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 History of the 
 Telephone and Telegraph 
 
 in 
 
 Brazil 
 
 1851 1921 
 
 
 
 By 
 VICTOR M. BERTHOLD 
 
 of the 
 American Telephone and Telegraph Company 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 Nineteen Twenty-two 
 
History of the 
 Telephone and Telegraph 
 
 m 
 
 Brazil 
 
 1851 1921 
 
 By 
 VICTOR M. BERTHOLD 
 
 of the 
 American Telephone and Telegraph Company 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 Nineteen Twenty-two 
 
i 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Page 
 State Telegraph: 
 
 a) Under the Empire, 1851.- 1889 . ?|| . . ... 3 
 
 b) Under the Republic, 1889-1921 . . . . 16 
 
 Cable Service . . . . . . , , . -. 31 
 
 Wireless Telegraph . . . '; . . . . 37 
 
 State Telephone . . . . ; . . ... 44 
 
 Private Telephone Service: 
 
 a) Decree No. 7539 of Nov. 15, 1879 . . .. 51 
 
 b) The Continental Telephone Co. . . . . 52 
 
 c) The Telephone Company of Brazil . . . 53 
 
 d) The Brazilianische Electricitats Gesellschaft . 59 
 
 e) The Rio de Janeiro Telephone Co. . . . 61 
 
 f) The Rio de Jan. Tramway Light & Power Co. . 62 
 
 g) The Braz. Traction, Light & Power Co. V : . 63 
 h) The Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo Tel. Co. . : 64 
 
 General Telephone Development . . . . . 68 
 
 Appendix: 
 
 I. Stipulations attached to Decree No. 8065 . 71 
 
 II. Rules governing the construction of interstate 
 
 toll lines . . . . " .' . . . . 72 
 
 III. Concession'^ranted^byft^e State of Sao Paulo 
 
 for the construction 'of 'telephone lines . . 75 
 
 IV. Concesslbh ;e grante<l'yy-- tne*. State of Minas 
 Geraes for intermunicipal telephone lines . . 81 
 
 V. International Agreements: 
 
 a) Between Brazil and Argentina . . . 86 
 
 b) Between Brazil and Uruguay . . . * 87 
 
 c) Between Brazil and the "Telegrapho 
 Oriental" . .90 
 
 Sources of Information 92 
 
BRAZIL 
 
 Area: 3,276,358 square miles 
 Population: 30,553,000 (census of 1920) 
 Capital: Rio de Janeiro. Population 1,130,000 (census of 
 1920) 
 
 STATE TELEGRAPH 
 
 Introduction and Development under the 
 Empire, 1851-1889 
 
 The introduction of the telegraph in Brazil is 
 contemporaneous with the war waged by the Empire 
 from 1851 to 1854 in defense of Uruguay against the 
 Argentine dictator, Rosas. According to the "Me- 
 moria Historica"* Euzebio de Queiroz Coutinho 
 Mattoso da Camara, then Minister of Justice, noti- 
 fied the Director of Semaphores on May 5, 1851, that 
 he had decided to replace the optical telegraph with 
 the then recently invented electric telegraph. In 
 the same year the Brazilian Minister at Washington, 
 Sergio Teixeira de Macedo, transmitted to his home 
 government a proposal of J. L. Leonardt, a citizen of 
 the United States, to interconnect various important 
 cities of Brazil by electric telegraph lines. This 
 offer, however, was not accepted. 
 
 It is reported that Euzebio de Queiroz decided to 
 discontinue the slow-working optical telegraph, which 
 up to that time had been the only means of trans- 
 mitting messages in Brazil, as rapid communication 
 
 *Official publication of the Brazilian Telegraph Administration, printed 
 in Rio de Janeiro, 1909. 
 
 3 
 
 M17461 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 between Rio de Janeiro and the port of Mangaratiba 
 had become imperative so as to prevent the illegal 
 landing of slaves, which was a frequent occurrence 
 in those days. To carry out this project Euzebio de 
 Queiroz instructed Dr. Paula Candido, a professor 
 at the School of Medicine, to build a short trial line 
 between the police headquarters in the capital and 
 the optical telegraph station on Castello Hill. Dr. 
 Candido, with the assistance of Colonel Polydoro 
 Q. da Fonseca Jordao, police commissioner, secured 
 the loan of a telegraph apparatus from Dr. G. 
 Schiich de Capanema, professor of physics at the 
 Escola Central. A few days later the Colonel, bitterly 
 disappointed, returned the apparatus to the professor, 
 saying : " Tome la as suas machinas que nao prestam." 
 (Take back your apparatus which is useless.) He 
 soon learned, however, that he was mistaken, for 
 Dr. Capanema connected up the apparatus properly 
 and gave Colonel Polydoro an actual demonstration 
 of electrical transmission. Realizing the value of 
 the new means of electrical communication, Colonel 
 Polydoro went immediately to Queiroz and obtained 
 from him an order instructing Dr. Capanema to build 
 a line from Quinta Imperial, the country residence of 
 the Emperor, to the Quartel do Campo, the mili- 
 tary headquarters. This line, although constructed 
 with cheap material, operated satisfactorily, and on 
 May 11, 1852, telegrams were exchanged between the 
 Emperor and Queiroz and Capanema, both stationed 
 at military headquarters. This date is officially 
 recognized as the date of the introduction of the 
 telegraph in Brazil. Shortly after this took place 
 the Consul of Brazil in Prussia was requested to 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 obtain five sets of Morse duplex telegraph apparatus 
 and some line material. This equipment was 
 received from Europe in the following year and a 
 line was constructed between the various military 
 establishments and the capital. 
 
 The first ordinance relating to the electric tele- 
 graph was issued by the Minister of Justice on Janu- 
 ary 17, 1864, and provided for the telegraphic inter- 
 connection of important administrative offices. 
 
 In Brazil, as in many other countries, the electric 
 telegraph lacked the support of the public during its 
 early development. In fact, an examination of the 
 newspapers published in Rio de Janeiro during this 
 period shows that there were the usual scoffers who 
 predicted that, on account of the climatic conditions 
 prevailing in Brazil, that country was unsuited for 
 the successful use of the electric telegraph. Un- 
 daunted by such statements, however, Dr. Capanema 
 commenced the construction of a line from the capi- 
 tal to Petropolis. The total length of this line was 
 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) of which 15 kilo- 
 meters consisted of a submarine cable. By an im- 
 perial ordinance of March 17, 1855, Dr. Capanema 
 was appointed Director Geral dos Telegraphos 
 Electricos (Director General of Electric Telegraphs), 
 and was requested to create an administrative office 
 known as Direcgao Geral. 
 
 The electric telegraph was used for official busi- 
 ness only until 1858, when on August 1st the Gov- 
 ernment opened the Prainha-Maua-Fragoso-Petrop- 
 olis line to the public. 
 
 The first "Reglamento" or rules and regulations 
 governing the telegraph service are embodied in 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 decree No. 2614 of July 21, 1860, which stated that 
 the telegraph service should be placed under the 
 direct supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, 
 Commerce and Public Works. This decree pre- 
 scribed that service should be furnished to the pub- 
 lic between the hours of 6 A.M. and 6 P.M. in 
 summer and 7 A.M. and 5 P.M. in winter, and estab- 
 lished a tariff consisting of a charge of 80 reis* (2.6 
 cents) per word for a message of 20 words and 40 reis 
 (1.3 cents) for each additional 20 words. 
 
 From 1852 to 1860 the Government spent 136,- 
 863 milreis ($45,165) upon the electric telegraph, of 
 which 68,993 milreis ($22,768) was for salaries and 
 wages and the balance for material. In 1861, nine 
 years after the inauguration of the telegraph in 
 Brazil, the total extension of line was 65 kilometers 
 (about 40 miles), consisting of the Prainha-Petropolis 
 line of 50 kilometers and 15 kilometers of line within 
 the city of Rio de Janeiro. At that time there were 
 10 telegraph offices and 16 sets of telegraph apparatus 
 in the country. 
 
 Decree No. 3519 of September 30, 1865, changed 
 the telegraph tariff of 1860 and made the rate for 
 an ordinary telegram of 20 words sent over a line of 
 200 kilometers (124 miles) one milreis (33 cents), 
 with a further charge of 500 reis (16.5 cents) for each 
 additional 10 words. This rate increased propor- 
 tionally for each additional 200 kilometers of line. 
 
 From 1865 to 1870 the Empire employed all its 
 resources in carrying on the sanguinary war against 
 the Paraguayan dictator, Francisco Lopez, who had 
 invaded Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Robert P. 
 
 *One paper milreis (1,000 reis) approximately 33 cents in U. S. currency. 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 Porter, in his book "The Ten Republics," states 
 that this war cost Brazil 50,000,000 (about $243,- 
 000,000), and adds, "an expenditure which indicates 
 the material progress she had made, since it did not 
 quite ruin her." It was in the second year of the 
 war that Dr. Capanema conceived the idea of having 
 a telegraph train accompany the field forces and to 
 use the telegraph for connecting the military head- 
 quarters in Tuyu-Cue with the advance guards. At 
 the outbreak of the war the Government instructed 
 the Director of Telegraphs to build a line from the 
 capital to Porto Alegre, which line was opened in 
 September, 1866. Later on Rio de Janeiro was 
 placed in telegraphic connection with Tijuca and 
 Botafogo, and the line from the fortress of Santa 
 Cruz was extended to Nictheroy. 
 
 Although the rules and regulations stated that the 
 electric telegraph constituted a monopoly of the 
 Government, decree No. 4350 of April 5, 1868, pro- 
 vided for competitive telegraph service by private 
 companies. In accordance with this decree a 20- 
 year concession was granted to F. A. Kieffer for the 
 construction of a telegraph line between Rio de 
 Janeiro and Ouro Preto, with branch lines to Rezende 
 and S. Joao da Barra. 
 
 Under decree No. 4491 of March 23, 1870, Charles 
 T. Bright, E. B. Webb, and William Jones received 
 a 60-year concession to lay a submarine cable to the 
 north and south of Rio de Janeiro, the northern 
 terminal to be the city of Para (province of Para) 
 and the southern S. Pedro (province of Rio Grande 
 do Sul), thus practically extending along the entire 
 coast of Brazil. This concession also gave the 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 syndicate authority to link up its northern cable 
 routes with transatlantic lines to Europe and to 
 the United States of North America. Article 2 of 
 this contract, which was signed by Diogo V. Caval- 
 canti de Albuquerque, representing the Imperial 
 Government, stipulated that telegraphic connection 
 should be established with the following provinces: 
 
 A. To the North: Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Bahia, 
 Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Parahyba, Ceara, 
 Piauhy and Maranhao. 
 
 B. To the South: Sao Paulo, Parana, and Santa Cath- 
 arina. 
 
 Article 4 provided that the concession should be valid 
 for 60 years from the date of the signing of the con- 
 tract and that during this period the Government 
 would not permit any other submarine cable to be 
 laid to any point reached by the cable of this syndi- 
 cate. Article 6 specified that the cable had to be in 
 operation by two years from the date of the signing 
 of the contract. Article 14 declared that at the ex- 
 piration of the concession the cable and land line 
 plant of the concessionaire should revert to the 
 Brazilian Government "sem indemnisagao alguna" 
 (without any indemnity), while in the following 
 article the Government reserved to itself the right 
 to take over the cable after the first ten years of actual 
 operation at a price to be ascertained by arbiters. 
 In 1873 the concession obtained by the syndicate was 
 transferred to the Telegraph Construction & Main- 
 tenance Company, Ltd., which in turn transferred 
 it to the Western & Brazilian Telegraph Company. 
 Telegraph service between Rio de Janeiro and the 
 
 8 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 provinces of Bahia, Pernambuco and Para began on 
 December 24, 1875, the first message being sent by 
 the Emperor congratulating the three provinces 
 "por tao fausto acontecimento" (for such a proud 
 achievement). 
 
 At this point it is of interest to note that from 
 the beginning of the Government telegraph Dr. 
 Capanema opposed granting concessions for furnish- 
 ing telegraphic communication to private parties 
 and maintained that the telegraph service should 
 be the exclusive monopoly of the Government. One 
 of the main reasons for his taking this stand was the 
 heavy annual deficits of the telegraph service and his 
 desire to so increase the receipts, which he evidently 
 believed could be done if the Government owned all 
 the telegraph lines, that the Legislature might have 
 no cause for cutting down the large appropriations 
 demanded by the Director General for the rapid 
 extension of the telegraph. Naturally his firm oppo- 
 sition made him unpopular with various business 
 interests who severely criticized him for his lack of 
 good judgment. To combat these attacks Dr. Capa- 
 nema wrote a series of valuable articles in 1869 which 
 were published in the newspapers of the metropolis 
 in which he refuted the charges brought against his 
 administration and revealed to the public what he 
 termed the shortsightedness of the Government in 
 failing to protect one of its most important mo- 
 nopolies against dangerous private competition. 
 
 The report of the Minister of Commerce, sub- 
 mitted to the first session of the Fourteenth Congress 
 of Brazil, gives the extent of the State telegraph plant 
 in 1869 as follows : " We have at present 316*^ leagues 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 (about 1,297 miles) of telegraph besides 40 leagues 
 (164 miles) under construction and 75 leagues (307 
 miles) already authorized to be built." Up to 1869 
 the Government had spent 282,000 milreis ($93,000) 
 on the telegraph, an expenditure of 135 milreis 
 ($44.55) per kilometer of line, "pregos estos que me 
 parecen muito elevados" (figures that appear to 
 me extremely high). The detailed statistics of the 
 State telegraph at that time were: 
 
 City lines 
 
 Kilometers 
 of Wire 
 22 
 
 Number of 
 Offices 
 11 
 
 Line to Petropolis 
 
 50 
 
 3 
 
 Line to lighthouse near Cabo Frio 
 
 165 
 
 3 
 
 Line from Rio de Janeiro to Porto Alegre . . . 
 Line from Porto Alegre to Pelotas 
 
 . . . 1,452 
 60 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 Line from S. Joao da Barra to Campos 
 
 340 
 
 12 
 
 Total 2,089= 51 
 
 1,297 miles 
 
 Toward the end of 1870 the Government pro- 
 mulgated decree No. 4653 together with rules relat- 
 ing to the construction and maintenance of telegraph 
 lines along railroads. In accordance with this decree 
 the concessionaire was authorized to construct and 
 maintain the lines and obliged to hand over to the 
 Administration a special wire for the transmission 
 of public messages. The decree also authorized 
 industrial establishments to connect their places of 
 business with the nearest telegraph office. 
 
