BRAZIL 



907 



BRAZIL 



cessor, Dr. Campos Salles, chosen in 1898, 

 inaugurated a great improvement in the gov- 

 ernment finances. Within the next decade 

 the capital city took on a new appearance, 

 being modernized in many ways, and became 

 a delightful city alike for permanent residence 

 or for temporary sojourn (see Rio DE JANEIRO). 



In 1902 Rodrigues Alves was chosen for the 

 Presidency, and in 1906 the choice fell upon 

 Affonso Penna, who died in office, three years 

 later. The International Exposition held at 

 Rio de Janeiro for six months in 1909 was 

 notable for the plan then conceived to main- 

 tain a continuous Brazilian-American exhibit of 

 samples of goods offered for trade. 



Hermes da Fonseca was elected President in 

 1910, and Wenceslao Braz in 1914. The visit of 

 Dr. Lauro Miiller, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 to the United States in 1913 was appreciated, 

 for Americans credited him largely with the 

 marvelous improvement of the Brazilian cap- 

 ital and the advancement of his nation within 

 recent years, and recognized in him a promoter 

 both of trade and of good feeling. 



On October 26, 1917, Brazil declared war upon 

 Germany, and threw its moral force with the 

 allies. A.DEF.M. 



Other Items of Interest. On the northern 

 coast of Brazil there is a native variety of 

 cotton which grows in the form of a little 

 tree. This often attains a height of eight feet 

 and produces a long, strong fiber. 



With a view to bringing about closer rela- 

 tions between the United States and Brazil, an 

 American Chamber of Commerce has been 

 established in Rio de Janeiro. Its first quar- 

 terly magazine, printed in English and Portu- 

 guese, appeared in July, 1916. 



Santos-Dumont, the famous inventor and 

 aeronaut, was born at Sao Paulo, Brazil. 



There are various species of ants in Brazil 

 which build huge nests. On the way from Sao 

 Paulo to Rio de Janeiro may be seen hundreds 

 of hills each taller than a man. 



The production of coffee and of rubber com- 

 prises about sixty per cent of the industries 

 of Brazil, and practically all of the product is 

 exported, the country using no rubber in its 

 raw state and very little coffee. 



About seventy per cent of the coffee of the 

 United States, over 700,000,000 pounds annu- 

 ally, comes from Brazil. 



Of the states of Brazil, the smallest, Sergipe, 

 has an area about one-fifth greater than that 

 of Maryland. Its population, however, is only 

 about one-third that of the latter state. 



"Long distance" telephone lines are being 

 rapidly extended in Brazil, and many of the 

 large cities now communicate with each other 

 across hundreds of miles. 



Because of the scarcity of coal, most of the 

 locomotive and steamboat engines use wood 

 and oil as fuel. 



New industries are constantly coming into 

 prominence. In the not far distant future, 

 for instance, it is believed that Brazil will be 

 exporting and not importing rice. 



There exists between Brazil and the United 

 States a treaty which provides for amicable 

 settlement by arbitration of any disputes which 

 may arise between the two countries. 



The deepest mine in the world is a gold mine 

 in the state of Minas Geraes, Brazil. It is sunk 

 in the hard rock, and has a shaft over 5,800 

 feet in depth, while its lowest point is 3,056 

 feet below sea level. 



Consult Brazilian Year Book, published in Rio 

 de Janeiro, London and New York (inquire of 

 Brazilian embassy, Washington) ; Winter's Bra- 

 zil and Her People To-day ; Roosevelt's Through 

 The Brazilian Wilderness. 



Related Subjects. The reader who is inter- 

 ested in Brazil will find helpful the articles on 

 the following topics : 



CITIES AND TOWNS 



Rio de Janeiro 



Santos 



Sao Paulo 



LEADING PRODUCTS 



Rubber 

 Sugar 



RIVERS 



Sao Francisco 



Tapajos 



Uruguay 



Coffee 

 Cotton 

 Gold 



Amazon 

 Madeira 

 Paraguay 

 Parana 



BRAZIL, IND., an important manufacturing 

 city of the state and the county seat of Clay 

 County, with a population of 10,001 in 1914, 

 an increase of 661 since 1901. English, Scotch, 

 Irish and Poles comprise about forty per cent 

 of the inhabitants. Brazil is situated in the 

 western part of the state, sixteen miles north- 

 east of Terre Haute and fifty-seven miles 

 southwest of Indianapolis. The city is served 

 by the Vandalia Line, constructed to this point 

 in 1850; the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Rail- 

 road, built in 1885, and the Central Indiana 

 Railway, completed in 1890. The city was 

 founded in 1844, was incorporated in 1873 and 

 named for Brazil, South America. The area 

 is about two and one-half square miles. 



