Department of State,
Washington, November 23,
1900.
No. 222.]
[Inclosure.]
Stearns & Co. to
Mr. Hay.
Detroit, November 17,
1900.
Sir: We understand from the Commercial
Intelligence of London that the Brazilian Government has recently
promulgated a law prohibiting the importation of merchandise into
Brazil bearing labels printed in the Portuguese language from
foreign countries other than Portugal or Portuguese possessions.
As the paper very properly states, this is a most unjust and
vexatious measure, and our Government in behalf of our
manufacturers, who, like ourselves, at the outlay of thousands of
dollars, have opened trade relations with Brazil, should enter a
strong protest.
Years ago we sent a representative to Brazil with several thousand
dollars’ worth of stock. However, as we did not understand the
conditions which provided that all medicinal preparations should be
approved by a board of health before they were admitted into the
country, and as this approval took months to secure, fines were in
the meantime imposed, which far exceeded the value of the goods, so
that we finally
[Page 62]
had to
abandon them. We mention this simply to show that our entrance into
that field was with a heavy loss to us. Naturally, to become very
popular, goods must be dressed in labels and wrappers in the
language of the country in which they are to be sold, and so all our
goods are dressed in the Portuguese language. Now, therefore, if
these have to be abandoned and English labels and wrappers have to
be substituted, it is only natural to suppose that the trade, which
at a very heavy cost we have worked up, will be practically lost,
and, of course, the same applies to all American manufacturers. We
trust our Government will take measures for the repeal of this
unjust law.
Very truly, yours,
F. Stearns & Co.,
By
T. Bennett, Secretary.