 In the same year the Telegraph Administration, 
 with the approval of the Legislature, published a 
 new rate schedule based upon an ordinary message 
 of 20 words plus one-half of the first charge for each 
 additional 10 words, and also plus certain amounts 
 for the longer distances traversed by a message. 
 
 10 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 This schedule established the following rates for an 
 ordinary message: 
 
 Distance up to 200 kilometers 1 milreis 
 
 Fr< 
 
 5m 201 
 
 1 400 
 
 
 401 
 
 ' 600 
 
 
 601 
 
 1 800 
 
 
 801 
 
 '1,000 
 
 
 1,001 
 
 '1,300 
 
 
 1,301 
 
 '1,600 
 
 
 1,601 
 
 '2,000 
 
 
 2,001 
 
 '2,400 
 
 
 2,401 
 
 ' 2,800 
 
 
 2,801 
 
 '3,200 
 
 
 3,201 
 
 '3,600 
 
 
 3,601 
 
 '4,000 
 
 
 4,001 
 
 '4,500 
 
 
 4,501 
 
 '5,000 
 
 For messages written in a foreign language or in 
 cipher, and also for preferred or urgent telegrams, 
 twice the ordinary rates were charged. This rate 
 scheme remained in force until 1881. 
 
 The report presented to the Brazilian Congress 
 of 1871 by the Minister of Commerce, reviewed the 
 progress of the telegraph since its origin, and con- 
 cluded as follows: "It is well known that only after 
 1864 did the construction of telegraph lines in Brazil 
 receive any encouragement, but it is equally true 
 that, so far, we have done very little with this service 
 when we consider that the telegraph is a public 
 service which plays an important role in the promo- 
 tion of commerce and good government and whose 
 advantages are recognized by all civilized countries. 
 Consequently, despite our drawbacks, we should 
 try to make up for the time lost." 
 
 Meanwhile, in the neighboring republics of Argen- 
 tina and Uruguay the telegraph had rapidly devel- 
 oped so that their lines approached close to the 
 frontiers of Brazil and made international telegraphic 
 
 11 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 communication highly desirable. The first inter- 
 national telegraph line was constructed by an English 
 firm and extended from the boundary of Uruguay 
 to Jaguarao, Brazil. Soon afterward another con- 
 cern laid a cable to the city of Rio Grande. In 
 1871 the Telegraph Administration finished a line to 
 Curityba (province of Parana) and also one con- 
 necting Pelotas and Porto Alegre (province of Rio 
 Grande do Sul). The Jaguarao office, at the south- 
 ern frontier of Brazil, was opened for service October 
 29, 1871. 
 
 The most important event of the following year 
 was the granting of a 20-year concession, by decree 
 No. 5058 of August 16, 1872, to Baron de Maua to 
 lay and operate a submarine cable between Brazil 
 and Portugal and the Portuguese possessions, thus 
 establishing direct telegraphic communication be- 
 tween Brazil and Europe. The contract drawn up 
 between Baron de Maua and Viscount de Itauna, 
 representing the Emperor of Brazil, stipulated that 
 the cable should start from the Cape of S. Roque 
 (province of Rio Grande do Norte) and should go via 
 Cape Verde Islands and Madeira to Lisbon. By 
 decree of June 18, 1873, Baron de Maua was per- 
 mitted to transfer this concession to the Brazilian 
 Submarine Telegraph Company, Ltd. The latter 
 arranged with the Telegraph Construction and Main- 
 tenance Company, Ltd., to perform the work of lay- 
 ing the cable, and service was inaugurated in July, 
 1874. 
 
 During 1873 the telegraph was extended to the 
 city of Itapemirim (province of Espirito Santo) 
 which also made possible the continuation of that 
 
 12 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 line to Maceio (province of Alagoas) in northern 
 Brazil. The gain in important telegraph lines in 
 the south is noteworthy, the branch from Santos to 
 S. Paulo being of particular importance. During 
 the next year the Government continued its policy 
 of providing telegraph lines to northern Brazil, the 
 Victoria (province of Pernambuco) office being 
 opened February 26th and those at Bahia (province 
 of Bahia) and Aracaju (province of Sergipe) on 
 November 8th of the same year. 
 
 Active construction work continued during 1875, 
 the telegraph reaching the capital of the province 
 of Parahyba in that year and in the year following 
 was extended to the province of Rio Grande do 
 Norte. By the end of 1879 thirteen of the twenty 
 provinces of the Empire were in telegraphic communi- 
 cation with the capital and in 1881 communication 
 was established with Fortaleza (province of Ceara). 
 
 By decree No. 8354 of December 27, 1881, the 
 Administration again introduced a new telegraph 
 tariff which established a charge of 100 reis (3.3 
 cents) per word, counting 10 letters as one word, 
 for a domestic message and a unit distance of 400 
 kilometers (248 miles). While the new tariff de- 
 creased the cost of ordinary messages over com- 
 paratively short distances, it greatly increased the 
 cost of telegrams over longer hauls, such as that 
 between the capital and Belem, a line distance of 
 about 5,000 kilometers ((3,105 miles). This fact is 
 commented upon in the 1899 Relatorio, where it is 
 stated that the cost of such a message, figured on 
 the 1881 tariff, amounted to 26 milreis ($8.58). This 
 tariff was retained until the fall of the Empire in 
 
 13 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 1889 and was modified by decree No. 372A, issued 
 by the Provisional Government on May 2, 1890. 
 
 By 1884 the telegraph had been completed to S. 
 Luiz (province of Maranhao). By order of the Em- 
 peror, Don Pedro II, the telegraph stations included 
 on this line were opened to the public on December 
 14, 1884. The -day before the inauguration of the 
 service, Dr. Capanema, Director General of Tele- 
 graphs, with the assistance of D. Eduardo Jones, 
 Manager of the Uruguayan telegraphs, arranged to 
 have a message sent from Therezina (province of 
 Piauhy) via S. Luiz to Montevideo, a distance of 
 9,700 kilometers (6,023 miles). The experiment 
 proved an entire success, the message taking only 
 six minutes to pass between the two terminal points. 
 Due to the satisfactory transmission over this trial 
 line the Director General of Posts and Telegraphs of 
 Argentina ordered direct telegraphic connection to be 
 established between Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and 
 Buenos Aires. 
 
 Another important work executed under the 
 supervision of Dr. Capanema was the construction 
 of a line to Para (or Belem), the terminus of the 
 submarine cable that was to connect Brazil with 
 the United States of North America. This line was 
 finished October 13, 1886. 
 
 Except for the construction of some branch lines 
 connecting various cities along the coast of Brazil, 
 nothing of importance was done in connection with 
 the telegraph service during the year prior to the fall 
 of the Empire and the establishment of the Republic. 
 
 The "Memoria Historica" states that the condi- 
 tions which confronted the Director General during 
 
 14 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 the last years prior to his retirement became more 
 and more unsatisfactory and that, despite the many 
 years of incessant toil, the old Director General, 
 who had earned the proud title of "Father of the 
 Brazilian Telegraphs/' saw his best efforts prejudiced 
 because the Republican Government failed to pro- 
 vide the necessary funds for new lines and proper 
 maintenance of the existing plant which was rapidly 
 deteriorating. Moreover, his authority as managing 
 director was frequently weakened or overridden by 
 the promotion of incompetent persons over the heads 
 of the thoroughly competent and well-trained old 
 employees. At the same time the volume of traffic 
 of unwarranted official free messages frequently 
 assumed such proportions as to seriously interfere 
 with the transmission of private paid telegrams, and 
 the consequent delay in their delivery led to many 
 bitter complaints by the general public. In addition, 
 the ever increasing number of official messages stead- 
 ily reduced the telegraph revenue which was also 
 detrimentally affected by the competition of the 
 private railroads and the powerful English cable 
 companies. Consequently, the annual telegraph 
 deficit rose higher from year to year. Finally, the 
 telephone service, which the Government should have 
 developed as a feeder to the National telegraph 
 revenue, had been entirely abandoned to private 
 interests who frequently obtained unwarranted con- 
 cessions. According to the writer of the "Memoria 
 Historica" these conditions caused Dr. Capanema 
 to resign and thus avoid a clash between his own 
 well-established method of managing the telegraph 
 and the antagonistic methods advocated and enforced 
 
 15 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 by those at the head of the Republican Adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 STATISTICS OF THE BRAZILIAN TELEGRAPH 
 
 1861-1889 
 
 Year 
 
 Kilometers 
 of Wire 
 
 Number of 
 Stations 
 
 Number of 
 Telegrams 
 
 Gross 
 Revenue 
 (milreis) 
 
 Annual 
 Deficit* 
 (milreis) 
 
 1861 . 
 
 65 
 
 10 
 
 233 
 
 328 
 
 41 000 
 
 1865 
 1870 
 1874 
 1881 
 
 187 
 2,089 
 6,286 
 13,000 
 
 23 
 51 
 81 
 135 
 
 3,088 
 44,775 
 103,689 
 383,147 
 
 6,293 
 127,829 
 252,745 
 1,241,770 
 
 534,000 
 207,000 
 1,445,000 
 390,000 
 
 1882.. 
 
 13,249 
 
 136 
 
 338,053 
 
 1,220,182 
 
 660,000 
 
 1883 
 
 13,651 
 
 139 
 
 331,884 
 
 1 039 932 
 
 739000 
 
 1884 
 
 15,262 
 
 159 
 
 367,779 
 
 1,345 203 
 
 764 000 
 
 1885 
 1886 
 1887 . 
 
 18,197 
 18,311 
 18,363 
 
 171 
 171 
 170 
 
 390,277 
 656,575f 
 
 1,219,794 
 l,789,939f 
 
 1,381,000 
 l,078,000f 
 
 1888 . .. 
 
 18,488 
 
 173 
 
 521,886 
 
 1,304,207 
 
 729,000 
 
 1889 
 
 18,925 
 
 182 
 
 637,382 
 
 1,968,649 
 
 309000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * Includes capital expenditures, 
 t Includes second half of 1887. 
 
 The Telegraph under the Republic, 1889-1921 
 
 The Republic of Brazil was established on No- 
 vember 15, 1889, under the military dictatorship of 
 Marshal de Fonseca amidst civil contention and a 
 severe financial and economic crisis. Through the 
 emancipation of the slaves under the former Emperor 
 the country had been plunged into a state of disorder 
 which in 1892 culminated in a revolution lasting 
 in the province of Rio Grande do Sul until July, 1895. 
 
 The change of government introduced more mod- 
 ern ideas concerning the management of all public 
 services, including the telegraph as is illustrated by 
 decree No. 199 of February 6, 1890, which cedes 
 to the municipality of Rio de Janeiro the telephone 
 
 16 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 service within its boundaries. Unfortunately, how- 
 ever, decree No. 372A, issued the following May, 
 flatly contradicted the disposition of the February 
 decree by providing in article I that both the tele- 
 graph and telephone lines in the territory of the 
 Republic, built for service to be furnished either by 
 the Administration or by private parties, are the 
 property of the Government. The legislative tangle 
 was finally straightened out by article 7, paragraph 
 4, and article 9, paragraph 4, of the new constitu- 
 tion, adopted on February 24, 1891, which author- 
 ized the States comprising the Union to construct 
 telegraph lines, not only within their own territory, 
 but also to points in adjacent States not reached by 
 the Federal telegraph, provided, however, that all 
 such lines might be acquired later on by the Federal 
 Government. The new constitution also established 
 the absolute sovereignty of municipalities over the 
 electric, traction, light and power services. 
 
 For a clear understanding of the powers granted 
 by the constitution both to the Federal Government 
 and to the States in regard to legislation upon matters 
 pertaining to the telegraph and telephone services, 
 the following paragraph, written by a leading Brazil- 
 ian lawyer in answer to a request for a correct in- 
 terpretation of articles 7 and 9, is quoted. 
 
 "In regard to the competency of the Federal and State 
 Governments to legislate upon this matter it is clear that 
 both have this power, which, however, cannot be exercised 
 concurrently. It evidently was the intention of the Brazilian 
 legislators not to give the Union the monopoly of such 
 services for fear such monopoly would tend to discourage 
 the development of these public utilities in a country of such 
 
 17 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 vast area. For this reason the power given to the Union 
 by article 7, paragraph 4, to make rates for the Federal tele- 
 graph was also extended to the States by article 9 which 
 reads: 'the States possess also the exclusive right to make 
 rates for their own telegraph lines/ while paragraph 4 of 
 the same article reads: 'the right to establish telegraph lines 
 between points within their own territory and likewise to 
 points within other States not served by telegraph lines is 
 reserved to the States; however, the Union may take pos- 
 session of such lines in the interest of the general welfare 
 of the country/ In other words, although the States of the 
 Union have the right to establish telegraph systems within 
 their own territory or with neighboring States, such right 
 cannot be exercised in conflict with the Federal power/' 
 
 No change occurred, however, in the policy of 
 the Government to oppose the interconnection of 
 neighboring States by private lines, which opposition 
 was based on the ground that such concessions would 
 interfere with the National telegraph system, re- 
 duce the earnings of the Government lines, and 
 afford means of communication over which the 
 Government would not have the control it desired 
 to maintain. While this policy did not restrict to 
 any appreciable extent the construction of private 
 telegraph lines, of which by far the majority served 
 the operation of railroads, the same policy, when 
 applied to the telephone, prevented and suppressed 
 the building of interstate long distance lines thus 
 hindering the development of one of the most effica- 
 cious means of advancing the commercial life of a 
 nation. 
 
