112 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



With the exception of produce from Bolivia, which 

 is transit cargo, and passes through the Brazilian ports 

 in bulk, all rubber is packed in boxes before shipment. 

 Records kept at Para in 1912 show that the average 

 weight of these cases in that year was 



The Federal Government is quite aware of the 

 disastrous effect the ruin of the Amazon rubber industry 

 would entail in connection with the general prosperity 

 of Brazil, but in Rio de Janeiro generally the economic 

 conditions of the Northern States are not appreciated 

 or understood. The necessity of a journey of fifteen 

 days' duration between the Federal capital and the 

 city of Manaos creates a barrier effectually blocking 

 any free intercourse between the two sections of the 

 country ; furthermore, this lamentable ignorance of the 

 true circumstances underlying the existing critical state 

 of affairs in the rubber districts enables self-seeking 

 politicians to distort the real facts of the case to suit 

 their own purposes. The natural consequence of this 

 isolation between north and south is a complete lack of 

 sympathy on the part of the southern Brazilians with 

 their northern compatriots. Perhaps no better illustra- 



