No. 69.
Mr. White
to Mr. Evarts.
Rio de Janeiro, January 16, 1879. (Received February 17.)
Sir: I believe it to be my duty to call attention to the fact that a young man desiring employment as clerk, and who is not a linguist, should not come to Brazil. Unless he has a written contract, he had better remain at home. I have frequently of late had my attention called to this subject through cases of distress. Several young men who came out here expecting to find employment suffered disappointment, and their funds having become exhausted, they were forced to accept pecuniary aid to defray the expense of the return voyage home.
Wages are low, living is expensive, and the climate of Rio is trying to Americans.
A knowledge of the Portuguese language is as indispensable to a clerk as the knowledge of English is to a clerk in New York.
I have, &c.,