 As this subject will be taken up in the chapter 
 dealing with private telephone service, it suffices to 
 state here that it was through the efforts of the Rio 
 
 18 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company, 
 Limited, that the Federal authorities decided in 1909 
 to refer the entire matter to the Brazilian Congress 
 with the understanding that the latter would dis- 
 pose, not only of the petition then pending to inter- 
 connect the Federal District telephonically with 
 the State of Rio de Janeiro, but would pass such 
 legislation in the treatment of this particular case 
 as to definitely settle the matter of interstate tele- 
 phone communication. Such legislation was duly 
 enacted and by removing the former interstate 
 restrictions made possible the direct connection of the 
 principal commercial centers of Brazil by telephone. 
 
 Shortly after the establishment of the Provisional 
 Government, which lasted from November 15, 1889, 
 to January, 1891, that body considered it advisable 
 to connect the States of Goyaz and Matto Grosso 
 with the National telegraph, and for this purpose 
 instructed the Telegraph Administration to install 
 telegraph offices at Goyaz and Cuyaba, where service 
 was inaugurated October 1, 1890, and December 31, 
 1891, respectively. 
 
 The budget for the year 1890 also carried an ap- 
 propriation of 1,500 contos* ($495,000) for the con- 
 struction of a telegraph line between Belem (State of 
 Para) and Manaos (State of Amazonas), Work 
 was started and continued for one year when, after 
 an expenditure of 1,000 contos ($330,000) operations 
 were suspended due to the lack of funds in the 
 National Treasury. 
 
 Desiring to popularize the telegraph service, the 
 Provisional Government issued decree 372A of 
 
 * One conto (1,000 paper milreis) approximately $330 in U. S. currency. 
 
 19 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 May 2, 1890, which reduced the rate for a domestic 
 telegram to 70 reis (2.3 cents) per word, a word not 
 to exceed 15 letters, and also authorized a 50% 
 reduction in the regular rate for press messages. 
 An annual charge of 10 milreis ($3.30) for the tele- 
 graphic registration of addresses was an innovation 
 introduced at this time. 
 
 Of far-reaching importance for the development 
 of the commerce of the country was the determined 
 effort of the Provisional Government to provide 
 additional cable facilities. By decree No. 944 of 
 November 1, 1890, the Western and Brazilian Tele- 
 graph Company, Ltd., received permission to lay a 
 second coastal cable to the north and south of the 
 capital. In furtherance of the same policy the Pro- 
 visional Government advertised that it was ready to 
 receive bids for the laying of a submarine cable 
 connecting Brazil with the United States of North 
 America, with the result that the Societe Generate 
 des Telephones and the Societe Frangaise des Tele- 
 graphes Sous-Marins received a 25-year concession 
 by decree No. 216A of February 22, 1890. This con- 
 tract provided that Vizeu (State of Para) should be 
 the starting point, but subsequently, 'with the per- 
 mission of the Government, the licensee trans- 
 ferred the starting point to a place near Salinas, also 
 in the State of Para. Service over this route began 
 Spetember 1, 1892. 
 
 Additional cable facilities were provided by decree 
 No. 128 of April 11, 1891, whereby the Provisional 
 Government granted a 25-year concession to William 
 Parsone, representing the India Rubber, Gutta 
 Percha and Telegraph Works Company, Ltd., of 
 
 20 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 London, for the laying of a cable, or cables, between 
 Pernambuco (State of Pernambuco) and St. Louis 
 in Senegal, Africa, this cable to touch at the Island 
 of Fernando do Noronha, Decree No. 965A of 
 June 30, 1892, transferred this concession to the 
 South American Cable Company, Ltd., an English 
 concern registered July 4, 1891, which, under an 
 agreement with the former concessionaire, acquired 
 the 2,165 miles of cable already laid. 
 
 That the change of Government caused a remark- 
 able expansion of Brazilian commerce and industries 
 is shown by the increase in telegraph traffic during 
 the 10-year period 1890-1899 as compared with the 
 preceding decade. From 1880-1889 the average 
 yearly number of telegrams was approximately 420,- 
 000, and the largest number of messages in a single 
 year was 657,000 in 1887, while during the period 
 1890-1899 the average number of telegrams per 
 year was 1,290,000 (over three times the volume in 
 the previous decade), with the largest number of 
 messages in a single year 1,722,000. 
 
 To take care of the increased traffic the Tele- 
 graph Administration equipped a number of the 
 great trunk lines with additional wires. However, 
 despite such increased facilities the service did not 
 improve because, as the writer of the "Memoria 
 Historica" states, the trouble was not due to lack 
 of wires, but to imperfect and bad transmission 
 which resulted in an average transmission of scarcely 
 three words per minute. Naturally, the Admin- 
 istration turned its attention to the use of rapid 
 telegraph systems and in 1897 installed Baudot appa- 
 ratus on the line between Rio de Janeiro and S. Paulo. 
 
 21 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 The success attained with this system led to the 
 general use of Baudot apparatus on the line between 
 Rio de Janeiro and Recife (State of Pernambuco) a 
 distance of 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) and also 
 between Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre (State of 
 Rio Grande do Sul). A further improvement in the 
 service was brought about by the use of the Hughes 
 Printing Telegraph. 
 
 Decree No. 2000 of April 2, 1895, signed by the 
 first civil president of Brazil, Prudente J. de Moraes 
 Barros, granted a 30-year exclusive concession to 
 Richard J. Reidy, as the representative of the Ama- 
 zon Telegraph Company, Ltd., for the establishment 
 of telegraphic communication through a subfluvial 
 cable between the capitals of Para and Amazonas, 
 the two most northern States of Brazil. The cable 
 was constructed and laid by Siemens Brothers & 
 Company, Ltd., at a cost of 211,000 ($1,027,000) 
 and was completed in February, 1896, with a total 
 length of 1,365 miles. In later years when the laying 
 of a second cable between Belem and S. Jose de 
 Amatary became imperative in order to guard against 
 the frequent interruptions to the service, the Govern- 
 ment extended the life of the contract to April 2, 1945. 
 
 Upon the enactment of law No. 391 of October 7, 
 1896, a dispute of long standing between the Adminis- 
 tration and the privately owned and operated rail- 
 roads furnishing public telegraph service was ter- 
 minated. This contention originated in 1870 when 
 the Government issued decree No. 4653 with rules 
 and regulations for the construction and maintenance 
 of telegraph lines along railroads. In the memoir 
 accompanying the decree the Minister had advised 
 
 22 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 the Government that in the interest of the State 
 telegraph service the railroads should be called upon 
 to cede to the Administration one conductor on each 
 of their telegraph lines. As the railroads reached 
 many places at a considerable distance from the 
 then existing State telegraph offices it was evident 
 that by making this proposal obligatory the State 
 telegraph could gain a large number of offices and 
 lines without any expense to the National Treasury. 
 Nothing was done until 1878 when the Legislature 
 passed decree No. 6995 which established the basis 
 for the granting of railroad concessions and which 
 authorized the Government to use the poles of the 
 railroad telegraph lines for a State telegraph wire, 
 which was to be maintained by the railroad com- 
 panies. As this law put a heavy burden on the com- 
 panies it was changed in 1881, eliminating the pro- 
 vision compelling the companies to maintain the 
 State owned wire, and providing in its place that the 
 companies should grant to the Government the use 
 of one wire on each railroad telegraph line. This 
 obligation, however, was not fulfilled on the part of 
 the companies. Moreover, relying upon the terms 
 of their concessions, the railroads gradually became 
 sharp competitors of the State telegraph and diverted 
 a considerable volume of traffic from the State lines 
 by offering to the public service at rates lower than 
 those charged by the Telegraph Administration. 
 After various attempts to settle this unsatisfactory 
 condition the Government, on October 7, 1896, 
 enacted law No. 391 by which all railroad telegraph 
 lines became an integral part of the Federal Tele- 
 graph. This act stipulated that the traffic over 
 
 23 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 railroad telegraph lines, including the rates to be 
 charged, was to be governed by the rules and regu- 
 lations of the Telegraph Administration. 
 
 The years 1895 to 1907 constitute a period during 
 which the Telegraph Administration made a con- 
 tinuous effort to find a rate system which would 
 lower the constantly recurring heavy deficits pro- 
 duced by this branch of the public service, and at 
 the same time induce the public to make a far more 
 extensive use of the Federal Telegraph. Bearing in 
 mind the tremendous area of Brazil and consequently 
 the need of providing extremely long and costly 
 trunk lines, often built through vast and almost un- 
 inhabited regions, it is evident that the task of 
 elaborating a tariff system which adequately covered 
 the cost of what may be termed a short and a long 
 haul telegraph message was one that required the 
 exertion of the utmost ingenuity on the part of the 
 Legislature and therefore many tentative rate sched- 
 ules were tried, the most important of which are 
 the following: 
 
 Law No. 359 of December 30, 1895, which reduced to 
 60 reis (2 cents) the rate per word, provided a basic charge 
 of 400 reis (13.2 cents) per telegram, and made the total 
 charge of a message dependent upon the number of zones 
 through which it passed, each State of the Federation con- 
 stituting a telegraphic zone. 
 
 Law No. 391 of October 7, 1896, conceded a reduction of 
 50% to telegrams sent by State officials, and law No. 428 
 of December 10, 1896, granted press messages a reduction 
 of 75% of the ordinary rate. 
 
 Law No. 741 of December 26, 1900, reduced the rate per 
 word from 1.50 francs (30 cents) to 1 franc (20 cents) for 
 international telegrams exchanged between the Republics 
 
 24 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 south of Brazil with its northern zone, and to 0.50 francs 
 (10 cents) for the same class of messages exchanged with the 
 zone south of the capital. 
 
 Law No. 813 of December 23, 1901, authorized the Gov- 
 ernment to introduce deferred messages at greatly reduced 
 rates. The schedule for this class of telegrams was published 
 in 1902 and ranged from 80 reis (2.6 cents) per word for a 
 telegram passing through but one State to 530 reis (17.5 
 cents) per word for a message traversing the entire 16 States 
 of the Federation. 
 
 Law No. 1616 of December 30, 1906, abolished the use 
 of deferred messages and adopted the following rates for 
 domestic telegrams: 
 
 100 reis per word for a message within 1 State. 
 
 200 " " " " " " passing through 2 States. 
 
 300 " " " " " " " " 3 " 
 
 4QQ " " " ^ " 
 
 500 " " " " " " " 5 " or more. 
 
 Law No' 1837 of December 31, 1907, which reduced the 
 five rate classes of the 1906 law to three, was as follows: 
 
 100 reis per word for a message within 1 State. 
 
 200 " " " " " " passing through 2 or 3 States. 
 
 300 ' 4 or more States. 
 
 As an item of historical interest the celebration 
 in 1902 by the Telegraph Administration of the 50th 
 anniversary of the inauguration of the first telegraph 
 line by Dr. Capanema deserves mention. It is also 
 of interest to note that in 1904 the exchange of a 
 telegram by Morse apparatus took place between 
 Rio de Janeiro and Chile over the Trans-Andine 
 line, a distance of about 7,000 kilometers (4,347 
 miles), and in 1906 the operation by Baudot rapid 
 telegraph apparatus of the great trunk line between 
 Rio Grande and Fortaleza, a distance of about 5,500 
 kilometers (3,415 miles). 
 
 Except for the development of the radiotelegraph 
 and State telephone service, which subjects are 
 
 25 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 treated in separate chapters, the Telegraph Ad- 
 ministration directed its efforts from 1907 to the 
 outbreak of the World War in 1914 largely to the 
 further expansion of the Federal lines, the better- 
 ment of the living conditions of the employees, and 
 the reorganization of the staff with a view of cutting 
 down the annual expenses of the service. 
 
 Early in 1908 an important strategical line was 
 started to connect the States of Matto Grosso and 
 Amazonas. This is a fair example of similar long 
 and costly lines which the Federal Administration 
 felt required to build through the almost uninhabited 
 regions of the distant States. In his annual report 
 for 1908 to the Minister of Ways and Public Works, 
 the Director General, Luiz van Erven, in speaking 
 of the above line states that the majority of the 
 laborers employed on the branch lines had been so 
 badly affected with malaria that they had to be laid 
 off, and that the gang working on the main line, 
 under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Candido 
 Rondo, had been attacked by the Indians who had 
 fled from their villages at the approach of the con- 
 struction gang. Only the liberal distribution of 
 gifts prevented serious loss of life and induced the 
 waning Indians to return to their homes. 
 
 Aside from the long interruption of 246 days in 
 telegraphic communication between Belem and 
 Manaos, owing to the breaking down of the Amazon 
 River cable, the year 1908 is noteworthy in the his- 
 tory of the Brazilian telegraph because during that 
 year the Government granted to a German firm an 
 important concession for laying a cable between the 
 coast of Brazil and the Island of Teneriffe, connect- 
 
 26 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 ing at that point with the cables of the South 
 American Cable Company to West Africa. Thus 
 Brazil obtained a new telegraph route to Central 
 Europe and South America with a subsequent 
 substantial reduction in the transatlantic cable rate. 
 This concession was transferred to the Deutsch- 
 Sudamerikanische Telegraphengesellschaft by decree 
 No. 7598 of October 14, 1909. 
 
 In October of the year 1909 the Government 
 granted a concession to Richard J. Reidy for laying a 
 cable between Belem and Nictheroy and from Nic- 
 theroy to Chuy. This concession was opposed by 
 the Western Telegraph Company which demanded 
 that it should be cancelled, and finally, by decree 
 No. 10819 of March 18, 1914, the concession was 
 declared forfeited. 
 
