Brazil: "South American Medley" 1948 National Geographic Society 11min

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• published: 23 Jan 2012
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http://news.quickfound.net/intl/brazil_news.html "People, industry, customs and climate of Brazil." Public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archive, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and equalization. at http://news.quickfound.net/intl/brazil_news.html The New York Times, August 6, 1852: SOUTH AMERICA Our Commercial Relations with Brazil Correspondence of the New-York Daily Times Rio Janeiro, Monday, June 14, 1852 - Nothing can be more unfair or unjust, in a commercial point of view, than the state of things as they exist between the United States and Brazil. While the United States are taking of Brazil nearly one-half of her immense coffee crop, and admitting it free of duty, and paying her millions of dollars per annum, Brazil imposes a duty of thirty per cent. on our flour, forty-five per cent. on our furniture, one hundred and fifty per cent. on carriages, and admits nothing under thirty per cent.; while, therefore, the United States are putting millions into the coffers of Brazil, she keeps out nearly everything we manufacture by an excessive and illiberal tariff. If flour were admitted free, it would form an article of daily consumption by the poor, who are now unable to purchase it at from $8 to $10 a barrel... and instead of Brazil taking 320,000 barrels per annum, as she now does, she would take over 1,000,000. This would do something to balance more equally our trade. - Not only do we admit the Coffee of Brazil free of duty, but we actually pay her an export duty of seven per cent., which she puts on every bag leaving her shores. She is well aware of the advantages she is enjoying, and laughs in her sleeve to think how nicely she has got all the butter on her side of the loaf, and as long as this state of things last, our Embassadors will labor in vain to form with her any commercial treaty--she has nothing to gain and everything to lose. It is a matter of profound astonishment that the United States does not seem aware or even care for the millions she is losing every year in the unequal game of commerce, for she could bring Brazil to her bearings in twenty-four hours, by putting a duty of three cents per pound on her Coffee, until she removed the exorbitant duty on Flour and admitted it free, and modified her duties on other articles of our manufacture now excluded. - ...In 1851 Brazil produced 2,037,305 bags of Coffee for exportation. Of this amount the United States took 999,434... or 159,909,440 pounds, which averaged throughout the year over eight cents per pound, making the amount we paid her for Coffee alone $12,792,755, upon which we also paid her a duty of seven per cent., and then admitted it free into our own ports. In addition to this we took upwards of $250,000 worth of rosewood, besides hides, horns, tapioca, ipecac and India-rubber, amounting in all to not less than $1,000,000 more--thus paying Brazil nearly $14,000,000 per annum. - ...Brazil is also about opening her vast interior by Railroads extending through it, and shortly to be commenced, which will enable every article of merchandize to be readily transported to her inland towns and cities, which have heretofore been supplied by the expensive and tedious mode of carrying on the backs of mules. This, together with her rapidly increasing population, will render her one of the best and most valuable foreign markets for flour as well as other things. Never fear your coffee would cost you more, for Brazil would meet you at once if she found herself obliged to do so, and would repeal her duties on flour before you had time to impose one on coffee... - ...our diplomats abroad, instead of standing up for their country and their countrymen's rights, bend all their powers in acquiring favor with the Government to which they are appointed as Envoys, and instead of appearing as the representatives of a great, powerful and free country, sink into the flatterers of Kings and Princes. M. F. G.