as for the shipowners, these latter being once aware of such 
facilities would cause their ships to be. directed to the points 
where they were required to discharge merchandise or take in 
rubber or vice-versa and thus avoid all uncertainty upon the 
advantages to be reaped from those trips, because of the want 
of knowledge of the cargoes that are being reserved for them, 
and those who are in contact with them in the markets where 
the product is sold may be advised as to the quotations and the 
market prices of the merchandise so that they may take advan- 
tage of the most favorable times for effecting their transactions. 
The message presented by His Excellency Marchal Hermes 
da Fonseca, President of the Republic of the United States of 
Brazil on the third of May of this current year, made special 
reference to the services of the radio-telegraph in the territory of 
the Acre, expressing himself in the following terms: 
“The three radio-telegraphic stations that have been con- 
tracted for in December of 1910, are now in full working order, 
those of the Rio Branco and Senna Madueira having been in- 
augurated in September of 1911 and in February of this year. 
that of Cruzeiro de Sul, which besides speaking with those two 
and therefore with Manaos, communicates also. with Iquitos in 
the Republic of Pert. 
In order to complete this very useful improvement ordered to 
be done in such a happy hour, there were also contracted for 
two other stations, one of these being in Xapury and the other 
in Taruaca, places having a great future before them and already 
containing an appreciable population as well as a notable material 
development.. 
With the installation of those two stations, the territory will 
be perfectly well equipped in regard to the question of tele- 
graphic communications. 
As a consequence of the dearness and the difficulties in the 
means of transport we get the excessive rises in freight, which 
at times are equal to and are often greater than the value 
of the merchandise transported; the truth is that the crisis in 
rubber made them suffer a certain fall and we no longer see such 
a thing happen as that the shipowner pays for the price of his 
steamers in two round trips. 
The dominating principle is that of liberty of commerce. In 
order to assure regular services on the principal rivers, the 
Federal Government as well as the Governments of the States of 
Amazonas and Para subsidize certain companies whose tables of 
freight charges are approved by the Public Powers. That these 
are still very high is shown by the fact of competition which 
in certain lines takes place between the subsidized companies 
and private shipowners; the latter, however, not being able to go 
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