 During 1910 the Telegraph Administration at 
 last completed a task of long standing, the revision 
 of the rules and regulations established by decree 
 No. 4053 of June 24, 1901. It had been evident for 
 years that the salary expense incident to the manage- 
 ment of the telegraph had been exorbitant, due largely 
 to the number of superfluous highly paid officials. 
 The new rules and regulations divided the service 
 into four groups or sections, each in charge of a sub- 
 director, and eliminated among others the positions 
 of Vice General Director, Assistant Chief of the 
 Technical Section, and Assistant Treasurer. 
 
 The subsequent two years, 1911 and 1912, were 
 rather uneventful as far as the telegraph was con- 
 cerned, the most important events being the opening 
 of transatlantic service over the cable of the Deutsch- 
 Sudamerikanische Telegraphengesellschaft on March 
 
 27 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 29, 1911, and by decree No. 9616 of June 13, 1912, 
 the introduction of deferred international telegrams 
 at a 50% reduction from the ordinary rate. 
 
 To satisfy the demands of the business people 
 who were continually asking for cheaper service, the 
 Legislature in authorizing the appropriation bill 
 for 1913 again reduced the rates, making the basic 
 charge for a domestic telegram 500 reis (16.5 cents) 
 and creating two rates of 100 and 200 reis respectively 
 (3.3 and 6.6 cents) for a message passing through 
 one or more than one State. 
 
 The immediate result of this reduction in the 
 rates was a heavy increase in the telegraph deficit 
 in 1914 over that in 1913, the 1914 figure totalling 
 9,840 contos ($3,247,000) as compared with 9,282 
 contos ($3,063,000) for the preceding year. Concern- 
 ing the loss in revenue, the Director General in his 
 annual report to the Minister of Ways and Public 
 Works writes: "The main cause of the decrease of 
 the gross receipts is to be ascribed to the extremely 
 low rates and the fact that there did not occur the 
 expected corresponding increase in traffic." 
 
 During the first year of the World War the 
 Brazilian Telegraph Administration, as well as 
 similar departments of all other South American 
 Republics, was forced to restrict its efforts primarily 
 to the maintenance of the existing plant which in 
 itself was a difficult problem as all the sources of 
 European supplies had been cut off and the price of 
 domestic material had increased enormously. More- 
 over, due to the disruption of general business the 
 Government was obliged to exercise the strictest 
 economy in all public services. Despite these con- 
 
 28 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 ditions, the Director General, Euclides Barroso, in 
 his annual report for 1915 was able to assure the 
 Government that the plant had been maintained in 
 perfect working condition. 
 
 During the third year of the World War the 
 Brazilian Government issued decree No. 3296 of 
 July 10 1917, which made the radiotelegraph and 
 radiotelephone services the exclusive monopoly of 
 the Federation and established definite rules and 
 regulations for these services. In connection with 
 the 1917 annual report the Telegraph Administra- 
 tion published for the first time a complete list of 
 the concessions granted by the Government since 
 1870 to companies and private parties for submarine 
 and subfluvial cables. This is one of the most 
 valuable sources of information available on that 
 subject. 
 
 Although the Telegraph Administration has not 
 issued an annual report since 1918, it appears from 
 the last Message of the President to the Brazilian 
 Congress, May 3, 1921, that the financial returns 
 from the State telegraph service have greatly im- 
 proved during the past 2 or 3 years. The following 
 paragraphs are taken from this document: 
 
 "The telegraph system of Brazil reached on December 
 31, 1920, a development of 44,534 kilometers (27,655 miles) 
 of pole lines with 79,791 kilometers (49,550 miles) of wire 
 conductors. An examination of our telegraph map shows 
 that the system is more compact in the States of Rio Grande 
 do Sul, Minas Geraes, and Rio de Janeiro than in northern 
 Brazil. The central part, being less populated, needs fewer 
 lines, though there are in Matto Grosso about 4,500 kilo- 
 meters (2,794 miles) and in Goyaz 1,552 kilometers (963 
 miles) of wire. The inhabited parts of the States of Par& 
 
 29 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 and Amazonas use subfluvial lines and the radiotelegraphic 
 stations, which render a great service to the inhabitants 
 of the Territory of Acre. 
 
 STATISTICS OF THE BRAZILIAN TELEGRAPH 
 1890-1920 
 
 Year 
 
 Kilometers 
 of Wire 
 
 Number of 
 Stations 
 
 Number of 
 Telegrams 
 
 Gross 
 Revenue 
 (milreis) 
 
 Annual 
 Deficit 
 (milreis) 
 
 1890 
 
 20,299 
 
 212 
 
 750 621 
 
 2,042,755 
 
 841000 
 
 1891 
 1892 
 
 28,268 
 31,229 
 
 233 
 256 
 
 1,001,535 
 1,151,689 
 
 2,765,899 
 3,127,079 
 
 909,000 
 2,048,000 
 
 1893 ... . 
 
 34,251 
 
 272 
 
 1,132,432 
 
 3,256,873 
 
 2,830,000 
 
 1894 
 
 35,494 
 
 306 
 
 1,280,824 
 
 3,694,501 
 
 4,084,000 
 
 1895 
 
 37,218 
 
 338 
 
 1,469,404 
 
 3,915,538 
 
 4,997,000 
 
 1896 
 
 39,779 
 
 379 
 
 1,667,026 
 
 4,613,447 
 
 4,715,000 
 
 1897 
 
 40,138 
 
 372 
 
 l,724,192f 
 
 4,857,760 
 
 3,356,000 
 
 1898 
 
 40,232 
 
 371 
 
 1,380,528 
 
 6,666,917 
 
 434,000 
 
 1899 
 
 40,352 
 
 366 
 
 1,371,914 
 
 6,970,955 
 
 535,000 
 
 1900 
 
 41,677 
 
 390 
 
 ,353,675 
 
 6,819,307 
 
 642,000 
 
 1901 
 
 42,254 
 
 403 
 
 ,163,522 
 
 5,804,312 
 
 1,708,000 
 
 1902 
 
 44,640 
 
 426 
 
 ,201,849 
 
 6,141,276 
 
 1,490,000 
 
 1903 
 
 47359 
 
 471 
 
 373 974 
 
 6,722,858 
 
 1,112000 
 
 1904 
 
 49,384 
 
 488 
 
 524987 
 
 7,347,003 
 
 612000 
 
 1905 
 1906 
 1907 
 1908 . . . 
 
 49,776 
 51,286 
 53,059 
 54,817 
 
 513 
 531 
 546 
 578 
 
 1,538,885 
 1,745,848 
 1,929,706 
 2,249,586 
 
 7,166,696 
 8,097,172 
 7,757,683 
 7,847,584 
 
 1,410,000 
 2,045,000 
 3,376,000 
 4,270,000 
 
 1909 
 
 56,086 
 
 597 
 
 2,438,324 
 
 8,309,981 
 
 3,799,000 
 
 1910 
 1911 
 
 57,140 
 60,848 
 
 630 
 672 
 
 2,788,906 
 2,836,836 
 
 9,748,017 
 10,919,533 
 
 3,326,000 
 6,836,000 
 
 1912 
 
 61,681 
 
 717 
 
 3,680,026 
 
 12,257,687 
 
 7,589,000 
 
 1913 
 
 63,968 
 
 740 
 
 3,790,294 
 
 11,363,056 
 
 9,840,000 
 
 1914 
 
 68,082 
 
 752 
 
 3,974,562 
 
 11,403,075 
 
 9,282,000 
 
 1915 
 
 67,354 
 
 729 
 
 3,650,590 
 
 14,378,547 
 
 3,507,000 
 
 1916 
 
 70,439 
 
 748 
 
 3,930,144 
 
 15,701,669 
 
 2,892,000 
 
 1917 
 1918 
 
 72,012 
 72,658 
 
 801 
 857* 
 
 4,405,450 
 5,350,000* 
 
 17,298,351 
 19,000,000* 
 
 1,968,000 
 
 1919 
 
 76,000* 
 
 914* 
 
 5,900,000* 
 
 20,800,000* 
 
 
 1920 
 
 79,791 
 
 971 
 
 6,493,689 
 
 22,625,642 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * Estimated. 
 
 t For years subsequent to 1897 international telegrams are included. 
 
 "In 1920, 6,493,689 telegrams of 127,327,724 words 
 were sent and in 1915 only 3,487,670 telegrams of 65,970,808 
 words, indicating that the traffic has doubled in the space of 
 five years. 
 
 30 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 "Last year 1,1 14 kilometers (691 miles) of lines were built 
 and 26 telegraph stations were opened for traffic. The 971 
 telegraph stations of Brazil produced last year a revenue of 
 22,625,641 milreis ($7,466,000) of which 5,897,055 milreis 
 ($1,946,000) represents the value of official messages. 
 
 "22,224,760 milreis paper ($7,334,000) and 300,000 mil- 
 reis gold ($163,800) were expended during the past fiscal 
 year for the conservation of the National telegraph. After 
 deducting the cost of material purchased for the construc- 
 tion of new lines one can say that the revenue of the tele- 
 graph in Brazil covered the expenses. Five years ago, in 
 1914, the gross revenue of the telegraph was not half of what 
 it was in 1920, while in addition, the expenses in 1914 were 
 20,685,144 milreis ($6,826,000) with the revenue (excluding 
 miscellaneous receipts) 10,905,185 ($3,598,000) resulting in 
 a deficit of nearly 100% of the revenue." 
 
 "Gross Revenue" consists of revenue from paid domestic 
 and international telegrams, value of official telegrams, radio- 
 telegraph receipts, State telephone revenue, and miscellane- 
 ous receipts. 
 
 "Annual Deficit" is largely due to the inclusion in ex- 
 penditures of amounts spent yearly for new construction and 
 material. Deducting this item, the telegraph revenue would 
 cover expenses. 
 
 CABLE SERVICE 
 
 At the outbreak of the World War in 1914 the 
 Republic of Brazil had four separate cable routes 
 connecting it with the outside world, as follows: 
 
 1. Madeira Line. The Madeira line is operated 
 by the Western Telegraph Company, Ltd., which 
 was registered at London January 8, 1873, as the 
 Brazilian Submarine Telegraph Company, Ltd., 
 the name being changed on November 10, 1899, to 
 the Western Telegraph Company, Ltd. This cable 
 starts from Recife (State of Pernambuco) and goes 
 via Cape Verde Islands and Madeira to Carcavellos 
 
 31 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 (near Lisbon, Portugal). The first cable connecting 
 these points was laid in 1874 and had a length of 
 3,750 nautical miles. A second, laid in 1884, shortened 
 the distance to 3,657 nautical miles. The Western 
 Telegraph Company, Ltd., also owns and operates 
 a number of submarine coastal cables between the 
 cities of Para, Maranhas, Ceara, Pernambuco, Bahia, 
 Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Florianopolis and Rio Grande. 
 From the latter city the cable goes to Montevideo 
 (Uruguay). The longest of these cables are from 
 Para to Pernambuco, with 1,242 nautical miles, and 
 another of 1,367 nautical miles from Pernambuco to 
 Rio de Janeiro, both laid in 1900. 
 
 2. Fernando Noronha Line. By decree No. 128 
 of April 11, 1891, the Brazilian Government granted 
 a concession to the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and 
 Telegraph Works Company, Ltd., for the laying of 
 a cable between Pernambuco and Senegal (Africa). 
 Decree No. 965A of June 30, 1892, permitted the 
 concessionaire to transfer his rights to the South 
 American Cable Company, Ltd., registered at Lon- 
 don July 4, 1891. The cable starts from Recife, 
 touches at the Island of F. Noronha, and then con- 
 tinues to Dakar (Senegal). The length of this cable, 
 which was laid in 1892, is 348 nautical miles from 
 Recife to F. Noronha and 1,620 nautical miles from 
 F. Noronha to Dakar, making a total length of 
 1,968 nautical miles. 
 
 3. Salinas Line. This cable is operated by the 
 Compagnie Frangaise des Cables Telegraphiques 
 which received a concession from the Brazilian 
 Government by decree No. 216A of February 22, 
 1890, authorizing the Societe Generate des Tele- 
 
 32 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 phones and the Societe Frangaise des Telegraphes 
 Sous-Marins to establish telegraphic connection be- 
 tween the city of Vizeu (State of Para) and the coast 
 of the United States of North America. The life 
 of the concession was for 25 years. At Santiago de 
 Cuba this cable connects with those of the West 
 India and Panama Telegraph Company and at 
 Guantanamo (Cuba) connects with the cables of 
 the All America Cables system which go to New 
 York. This line was opened for service on Septem- 
 ber 1, 1892. The most important routes operated 
 by the Compagnie Frangaise des Cables Telegraph- 
 iques are: 
 
 Salinas to Cayenne (Fr. Guiana) 505 naut cal miles 
 
 Cayenne to Paramaribo (Dutch Guiana) 268 
 
 Paramaribo to Fort de France (Martinique) 700 
 
 Fort de France to Charlotte-Amelie (St. Thomas) 372 
 
 Charlotte- Amelie to Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) 409 
 
 Puerto Plata to Cap Haitien (Haiti) 116 
 
 Cap Haitien to St. Nicholas (Haiti) 96 
 
 St. Nicholas to Guantanamo (Cuba) 119 
 
 4. Teneriffe Line. This cable formerly belonged 
 to the Deutsch-Sudamerikanische Telegraphengesell- 
 schaft which prior to the World War ^pei-ated five 
 cables with a total length of 7,386 nautical miles. 
 The original concession was granted by decree No. 
 7,051 of July 30, 1908, to Felten & Guilleaume- 
 Lahmeyerwerke Actien-Gesellschaft. A second de- 
 cree (No. 7598 of October 14, 1908) permitted the 
 concessionaire to transfer his rights to the Deutsch- 
 Sudamerikanische Telegraphengesellschaft. The 
 route of the cable was: 
 
 Island of Borkum (near Emden) to Teneriffe (Canary 
 
 Islands) 2,107 nautical miles 
 
 Teneriffe to Monrovia (Liberia, Africa) 1,798 
 
 Monrovia to Pernambuco (Brazil) 1,873 
 
 33 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Service over this route commenced on March 
 29, 1911. 
 
