This 

 establishment would have a laboratory in New York, as well 

 as one at Para and one at Hamburg, for the comparative study 

 of all qualities of rubber, as well as for the carrying out of a 

 propaganda among the large factories of North America and 

 Central Europe. Contracts would be made on the basis of the 

 different types at prices fixed each season in harmony with the 

 state of the market. 



His Excellency the Governor then spoke ami iiil'MriiiL-iI his 



Ste.\mer which Conveyed Members 



Congress to Moju. 



audience of the numerous practical methods he had been adopt- 

 ing of investigating the possibilities of extensive fruit cultiva- 

 tion and of taking other steps of equal importance to the future 

 welfare of the State. 



The assembly then proceeded to the Pedro de Toledo Pavilion, 

 where there was a fairly large exhibit of crude rubber, cocoa. 



cocoanut products, tobacco and other native products. This ex- 

 hibition having been formally declared open, the meeting dis- 

 persed and the public was allowed free admittance to the pa- 

 vihon. 



His Excellency the Governor once more appeared at the sec- 



ww^smk. 



m}'' :-^'^ 



Front View of the Pedro de Toledo P.avilion in which the 

 E.x POSITION w.^s Held. 



ond session of the Congress, in deference to Mr. J. Simao da 

 Costa, who had promised beforehand to address the audience. 



Mr. da Costa spoke for an hour and succeeded in riveting the 

 attention of his audience by the interesting w-ay in which he laid 

 out the lines and indicated the avenues open to the people of the 

 Amazons, making it clear tliat it was "up to them" to follow 

 these lines and win the respect and the admiration of the world, 

 or lag behind in a state of humiliation and failure. 



In opening his speech, Mr. da Costa said that he thought 

 James Bryce had been harsh and unjust as to the characteristics 

 "f the Brazilian race, but in one respect he was right, — in the 

 matter of agriculture. As regards this valuable industry, Brazil- 

 ians cannot deny that they have preferred words, words and 

 words, and after-dinner rhetoric, to practical deeds. But there 

 could be no agriculture where there were no agriculturists. The 

 need for agricultural training was immediate and pressing, as 

 modern agriculture and cattle-farming were no longer the avoca- 

 tions of ignorant peasants, but the noble professions of highly 

 trained scientific men. The immense tracts of forest in the 



