COTTON SPINNING AND WEAVING 41 



Ten or twelve per cent, profit in a country where money pays one 

 per cent, interest per month would not be looked upon as a satisfactory 

 return on the outlay. A cotton mill under efficient management is 

 a good investment. The demand for national goods is greater than 

 can be supplied. It is recognised that most of the Brazilian cotton 

 mills use by far too good a equality of cotton for the low counts they 

 spin, and in this direction alone a good saving could be obtained. 

 The mills have made such handsome profits that some do not consider 

 it worth their while to study economy. 



Even during the recent crisis under which Brazil sufl^ered severely 

 there was no lack of orders. Some mills stopped for one or two days 

 a week principally because they did not know whether their customers 

 were still financially sound. I was told repeatedly by mill men that 

 one did not know who was financially sound, as over-trading is a 

 general habit amongst Brazilians, and in times of a slump in prices 

 such concerns suffer severely. Brazil is a country with marvellous 

 forces of recovery and towards the end of August, 1921, it was thought 

 that the crisis, as far as Brazil was concerned, had turned. 



Organisations. — There are in Brazil three Master Cotton Spinners' 

 and Manufacturers' Associations, viz. : — 



1. Centro Industrial de Fiacao e Tecelagem, Rua Candelaria, 

 61, 1" andar, Rio de Janeiro. 



2. Centro dos Industriaes de Fiagao e Tecelagem, Rua Direita 



27, sobrado, Sao Paulo. 



3. Centro Industrial do Algodao no Bahia, Baliia. 



Most of the mills in the States where these organisations are 

 situated are affiliated to them. Their aim and objects are to protect 

 the common interests of the industry. 



Meetings were called b^^ each of these organisations in order to 

 enable me to address the members on the work of the International 

 Cotton Federation. Resolutions were adopted by these organisations 

 in favour of affiliation with the International Cotton Federation. 



Besides these three associations there is in existence in Rio de 

 Janeiro a federation known as " Centro Industrial do Brazil." Up 

 to recently the cotton mills which now constitute the above Rio 

 Association were members of this Federation. Some mills in the north, 

 Pernambuco, Ceara and one mill in Sao Paulo are members of the 

 Centro Industrial only. The " Centro Industrial do Brazil " is a 

 federation of Brazilian industries of all kinds : it takes a special 

 interest in political questions as affecting industry. 



There is a Trade Union in existence in Rio de Janeiro amongst 

 the cotton mill Avorkers, towards which the operatives pay 1 $000 

 per month contribution : it is styled : " Uniao dos Operarios das 

 Fabricas de Tecidos," but the Masters' organisations do not recognise 

 the union. Every now and then the Spanish element amongst the 

 cotton operatives tries to create dissatisfaction. The Italian work- 

 people in Sao Paulo are docile and very well liked ; in some mills as 

 many as 60 per cent, are Italians. Many Portuguese work in the 

 mills and make good operatives. 