 In none of the South American countries having 
 an extensive seacoast was the early need of rapid 
 telegraphic intercommunication between the im- 
 portant commercial cities felt more intensely than 
 in Brazil, where the Atlantic Ocean forms the natural 
 boundary on the east and also on the north for a 
 distance of about 5,000 miles from the frontier of 
 Dutch Guiana to the boundary line of Uruguay. 
 
 The Telegraph Administration of Brazil fully 
 recognized the importance of providing rapid tele- 
 graphic communication between the coastal cities 
 and the capital, but was deterred by the enormous 
 expense of constructing land lines over such vast 
 distances with difficult engineering problems to be 
 met. The need for submarine cables became more 
 and more pronounced as the commerce and indus- 
 tries of these seacoast cities increased by leaps and 
 bounds, making such inland lines as had been built 
 entirely inadequate to take care of the volume of tele- 
 graphic traffic. Consequently, when various foreign 
 interests proposed to the Government the intercon- 
 nection by submarine cables of the capital with im- 
 portant seacoast cities to the north and south their 
 offer was readily accepted, for at that time the 
 country was not financially able to do the work 
 itself. It is certain, however, that if the Govern- 
 ment had foreseen the injurious competition which 
 later developed between the submarine cable com- 
 panies and the established inland telegraph lines, 
 the granting of permits for the laying of such cables 
 would have been more narrowly restricted than it was. 
 
 34 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 It has been stated in the beginning of this chapter 
 that at the present date of writing the Western 
 Telegraph Company, Ltd., owns and operates not 
 only the Madeira cable but also the various coastal 
 cables to the north and south of Rio de Janeiro, and 
 also that prior to 1899 this company was known as 
 the Brazilian Submarine Telegraph Company, Ltd. 
 In that year, by decree No. 3307, the Brazilian 
 Government authorized the amalgamation of the 
 Brazilian Submarine Telegraph Company, Ltd., 
 with the Western and Brazilian Telegraph Com- 
 pany, Ltd., the new company being called the West- 
 ern Telegraph Company, Ltd. Through such amal- 
 gamation the latter company became the owner of 
 two basic concessions granted by the Govern- 
 ment of Brazil, namely, the concession granted by 
 decree No. 4491 of March 23, 1870, to Charles T. 
 Bright, and the one granted by decree No. 5058 of 
 August 16, 1872, to Baron Maua. 
 
 The subsequent data have been added to show 
 through how many companies these concessions 
 passed until they were finally combined under the 
 management of the Western Telegraph Company, 
 Ltd. 
 
 Decree No. 4491 of March 23, 1870, granted to Charles 
 T. Bright, E. B. Webb, and William F. Jones a 60-year ex- 
 clusive concession to lay and operate two submarine cables, 
 both starting from the capital, one extending north to Para 
 (province of Para) and the other south to S. Pedro (province 
 of Rio Grande do Sul). 
 
 Decree No. 5234 of March 24, 1873, authorized the trans- 
 fer of the original concession (decree No. 4491) to the Tele- 
 graph Construction and Maintenance Company, Ltd. 
 
 35 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Decree No. 5270 of April 26, 1873, authorized the re- 
 newal of the contract made with Charles T. Bright and 
 others, and transferred to the Telegraph Construction and 
 Maintenance Company, Ltd., for the construction of sub- 
 marine cable lines to the north and south of the capital. 
 Attached to decree No. 5270 were new stipulations concern- 
 ing the time limit for establishing cable communication be- 
 tween the capital and the northern and southern terminals. 
 
 Decree No. 5489 of December 10, 1873, authorized the 
 Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company, Ltd., to do busi- 
 ness in Brazil. 
 
 Decree No. 5359 of January 31, 1874, approved the trans- 
 fer to the Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company, 
 Ltd., of the concession granted to the Telegraph Construc- 
 tion and Maintenance Company, Ltd. 
 
 Decree No. 5545 of February 7, 1874, authorized the 
 Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company, Ltd., to extend 
 the submarine cable from the city of Para to Cayenne 
 (French Guiana) and Surinam. Work must be commenced 
 within 5 months and be entirely finished within 7 years. 
 
 Decree No. 5971 of July 21, 1875, authorized the West 
 India and Panama Telegraph Company, Ltd., to operate in 
 Brazil, and accepted the transfer to this company of the 
 concession granted by decree No. 5545 to the Western and 
 Brazilian Telegraph Company, Ltd. 
 
 Decree No. 6874 of April 6, 1878, extended the time limit 
 for finishing the submarine cable line to northern Brazil, 
 as stipulated in decree No. 5270. 
 
 Decree No. 7105 of December 3, 1878, again extended the 
 time limit, this time for six months from October 6, 1878. 
 
 Decree No. 7814 of August 31, 1880, granted a concession 
 to the Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company, Ltd., to 
 extend its submarine cable from Para to the Guianas (see 
 decree No. 5545). 
 
 Decree No. 9184 of April 12, 1884, declared the conces- 
 sion granted by decree No. 7814 forfeited. 
 
 36 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 Decree No. 944 of November 7, 1890. The Provisional 
 Government granted a concession to the Western and 
 Brazilian Telegraph Company, Ltd., to lay a second sub- 
 marine cable along the coast of Brazil, following the route 
 of the cable already laid. 
 
 Decree No. 3307 of June 6, 1899, authorized the amalga- 
 mation of the Brazilian Submarine Telegraph Company, 
 Ltd., and the Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company, 
 Ltd., the new company to be known as the Western Tele- 
 graph Company, Ltd. 
 
 The Western Telegraph Company, Ltd., therefore holds 
 all the rights and privileges granted under decree No. 5270 
 of April 26, 1873, and decree No. 944 of November 1, 1890. 
 
 Decree No. 3557 of January 16, 1900, authorized the 
 Western Telegraph Company, Ltd., to do business in Brazil. 
 
 WIRELESS TELEGRAPH 
 
 In 1902 Joaquim Gongalves de Lalor, an engineer 
 acting as representative for R. Mardock, a citizen 
 of the United States, applied to the governors of the 
 States of Para and Amazonas for a concession per- 
 mitting him to install wireless telegraph stations 
 along the rivers Tocantine, Purus, Madeira and 
 Amazonas, and cited in support of his request the 
 frequent interruptions of telegraphic communica- 
 tion between the coast and these States because of 
 the faulty working of the submarine cable operated 
 by the English company. R. Mardock, through 
 J. G. de Lalor, received such concession in 1904 and 
 transferred it to the Amazon Wireless Telegraph 
 and Telephone Company, a corporation chartered 
 in the State of Maine, U. S. A. This company erected 
 wireless stations in 1905, using the Fessenden system, 
 in Pinheiro (about 11 miles from Belem) and at 
 
 37 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Breves (about 80 miles from Pinheiro). On account 
 of imperfect transmission the Breves station was 
 dismantled in the following year and the Pinheiro 
 station was moved to Belem. At the same time the 
 system invented by Shoemaker and Stone was in- 
 stalled in place of the Fessenden system. Having 
 succeeded in securing this concession from the States 
 of Para and Amazonas, J. G. de Lalor asked the 
 National Congress for authority to establish wireless 
 service between these two States. The Chamber of 
 Deputies referred the petition to a commission which 
 on August 2, 1905, reported adversely on the ground 
 that such concession would interfere with the tele- 
 graph monopoly of the Federation. Despite this 
 adverse report the American company continued its 
 work in the State of Para and installed another wire- 
 less station at Santarem, about 460 miles from Belem, 
 which distance, however, proved to be too great for 
 maintaining regular service between these two points. 
 In 1905 Jose L. L. de Souza requested the Govern- 
 ment for a 50-year concession to establish wireless 
 stations within the entire territory of the Republic, 
 which petition was rejected, owing to objections 
 raised by the State Telegraph Administration. 
 Various other requests like the foregoing at last 
 called the attention of the Brazilian legislators to the 
 fact that no law had yet been enacted governing the 
 installation and use of wireless stations within the 
 National territory. To clarify this situation Dr. 
 Gracho Cardoso, member of the Chamber of Depu- 
 ties from the State of Ceara, presented a bill to the 
 Legislature on November 6, 1907, as follows: 
 
 "Article 1: The installation of wireless apparatus and 
 
 38 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 the exploitation of that service is the exclusive monopoly of 
 the Government: 
 
 "Article 2: Concessions may be granted to the States, 
 or to private parties, for the installation and operation of 
 wireless telegraphy, it being understood, however, that the 
 Government may at any time, and without incurring any 
 liability, close or operate such installations, or temporarily 
 prohibit their operation." 
 
 The above constituted the first attempt to secure 
 for the Government the monopoly of the wireless 
 telegraph service, but the bill was not passed. 
 
 In 1911 the Amazon Wireless Telegraph and 
 Telephone Company established wireless stations in 
 Manaos, Santarem and Belem, with modern wireless 
 apparatus which had been purchased from the Tele- 
 funken Company of New York. On April 26, 1911, 
 decree No. 8186 was passed, authorizing the Amazon 
 Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Company to 
 operate wireless stations throughout Brazil. This 
 decree was issued only after several other attempts 
 to obtain wireless telegraph concessions from the 
 Federal Government had failed. 
 
 While so far no mention has been made of the 
 entrance of the Brazilian Telegraph Administration 
 into the field of wireless telegraphy, the Administra- 
 tion had by no means remained inactive. As a 
 matter of fact, experimental trials had been under- 
 taken in 1904 between a station in the fortress of 
 Santa Cruz and a receiving station which had been 
 installed on Grande Island, the distance between 
 the two points being about 68 miles. Experiments 
 were continued during the next two years, both with 
 wireless transmission between land lines and be- 
 tween land and ship stations. By 1907 the progress 
 
 39 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 which had been made led the Telegraph Administra- 
 tion to report favorably on wireless telegraph to the 
 President. In the same year (May 15, 1907) the 
 President submitted to the National Congress the 
 protocol of the International Wireless Convention 
 of Berlin, with the recommendation that Brazil 
 should join the Convention and in November, 1907, 
 by decree No. 1775, the National Congress approved 
 this recommendation. 
 
 The rapidly increasing use of wireles transmis- 
 sion led the 1908 National Congress to attach to the 
 bill which authorized the appropriations for the 
 ensuing year a demand for the appointment of a 
 technical commission to inaugurate wireless tele- 
 graph service in Brazil. This commission was made 
 up of representatives chosen by the Ministry of In- 
 dustries, Ways and Public Works, and the Ministries 
 of War and Navy, and the work entrusted to them 
 was so successfully performed that by the end of the 
 year the draft of a new law specifying the rules and 
 regulations for governing the wireless telegraph ser- 
 vice was laid before the Government. This proposed 
 law was passed by decree No. 8542 of February 
 1, 1911. 
 
 In March of the year 1909 the Telegraph Adminis- 
 tration began the erection of a wireless station to re- 
 place the semaphore office on Babylonian Hill. 
 Upon the completion of this work on July 14, 1909, 
 the Administration vigorously applied itself to the 
 installation of three additional wireless stations. Of 
 these, Amaralina (State of Bahia) was opened for 
 public service on August 9, 1910, Olinda on October 
 22, 1910, and the high power station of Noronha, 
 
 40 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 with a sending radius of 1,000 nautical miles, on 
 November 15, 1910. Statistics published in the 
 report of the Telegraph Director for 1910 give the 
 number of wireless messages transmitted during 
 1909 and 1910 as 310 and 3,711 respectively. 
 
 During 1911 the Government began the con- 
 struction of two important stations, one in Juncgao 
 (State of Rio Grande do Sul) and the other in Lagoa 
 (Island of Santa Catharina), both of which were 
 opened on August 12, 1912. A smaller station at 
 Monte Serrat (Santos) was placed in service on July 
 14, 1911. 
 
 In 1913 the Administration created the radio- 
 telegraph district of Amazonas, with headquarters 
 in Manaos, which included the 9 radiotelegraph 
 stations located in the States of Para, Amazonas, and 
 in the Territory of Acre. 
 
 At the end of the year another proposed law for 
 regulating the wireless telegraph service was pre- 
 sented to the Chamber of Deputies. After an ex- 
 haustive discussion it was approved by the Legisla- 
 ture and embodied in decree No. 3296 of July 10, 
 1917. This law places the radiotelegraph and radio- 
 telephone services within the territory of Brazil and 
 its territorial waters under the exclusive control and 
 jurisdiction of the Brazilian Government. It fur- 
 ther provides that the establishment and operation 
 of radiotelegraph stations for public use shall be 
 under the Ministry of Communications and Public 
 Works, except where applied to the service of national 
 defense, when they shall be under the Ministries of 
 War and Navy. Though possessing the monopoly 
 of wireless communication, the law permits the 
 
 41 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Government to grant to persons of Brazilian national- 
 ity concessions (without any special privileges, how- 
 ever) to install and operate one or more high-power 
 stations at suitable places on the coast, for the sole 
 purpose of carrying on international and interterri- 
 torial communication with similar stations in other 
 countries. All such stations must be connected with 
 one of the National telegraph offices which shall have 
 charge of the collection and distribution of the in- 
 ternational wireless service and shall receive the 
 terminal rate pertaining to the same. 
 
 The States of the Federation, not yet served by 
 the telegraph, which desire to establish radiotele- 
 graph stations within their territory are required to 
 entrust both the installation and operation of the 
 same to the General Department of Telegraphs 
 
 A considerable portion of the law of July 10, 1917, 
 deals with the use of wireless apparatus on board 
 ships, and makes its use obligatory on certain types 
 of vessels. It concludes with the provision that the 
 Brazilian radiotelegraph service is to be governed by 
 the rules authorized by the International Conven- 
 tion of London and such other regulations as shall be 
 issued in connection with the execution of the present 
 law. Furthermore, it provides that the Ministry of 
 Communications and Public Works shall have charge 
 of all measures for establishing wireless service with 
 adjoining countries, and shall establish bases for 
 treaties with such countries, which treaties, however, 
 must be submitted to the National Congress for 
 approval. 
 
