811.20 Defense (M) Brazil/3234
The Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 27.]
Sir: With general reference to the program for getting rubber out of Brazil, I have the honor to invite the Department’s attention to our Belém Consulate’s telegrams No. 224, April 16, 3 p.m. to the Department, and No. 537 of April 12, 2 p.m. and No. 539 of April 12, 4 p.m. to the Embassy36 (which were repeated to the Department) as additional indicators that all is not as well as might be hoped. It is encouraging to note, however, that the recent conference at Belém did not reach an impasse due to Brazilian differences and that it accomplished, at least, the designation of Braz de Aguiar as a kind of rubber coordinator in the Amazon Region.
[Page 668]The Department is already familiar with the unfortunate fact that, due to a combination of circumstances, only some 264 workers, out of a May 31 goal of some 50,000, had by April 10 actually been transported and placed on seringaes (reference despatch No. 211 of April 10 from the Consulate at Belém)38 and that, as a result, the present procurement of rubber is at a rate less than the somewhat optimistic estimates that were originally made. With reference to labor, however, I am informed that a considerable number of laborers in the Amazon Region have gone into rubber production work from other pursuits.
I am told, with reference to the somewhat ambitious aviation rubber project that calls for a string of modern airports, weather stations, necessary installations, etc. in the Amazon Region, that very little actual construction has been done. This is due principally to lack of equipment and labor but not, it would seem, to lack of “experts”.
People connected with the Rubber Development Corporation here continue to exert their best efforts toward an improvement in the situation and they have estimated that they hope to produce a minimum of 35,000 tons of rubber in 1943, some of which will go to satisfy Brazil’s own requirements.
Respectfully yours,