 In 1921, in accordance with the above law, the 
 Companhia Radiographica do Brazil received a con- 
 
 42 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 cession to install and operate high-power radio 
 stations for direct communication with the Americas 
 and Europe. This concession, which is for a period 
 of 45 years, grants no monopoly nor special privi- 
 leges of any kind and restricts operations to inter- 
 national service, communications between localities 
 within the National territory being prohibited. The 
 first two stations are to be established in the cities 
 of Rio de Janeiro and Belem. 
 
 The rate charged for wireless service within the 
 National territory, as officially fixed by decree No. 
 3441 of September 15, 1921, is 200 reis (6.6 cents) 
 per word in addition to a basic charge of 1 milreis 
 (33 cents) per message. 
 
 The 1916 report of the Telegraph Administration 
 contains the following statistics relating to the wire- 
 less stations in operation in Brazil: 
 
 WIRELESS STATIONS IN BRAZIL FOR PUBLIC USE, 
 JANUARY 1, 1917 
 
 Working Limit 
 
 (a) Coast Stations (Nautical Miles) 
 
 Amaralina State of Bahia 400 
 
 Babylonia City of Rio de Janeiro 200 
 
 Belem State of Para 400 
 
 Fernando de Noronha Island of F. Noronha 1,000 
 
 Juncgao State of Rio Grande do Sul 750 
 
 Monte Serrat State of Sao Paulo 200 
 
 Olinda State of Pernambuco 590 
 
 S. Thome State of Rio de Janeiro 750 
 
 (b) Inland Stations 
 
 Cruzeiro do Sul Acre Territory 400 
 
 Manaos Acre Territory . 750 
 
 Porto Velho State of Matto Grosso 750 
 
 Rio Branco Acre Territory 210 
 
 Santarem State of Para 400 
 
 Senna Madureira Acre Territory 400 
 
 Tarauaca Acre Territory 210 
 
 Xapury Acre Territory 210 
 
 In addition to the above, the Ministry of Marine 
 operates nine, and the Ministry of War seven wire- 
 less stations, which are for official use only. 
 
 43 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 STATE TELEPHONE 
 
 When it is recalled that it was Dom Pedro de 
 Alcantara, the Emperor of Brazil, who at the Cen- 
 tennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, after 
 hearing the human voice over the telephone, made 
 the historic exclamation, "My God, it talks !" it 
 seems strange that upon his return to Brazil he 
 should have permitted such an epoch making in- 
 vention to remain almost inactive in the hands of the 
 officials in charge of the transmission of intelligence 
 by electricity. 
 
 The "Memoria Historica," under the head of 
 "Telephone Service/ 'states that the construction of 
 telephone lines began in Brazil in 1879, in which year 
 the Government also granted the first concession for 
 the commercial use of the telephone. While this 
 date is doubtless correct for the construction of the 
 first State telephone line, which was built between 
 the police headquarters and those of the fire depart- 
 ment in the city of Rio de Janeiro, it is also true that 
 private telephone lines existed as early as 1877, as 
 will be shown in the chapter dealing with private 
 telephone service. 
 
 The writer of the "Memoria Historica" next 
 refers to the policy of the Government of granting 
 concessions for telephone lines to private parties 
 and declares that from the very start this policy was 
 wrong. ("Logo en seu inicio o systema de conces- 
 soes de linhas telephonicas a particulars provou 
 mal.") This condemnation was due to the fact that 
 the Government, at the time that private telephone 
 line construction started, failed to issue ordinances 
 for the protection of the National telegraph and fire 
 
 44 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 alann lines against damage by adjacent telephone 
 lines. To remedy this oversight and to prevent 
 further trouble the Legislature of 1880 passed a reso- 
 lution which assigned to the Telegraph Administra- 
 tion the construction of all private telephone lines. 
 Foreseeing the commercial importance of the new 
 rival the Director of Telegraphs advised the Govern- 
 ment against granting any further licenses, and 
 though no proper authorization to uphold this policy 
 was obtained, thereafter all requests for the con- 
 struction of private telephone lines were refused. 
 
 By 1881 the Brazilian State Council was consider- 
 ing the decision of the English Government, namely, 
 that the telephone was of the same nature as the tele- 
 graph and should therefore be the monopoly of the 
 Government. The Council adopted the same view 
 and embodied it in a formal resolution, with the pro- 
 viso, however, that the Government might grant 
 concessions for the construction of private telephone 
 lines, and by a circular letter dated May 6, 1881, so 
 advised the governors of the various provinces. How- 
 ever, a decree of May 24, 1882, issued by the Ministry 
 in charge of communications, declared that no 
 further concessions for the building of telephone lines 
 would be granted and that all pending applications 
 were rejected. The situation was finally cleared by 
 decree No. 8935 of April 25, 1883, which established 
 rules and regulations governing subsequent telephone 
 concessions. Although this legislation was intended 
 to protect the monopoly of the Government, it failed 
 in practice, largely on account of the laxity of various 
 provincial authorities in upholding and enforcing it. 
 
 During 1885 the Telegraph Administration tested 
 
 45 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 the Van Rysselbergh system of simultaneous teleg- 
 raphy and telephony, but found the results un- 
 satisfactory. 
 
 Nothing of particular importance happened in 
 connection with the State telephone during the four 
 years following 1885. In speaking of the year 1889, 
 when Brazil adopted the republican form of govern- 
 ment, the writer of the "Memoria Historica" de- 
 scribes the condition of the State telephone service 
 as follows: "Era essa a situagao quando se extinguiu 
 o antigo regimen. O servigo telephonico no Brazil 
 estava ainda na infancia." (This was the situation 
 when the former Goyernment ceased to exist. The 
 telephone service of Brazil was then in its infancy.) 
 If this is meant to apply to the State telephone ser- 
 vice only, no one will dispute its correctness, but at 
 that time the private telephone service had already 
 developed to a considerable extent. 
 
 The decrees of February 6, May 2, and Novem- 
 ber 20, 1890, have already been discussed in the 
 chapter dealing with the telegraph under the re- 
 publican government, as well as the practical diffi- 
 culties which arose from the conflicting legislation 
 which was enacted. These, however, were removed 
 upon the promulgation of the new constitution. The 
 latter authorized the Telegraph Administration to 
 engage in urban as well as interurban telephone 
 service, but without interfering with rights already 
 acquired by private companies; likewise it gave the 
 Administration the authority to build special tele- 
 phone lines for the collection and distribution of 
 telegraph messages and to install telephone toll 
 stations for public use. 
 
 46 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 The Telegraph Administration as early as 1884 
 had opened a small local exchange as an experiment 
 in the city of Maceio (State of Alagoas) and con- 
 tinued this service for eight years. In 1892 the ex- 
 change was closed but reopened shortly thereafter. 
 It was finally abandoned December 1, 1896, and the 
 apparatus and line material were offered for sale at 
 public auction. Aside from the telephone exchange 
 in the capital, this has been the only venture on the 
 part of the Administration to establish a telephone 
 exchange. 
 
 State telephone service in Rio de Janeiro became 
 definitely established upon the promulgation by the 
 Provisional Government of decree No. 1043 of 
 November 20, 1890, which also created a distinct 
 telephone district. At that time there existed two 
 small telephone centrals in the capital, one in the 
 building occupied by the Telegraph Administration 
 to which 69 lines were connected, and the other in 
 the War and Navy building with 37 lines for the 
 exclusive use of the Minister of War. In addition to 
 these Government owned and constructed lines, 
 there existed in the city various private telephone 
 lines. 
 
 Service over the Government lines reached only 
 to the Fazenda de Santa Cruz. The plant had been 
 constructed with such material as happened to be on 
 hand, with the result that the poles were small and 
 like those employed for the telegraph, while the 
 conductors consisted merely of galvanized iron wire 
 of 2 mm. diameter. Naturally lines built in such 
 haphazard manner deteriorated very quickly so that 
 the Administration was constantly called upon to 
 
 47 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 rebuild parts of them at a heavy expense to the 
 Treasury. To avoid such unnecessary labor and 
 expense the Administration reconstructed the plant 
 in 1896 at a cost of 100,000 milreis ($33,000), re- 
 placing the old poles with larger and better ones and 
 attaching the conductors to porcelain insulators of 
 good quality. As the service was considerably im- 
 proved thereby the municipality turned over to the 
 Administration the lines used for fire alarm purposes. 
 Up to then the telephone service had been split 
 up between the Telegraph Administration and the 
 Ministry of War, and the latter had organized and 
 paid for the special purpose of operating, construct- 
 ing and maintaining telephone lines. Due to the 
 increasing number of lines for the light and power 
 circuits of the private companies, the single wire 
 telephone lines of the Government suffered severely 
 from induction which finally made it necessary to 
 use metallic circuits. Replacement of the single 
 wire lines by metallic circuits began in 1906 but was 
 suspended in 1907 when the Administration found 
 out that it would save much time and money by 
 closing a contract with the Brazilianische Electrici- 
 tats-Gesellschaft for the furnishing of official tele- 
 phone service. All these official lines were connected 
 to three centrals, one in the building occupied by the 
 Telegraph Administration, the second in the square 
 known as Largo do Machado, and the third in the 
 rua de S. Christovao. In addition to these three 
 there were four other centrals used by the Ministry 
 of War and Navy, police headquarters, and the 
 general police. During 1908 the work of providing 
 underground conduits for the Government telephone 
 
 48 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 lines progressed slowly, and but 3 kilometers (1.8 
 miles) were added to the 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) 
 which had been completed in the preceding year. 
 
 The statistics published in the annual report of 
 the Telegraph Department for the year 1908 men- 
 tion a total of 762 subscribers on December 31, 1908, 
 as compared with 680 on December 31, 1907, with a 
 total of 3,010 kilometers (1,869 miles) of telephone 
 wire at the close of 1908 as compared with 2,738 
 kilometers (1,700 miles) in the preceding year. 
 
 The only noteworthy event in connection with the 
 telephone service during 1909 was the giving of an 
 order to the firm of Siemens Brothers of London 
 for a 400-line central battery switchboard with lamp 
 signals, which 'required the use of metallic circuits. 
 
 During the year 1910 the Telegraph Administra- 
 tion constructed a telephone line between Rio de 
 Janeiro and Petropolis, a distance of 53.8 kilometers 
 (33 miles) consisting of 303 kilometers (188 miles) of 
 wire, and also aline between Petropolis and Therezop- 
 olis, a distance of 42.5 kilometers (26 miles) con- 
 sisting of 86.6 kilometers (53 miles) of wire. 
 
 Fearing that the Federal Government intended 
 to furnish the public with telephone service between 
 the capital, Nictheroy, Petropolis and Therezopolis, 
 the Brazilianische Electricitats-Gesellschaft ap- 
 pealed to the Government that, because of its con- 
 tract with the municipality, the company possessed 
 the exclusive right to furnish telephone service within 
 the municipal area and that consequently a Govern- 
 ment interurban service would infringe upon the 
 concession to the Interurban Telephone Company 
 of Brazil, a licensee of the complainant, which had 
 
 49 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 been authorized to provide telephone service within 
 the State of Rio de Janeiro. To strengthen the ar- 
 gument the complainant pointed out that the inter- 
 urban company had also received a permit to lay 
 a submarine telephone cable between the capital and 
 Nictheroy. Since the constitution authorized the 
 Government to furnish interurban service, the com- 
 plaint of the Brazilianische Electricitats-Gesellschaft 
 was dismissed. 
 
 STATE TELEPHONE STATISTICS 
 
 Year 
 
 Number of 
 Subscribers 
 
 Kilometers 
 of Wire 
 
 1890 
 
 106 
 
 
 1895 
 
 250 
 
 
 1900 
 
 409 
 
 
 1901 
 
 449 
 
 
 1902 
 
 486 
 
 
 1903 
 
 530 
 
 
 1904 
 
 564 
 
 
 1905 
 
 603 
 
 
 1906 
 
 607 
 
 2315 
 
 1907 
 
 680 
 
 2738 
 
 1908 
 
 762 
 
 3010 
 
 1909 
 
 818 
 
 3 138 
 
 1910 . 
 
 918 
 
 3439 
 
 1911 . . 
 
 1,095 
 
 3,540 
 
 1912 
 
 1,165 
 
 3,777 
 
 1913 
 
 1,180 
 
 3,976 
 
 1914 
 
 1,195 
 
 4,491 
 
 1915. . 
 
 1,209 
 
 4,548 
 
 1916 
 
 1,205 
 
 4,596 
 
 1917 
 
 1,247 
 
 4,605 
 
 The report of the Telegraph Administration for 
 1911 shows that at that time interurban telephone 
 service had been established between the capital, 
 Nictheroy, Petropolis, and Therezopolis. For this 
 service the following rates were charged for a conver- 
 sation of five minutes' duration: 
 
 For a conversation established directly between two 
 
 stations 1 milreis (33 cents) 
 
 For a conversation that had to pass through an inter- 
 mediate station 2 milreis (66 cents) 
 
 50 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 From 1912 to 1917 the State telephone service 
 continued to develop slowly, the only change which 
 occurred being a slight reduction in the interurban 
 rates which had been established in 1911. 
 
 PRIVATE TELEPHONE SERVICE 
 
 The development of the telephone service in 
 Brazil is almost entirely the work of private enter- 
 prise. 
 
 The "Histoire de la Telephonic," published in 
 Paris in 1890 by Julien Brault, records that the tele- 
 phone first appeared in the Brazilian Empire in the 
 year 1877, and states further: "The first telephone 
 was constructed in that year in the workshop of the 
 Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company in Rio 
 de Janeiro. Towards the end of 1877 Rodde & Com- 
 pany established a telephone between their offices 
 and the Stock Exchange of Rio." 
 
 Two years later Charles Paul Mackie of Boston, 
 Massachusetts, petitioned the Brazilian Government 
 for a concession to furnish a local exchange service in 
 the capital and its suburbs, likewise in Nictheroy. 
 By decree No. 7539 of November 15, 1879, he ob- 
 tained a 10-year concession with exclusive privileges 
 for the first five years. The decree made it optional 
 with him as to whether he should engage personally 
 in the enterprise or organize a corporation for the 
 exploitation of his concession. For reasons unknown, 
 Mackie forfeited his concession, for in the list of 
 decrees published in the 1906 annual report of the 
 Brazilian Director General of Telegraphs decree No. 
 7539 is followed by the words "esta concessao 
 caducou" (this concession lapsed). 
 
 51 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 The Government granted no further telephone 
 concessions until April, 1881, when the Telephone 
 Company of Brazil entered the field. As the 
 formation of this company is closely interwoven 
 with the work of the telephone pioneers in the 
 United States a digression is desirable before taking 
 up anew the thread of the story of the telephone in 
 Brazil. 
 
 At this point it is the pleasant duty of the writer 
 to disclose a phase of the marvellous organizing 
 genius of Theodore N. Vail which is almost unknown 
 in the country that witnessed his proudest achieve- 
 ments. 
 
 Only eighteen months had passed since the in- 
 corporation of the Bell Telephone Company of New 
 York when in the midst of a multitude of sorely 
 perplexing problems at home Vail turned his unique 
 business acumen to the introduction of the telephone 
 in foreign countries, and forthwith created the Con- 
 tinental Telephone Company, thus planting the seed 
 from which sprung not only the telephone service 
 of Brazil, but also that of various other Latin Ameri- 
 can countries. 
 
 The Continental Telephone Company received 
 its charter from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
 on January 7, 1880, and was dissolved April 18, 1894. 
 The incorporators were Theodore N. Vail, later 
 President of the American Telephone and Tele- 
 graph Company of New York, William H. Forbes, 
 the first President of the American Bell Tele- 
 phone Company, George L. Bradley, Charles 
 Eustis Hubbard and Charles Emerson. According to 
 the charter the company had been formed with a 
 
 52 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 capital of $100,000 "for the purpose of manufacturing, 
 selling or renting electric telephones and telephonic 
 apparatus, and to establish, build and maintain lines 
 for the transmission of messages by electricity, or 
 otherwise, in any country, or countries, other than 
 the United States of America/ ' 
 
 Records which fortunately have been preserved 
 show that Professor Alexander Graham Bell and a 
 number of his early associates like Watson, Sanders, 
 and Blake, men who helped make the invention of 
 Bell a commercial success in the United States, as- 
 signed to the Continental Telephone Company all 
 their patent rights outside of the United States, as 
 well as the sole and exclusive right to sell, lease and 
 use Bell telephones, Blake transmitters, and all other 
 telephonic apparatus then manufactured by the Bell 
 Telephone Company of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 TELEPHONE COMPANY OF BRAZIL (Com- 
 panhia Telephonica do Brazil). With the creation 
 of the Continental Telephone Company, Vail set to 
 work to carry into effect his plan for developing the 
 telephone service in foreign countries and selected 
 Brazil as a starting point. On October 13, 1880, 
 Articles of Association were signed in Boston for the 
 formation of the Telephone Company of Brazil, with 
 a working capital of $300,000, consisting of 3,000 
 shares of $100 each. Among the men composing the 
 Association were Theodore N. Vail, Henry S. Russell, 
 Charles P. Mackie, William A. Forbes, George L. 
 Bradley, Charles Emerson and James H. Howard. 
 At the request of the Continental Telephone Com- 
 pany H. C. Adams, the Brazilian Vice Consul, certi- 
 fied the signatures. 
 
 53 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Immediately after the formation of the Associa- 
 tion, application was made to the Brazilian Govern- 
 ment for a concession which virtually amounted to 
 asking for a reinstatement of the former telephone 
 concession granted to Mackie, with the result that 
 by decree No. 8065 of April 17, 1881, the Telephone 
 Company of Brazil was duly recognized and author- 
 ized to furnish telephone service. 
 
 On account of its historic value, copy of decree 
 No. 8065 is subjoined, together with a translation: 
 
 "Decreio No. 8065, de 17 de Abril de 1881. Autoriza a 
 TELEPHONE COMPANY OF BRAZIL a funccionar no 
 Imperio. 
 
 "Attendendo no que Me requereu a TELEPHONE 
 COMPANY OF BRAZIL devidamente representada, e de 
 conformidade com a Minha Immediata Resolugao de 15 de 
 corrente mez, tomada sobre parecer da Secgao dos Negocios 
 do Imperio do Conselho de Estado exarado em consulta de 
 12 de Margo proximo passado, Hei por bem Autorizal-a a 
 funccionar mediante as clausulas que com este baixam, as- 
 signadas por Manoel Buarque de Macedo, do Meu Conselho, 
 Ministro e Secretario de Estado dos Negocios da Agricultura, 
 Commercio e Obras Publicas, que assim o tenha entendido 
 e faga executar. 
 
 "Palacio de Marianna em 17 de Abril de 1881, 60' da 
 Independencia e do Imperio. 
 
 "Com a rubrica de Sua Magestade o Imperador. 
 
 "Manoel Buarque de Macedo." 
 
 (TRANSLATION) 
 
 Decree No. 8065 of April 17, 1881. Authorization to the 
 TELEPHONE COMPANY OF BRAZIL to carry on busi- 
 ness in the Empire. 
 
 In pursuance of the request addressed to me by the 
 TELEPHONE COMPANY OF BRAZIL, duly represented, 
 and in conformity with my Resolution of the 15th of the 
 
 54 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 current month, based upon the report of the Section of 
 Domestic Affairs of the Council of State, given in the con- 
 sultation of the 12th of March last, I decide to authorize 
 said company to operate under the clauses appended hereto, 
 signed by Manoel Buarque de Macedo, of my Council, 
 Minister and Secretary of State, Agriculture, Commerce and 
 Public Works, whom I direct to comply with and execute 
 this order. 
 
 Palace of Marianna, April 17, 1881, Goth year of the 
 Independence of the Empire. 
 
 With the initials of His Majesty, the Emperor. 
 
 Manoel Buarque de Macedo. 
 
 It has commonly been assumed that because the 
 Association was formed in Boston, the associates 
 had asked the State of Massachusetts for a charter 
 incorporating the Telephone Company of Brazil, 
 but the fact is that the men who requested the 
 Brazilian Government for authorization to supply a 
 telephone service to the public failed to do so. 
 
 By May 28, 1881, the first three lines, with a 
 total length of about one mile, were constructed in 
 the capital. Ten months later the company had ex- 
 tended its telephone wire in both the capital and in 
 the suburbs to 372 miles. About the same time it 
 succeeded in obtaining a second decree (No. 8457 of 
 March 18, 1882) giving it a concession for furnishing 
 telephone service in various important cities, among 
 them being Maceio, S. Salvador, Petropolis, Rio de 
 Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Pelotas, and Rio Grande. 
 This broad franchise, except in so far as it is referred 
 to Rio de Janeiro, was declared void by decree No. 
 9664 of October 16, 1886. 
 
 Data contained in Brault's "Histoire de la 
 Telephonic" give the development of the Telephone 
 
 55 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Company of Brazil from its inception to April 1, 
 1885, as follows: 
 
 "By 1882 the Telephone Company of Brazil had already 
 opened 8 offices for the use of the public. By 1883 the com- 
 pany had established 5 exchanges with a total of about 1,000 
 subscribers. During the same year a long distance line of 
 100 kilometers (62 miles) had been built, connecting the 
 capital with Petropolis, the residence of the Emperor. By 
 April 1, 1885, the number of telephone exchanges in Brazil 
 had increased to 7, with a total of 3,335 subscribers, of which 
 the largest 3 were the capital and its suburbs serving 1,675 
 subscribers, Pernambuco with 275, and Bahia with 245 sub- 
 scribers." 
 
 Early Brazilian records prove that but a few 
 years after the inauguration of the telephone service 
 in Brazil and the organization of the Telephone 
 Company of Brazil, a rival concern, called the Com- 
 panhia Uniao Telephonica do Brazil, had started 
 exchanges in Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Sao Paulo. 
 It operated an opposition plant in the Federal 
 Capital, finally incorporating the Telephone Com- 
 pany of Brazil and continuing to operate until 1889, 
 when it was purchased by the Empreza Obras 
 Publicas do Brazil, which, a year later, obtained a 
 new concession to operate in the Federal Capital. 
 
 While the above information constitutes the only 
 official reference to the Companhia Uniao Tele- 
 phonica do Brazil, some important data are con- 
 tained in a leaflet published in October, 1885, by the 
 Tropical American Telephone Company, which was 
 incorporated in the State of New Jersey, U. S. A., 
 on November 1, 1881, with headquarters at 95 
 Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The leaflet 
 states as follows: 
 
 56 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 "This Company acquired from the Continental Tele- 
 phone Company of Boston, all telephonic rights formerly 
 its property in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, 
 Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, and the West Indies, except 
 Cuba. 
 
 "By subsequent purchase it obtained from the Continen- 
 tal Telephone Company all its existing telephonic rights in 
 Brazil and the remaining countries of South America, in- 
 cluding valuable contracts with subsidiary companies; and 
 now has the sole and exclusive right to sell, lease, and use 
 'Bell' Telephones, 'Blake' Transmitters, and all other tele- 
 phonic apparatus manufactured by the American Bell Tele- 
 phone Company, under patents owned or controlled by it 
 in the United States and Canada, in the entire territory of 
 South America, Central America, and West Indies, named 
 below, and is the source of supply for telephones, transmit- 
 ters, telephonic instruments and supplies, to the following 
 telephone companies already organized and doing business, 
 viz: 
 
 "COMPANHIA UNIAO TELEPHONICA DO BRA- 
 ZIL, the successor of the Companhia Nacional de Electrici- 
 dade and Companhia de Telegraphos Urbanos, operating 
 in Bahia, Pernambuco, Para, Santos, Campinos, and else- 
 where in Brazil. 
 
 "COMPANHIA TELEPHONICA DO BRAZIL, oper- 
 ating in Rio de Janeiro and Nictheroy, Brazil." 
 
 It will be noticed that the name of the Com- 
 panhia de Telegraphos Urbanos is included in the 
 list of subsidiary companies mentioned above. This 
 company owed its existence to decree No. 7753 of 
 July 5, 1880, which authorized Morris N. Kohn to 
 form a telegraph company to be known as the Em- 
 preza Telegraphica Electrica Urbana de Servigo 
 Domestico, to operate in Rio de Janeiro, Nictheroy, 
 and any other part of the Empire. This company 
 in turn formed a new concern, the Companhia 
 
 57 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Telegraphos Urbanos e Servigo Domestico, which by 
 decree No. 8307 of November 12, 1881, was granted 
 a .10 -year exclusive franchise for messenger, police 
 and fire alarm service in Rio de Janeiro and Nicthe- 
 roy. Although there is no evidence to prove it, it 
 is said that the Companhia Uniao Telephonica do 
 Brazil may have established itself in Brazil under 
 the above concession. 
 
 Four months after the fall of the Empire the 
 Provisional Government issued decree No. 199 of 
 February 6, 1890, which authorized the transfer of 
 all telephone lines within the boundary of the capi- 
 tal to the Municipal Administration, and at the 
 same time gave the Federal Telegraph Administra- 
 tion the power to establish telephone plants for 
 official and private use throughout the Republic. 
 
 Acting under this decree the Conselho da Inten- 
 dencia Municipal in its session of March 25, 1890, 
 decided to contract with the Empreza Obras Publicas 
 do Brazil for furnishing telephone service in the 
 Federal District, and a contract to this effect was 
 executed the following day. Presumably this com- 
 pany carried on the telephone service in this terri- 
 tory until 1896. 
 
 In the absence of any available official documents, 
 little is known about the condition of the telephone 
 service in the capital from 1890 to 1896, but it is 
 evident that the municipality was by no means 
 anxious to continue the prevailing arrangement at 
 the expiration of this period, for decree No. 49 of 
 January, 1897, declared the contract with the Em- 
 preza Obras Publicas do Brazil definitely cancelled. 
 At the same time the municipality announced that 
 
 58 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 a new concession would be granted to any respon- 
 sible party which would undertake to supply an 
 efficient telephone service throughout the entire 
 municipal area, which then covered about 1,116 
 square kilometers (430 square miles), and in ac- 
 cordance with this plan invited public bids. 
 
 On February 12, 1897, the Municipal Authori- 
 ties executed a contract with Siemens & Halske 
 Aktien-Gesellschaft and Alberto Frend & Company 
 for telephone service in the capital for a period of 
 30 years. Alberto Frend & Company transferred 
 their interest to TheodorWille & Company on June 
 18, 1898, the concession being modified by decree 
 No. 622 of November 9, 1898, to cover this trans- 
 fer. On January 17, 1899, pursuant to decree No. 
 3250, a new contract was made with Siemens & 
 Halske Aktien-Gesellschaft and Theodor Wille & 
 Company, regarding the telephone concession. Fi- 
 nally, on June 6, 1899, the concession was trans- 
 ferred to the Brazilianische Electricitats-Gesellschaft. 
 
 BRAZILIANISCHE ELECTRICITATS-GE- 
 SELLSCHAFT. In accordance with the terms of 
 the contract between the city and the Brazilianische 
 Electricitats-Gesellschaft, the company agreed to 
 pay to the municipality 10% of the annual net 
 profits, and in consideration of such payment was 
 exempted from all municipal taxes. The Bulletin 
 of the Pan-American Union of July, 1899, contains 
 a report by the French Consul at Rio de Janeiro, 
 relating to the new telephone company, part of 
 which reads as follows: 
 
 "A new German Company, called the Brazilianische 
 Electricitats-Gesellschaft, has been formed in Brazil, and 
 
 59 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 is authorized by a decree of April 7, 1899, published in the 
 Diario Oficial, to operate in Brazil. This Company, with 
 headquarters in Berlin, and which has a capital of 5,000,000 
 marks, |seems to be destined to absorb all the other German 
 electrical companies, thus forming one large syndicate." 
 
 The concession prescribed also the annual rates 
 to be charged for telephone service and for this 
 purpose divided the city into three zones. A feature 
 of the concession was the provision that the rates 
 would be varied according to fluctuations in ex- 
 change, and a schedule was appended setting forth 
 the rates in the several zones at rates of exchange 
 from 7 pence to 27 pence. Consequently, if the rate 
 of exchange advanced, the telephone charges were 
 decreased and, if the rate of exchange fell, the Com- 
 pany was at liberty to increase the charges. The 
 rate schedule of the Brazilianische Electricitats- 
 Gesellschaft, at various rates* of exchange, was as 
 follows: 
 
 Exchange Rate 
 (pence) 
 
 1st Zone 
 (milreis) 
 
 2nd Zone 
 (milreis) 
 
 3rd Zone 
 (milreis) 
 
 7.. 
 
 330 
 
 495 
 
 660 
 
 g 
 
 300 
 
 450 
 
 600 
 
 10 
 
 250 
 
 375 
 
 500 
 
 12 
 
 210 
 
 315 
 
 420 
 
 15 . 
 
 175 
 
 262 
 
 350 
 
 20 
 
 140 
 
 201 
 
 280 
 
 27 
 
 110 
 
 165 
 
 220 
 
 
 
 
 
 The above rates were still in use in 1920, although 
 at frequent intervals since 1912 the company has 
 asked the municipality to change them and to adopt 
 a rate schedule on the number of messages used. 
 
 * For a number of years prior to the World War the value of the paper 
 milreis was about 33 cents in U. S. currency. The present rate of exchange 
 is about 14 cents (7 pence). 
 
 60 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 The Brazilianische Electricitats-Gesellschaft con- 
 tinued to operate as an independent company until 
 1907, although as early as 1905 the entire stock had 
 been acquired by interests associated with the Rio 
 de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company. 
 
 RIO DE JANEIRO TELEPHONE COMPANY. 
 This company came into existence in 1907 and re- 
 ceived its charter of incorporation on November 
 15th of that year. James E. Manter was the first 
 president of the organization. Without going into 
 the details of the charter it may be asserted that it 
 was a very broad one and could cover almost any 
 conceivable general business. Some interesting data 
 about the Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company are 
 found in the Brazilian Yearbook for 1908, namely: 
 
 "The Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company was incor- 
 porated in 1907 under the laws of the State of Maine, U. S. A., 
 with a capital of $1,000,000 and a bonded debt of $1,000,000 
 consisting of 5% bonds. It owns the entire share capital 
 of the Brazilianische Electricitats-Gesellschaft, a German 
 company, which holds the telephone concession granted by 
 the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. 
 
 "The Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Com- 
 pany, Ltd., owns the entire share capital of the Rio de Janeiro 
 Telephone Company, which capital stock has been trans- 
 ferred to the trustees for the bond holders of the Rio de 
 Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company, Ltd. In 
 payment for advances made by it on account of the purchase 
 and for construction and interest charges, the Rio de Janeiro 
 Tramway, Light and Power Company, Ltd., receives the 
 interest on the telephone bonds and the proceeds thereof if 
 and when sold. 
 
 This telephone concession gives the exclusive right to 
 exploit the telephone business in the Federal District until 
 1928." 
 
 61 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 The Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company was 
 dissolved in 1911 when the shares of theBrazilianische 
 Electricitats-Gesellschaft became the property of the 
 Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company. 
 
 THE RIO DE JANEIRO TRAMWAY, LIGHT 
 AND POWER COMPANY, LTD. The second 
 annual report of this company, covering the year 
 
 1907, refers to the telephone service in the capital 
 as follows: 
 
 "During the past year the reconstruction of the building 
 and plant, after the destructive fire at the central office, was 
 completed, and an extensive reconstruction of the lines was 
 undertaken. The entire overhead system has been practi- 
 cally reconstructed. In the new central station a new test- 
 ing station has been installed and a switchboard for 4,900 
 lines has been provided. In addition to this four branch 
 exchanges have been installed." 
 
 The third annual report of the company, for the year 
 
 1908, states: 
 
 "During the year considerable progress has been made 
 in the development of the telephone system. An active 
 canvass for telephone subscribers has been made, with the 
 result that the subscribers have increased during the past 
 year from 2,680 to 3,520, or an increase of 31.3%. The 
 gross revenue for the year was $175,000, an increase of 
 $58,800, or 50% over 1907, and the net revenue increased 
 from $47,700 to $104,700, or 119%." 
 
 The report of the company for 1909 records a 
 gain of 572 subscribers during the year. No de- 
 tailed statistics are given in the 1910 report, but 
 that of 1911 states the number of telephones at the 
 close of the year as 6,275, not including 721 which 
 were operated by the Interurban Telephone Com- 
 pany of Brazil, a company which operated in the 
 city of Nictheroy and owned long distance lines to 
 
 62 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 Petropolis and Rio de Janeiro, the latter being 
 reached by means of a submarine cable across the 
 bay. In 1911 this company was acquired by the 
 Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company, 
 Ltd., which in turn passed into the control of the 
 Brazilian Traction, Light and Power Company, Ltd., 
 in 1912. 
 
 BRAZILIAN TRACTION, LIGHT AND 
 POWER COMPANY, LTD. This company was 
 incorporated in July, 1912, under the laws of the 
 Dominion of Canada, and was formed to consolidate 
 the interests of the Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light 
 and Power Company, Ltd., the .Sao Paulo Tram- 
 way, Light and Power Company, Ltd., and the 
 Sao Paulo Electric Company, Ltd. 
 
 The first annual report of the Brazilian Traction, 
 Light and Power Company, Ltd., covers the period 
 from its incorporation to December 31, 1913, and 
 shows the growth of the telephone business in Rio 
 de Janeiro by the following statistics: 
 
 
 Dec. 31, 
 1911 
 
 Dec. 31, 
 1912 
 
 Dec. 31, 
 1913 
 
 Number of business telephones 
 
 5,140 
 
 6,981 
 
 8,376 
 
 Number of residence telephones 
 
 1,135 
 
 2,039 
 
 3,003 
 
 Total 
 
 6,275 
 
 9,020 
 
 11,379 
 
 
 
 
 
 Telephone gross earnings 
 
 $362,467 
 
 $538,048 
 
 $734,276 
 
 
 
 
 
 During 1914 the Brazilian Traction, Light and 
 Power Company, Ltd., acquired a controlling in- 
 terest in the Companhia Rede Telephonica Bragan- 
 tina, which operated in the State of Sao Paulo, and 
 in^the Cia Telephonica do Estado de Sao Paulo, 
 
 63 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 which operated telephone systems in Sao Paulo, 
 Santos and Campinas. The holding company con- 
 tinued its policy of absorbing the share capital of the 
 last two mentioned companies during 1915, and at 
 the end of that year held about 95% of the stock of 
 each. Due to the World War the gain in subscribers 
 was comparatively slow during the year, the total 
 number of subscribers at December 31, 1915, being 
 11,811 in Rio de Janeiro, 1,151 in Nictheroy, 727 
 in Petropolis, and 97 in Barra do Pirahy. 
 
 Soon after the passage of legislation in December, 
 1914, authorizing the Government to permit con- 
 nection of telephone lines at all State limits, the 
 interurban service was connected with that of the 
 Bragantina Company in the adjoining State of 
 Sao Paulo. 
 
 RIO DE JANEIRO AND SAO PAULO 
 TELEPHONE COMPANY. This company was in- 
 corporated under the laws of Canada in 1916 for the 
 purpose of acquiring and developing the telephone 
 enterprises owned by the Brazilian Traction, Light 
 and Power Company, Ltd. The new company has 
 a share capital of $5,000,000 and an authorized issue 
 of $7,500,000 6% 30-year Bonds, and has acquired 
 the shares of the following companies: 
 
 1. Brazilianische Electricitats-Gesellschaft. This com- 
 pany serves the city and Federal District of Rio de Janeiro. 
 
 2. The Interurban Telephone Company of Brazil. This 
 company serves the city of Nictheroy, capital of the State 
 of Rio de Janeiro, Petropolis, and a number of smaller towns 
 in the vicinity. The company's concession authorizes the 
 extension of the service to all the important cities and towns 
 throughout the State. 
 
 3. Companhia de Telephones Interestadoaes. This 
 
 64 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 company serves the municipalities of Cataguazes, Sao Paulo 
 de Muriahe and Palma in the State of Minas Geraes, and of 
 the municipality of Santo Antonio de Padua in the State of 
 Rio de Janeiro. 
 
 4. Companhia Telephonica do Estado de Sao Paulo. 
 This company serves the cities of Sao Paulo, Santos, and 
 Campinas, the three principal cities in the State of Sao 
 Paulo, and operates the toll lines between the first named 
 cities. 
 
 5. Companhia Rede Telephonica Bragantina. This 
 company serves about 100 of the most important munici- 
 palities in the State of Sao Paulo and that of several adjoin- 
 ing districts of the States of Minas Geraes and Rio de Janeiro. 
 Besides the local services established in the principal centers 
 of these municipalities, toll lines connect them with the 
 cities of Sao Paulo, Santos, and other important centers. 
 
 The 1916 annual report of the Brazilian Traction, 
 Light and Power Company, Ltd., states: 
 
 "Under working agreements made between the new 
 company and the five subsidiary telephone companies, the 
 new company is entitled to all their earnings, and on the 
 other hand, provides for their capital and other requirements. 
 
 "The plan of the new company is to consolidate these 
 several undertakings into one comprehensive telephone 
 system. 
 
 "Until recently the Federal Government refused to 
 allow telephone lines to cross from the territory of one State 
 to another. Last year a law was passed removing this re- 
 striction, and the necessary licenses have been granted per- 
 mitting the systems of the several companies to be connected 
 across State boundaries, thus removing the most important 
 barrier to the future progress and development of the tele- 
 phone industry." 
 
 Before leaving the discussion of the telephone in 
 the capital, something further should be said about 
 the rates charged for the service. It will be recalled 
 
 65 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 that the municipality established the rates to be 
 charged at the time it closed the contract for supply- 
 ing telephone service with the Siemens & Halske 
 Aktien-Gesellschaft. Since 1912 the mayors of 
 Rio de Janeiro in their messages to the Municipal 
 Council have advised that body to revise this con- 
 tract and to use measured service as the basis for 
 rates. Similarly the company has applied several 
 times to the Municipal Council for authority to in- 
 troduce the measured rate system, but without suc- 
 cess. In their last petition made in August, 1919, 
 the company pointed out as justification for their 
 request that up to the end of 1920 they had installed 
 more than 50,000 telephones at an expense of $15,- 
 000,000 and that no further capital for the develop- 
 ment of the telephone service could be obtained 
 unless the municipality authorized a change in the 
 existing rates. 
 
 The growth of the Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo 
 Telephone Company from 1916 to 1920 has been 
 remarkable, the increase in telephones during this 
 time being 33,816, or a gain of over 107%. On Jan- 
 uary 1, 1921, this company operated about 75% of 
 the total number of telephones in the Republic of 
 Brazil. The remaining 25% are represented by some 
 50 private concerns, of which the largest is the 
 Companhia Telephonica Rio-Grandense, which oper- 
 ates in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, with head- 
 quarters at Porto Alegre. On January 1, 1921, 
 this company had 7,200 subscribers. 
 
 The history of the development of the telephone 
 service as related in this chapter proves that in 
 Brazil, as in any other modern progressive country, 
 
 66 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 BRAZILIANISCHE ELECTRICITATS-GESELLSCHAFT 
 (Rio de Janeiro) 
 
 Year 
 
 Number of 
 Subscribers 
 
 Kilometers 
 of Wire 
 
 1906 
 
 2,000 
 
 
 1907 
 
 2,680 
 
 
 1908 
 
 3,520 
 
 
 1909 
 
 3,991 
 
 
 1910 
 
 4,859 
 
 25,000 
 
 1911 
 
 6,275 
 
 32,000 
 
 1912 
 
 9,020 
 
 42,000 
 
 1913 
 
 11,379 
 
 52,000 
 
 1914 
 
 11,669 
 
 75,000 
 
 1915 
 
 11,811 
 
 90,080 
 
 1916 
 
 14,313 
 
 93,358 
 
 1917 
 
 18,404 
 
 114,090 
 
 1918 
 
 22,263 
 
 135,192 
 
 1919 . 
 
 26,240 
 
 131,443 
 
 1920 
 
 29,275 
 
 150,000 
 
 
 
 
 RIO DE JANEIRO AND SAO PAULO TELEPHONE COMPANY 
 
 Number of Telephones: 
 
 1916 
 
 1917 
 
 1918 
 
 1919 
 
 1920 
 
 Brazilianische Electrici- 
 tats-Gesellschaft . . . 
 The Interurban Tele- 
 phone Co 
 Cia. de Tel. Interesta- 
 doaes 
 
 14,313 
 2,214 
 382 
 
 18,404 
 2,473 
 386 
 
 22,263 
 2,762 1 
 
 422 f 
 
 26,240 
 3,538 
 
 29,275 
 4,003 
 
 Cia. Tel. Estado de 
 Sao Paulo 
 Cia. Rede Tel. Bragan- 
 tina 
 
 9,392 
 5250 
 
 11,768 
 6680 
 
 14,677 1 
 7518 J 
 
 27,438 
 
 32,089 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total . . 
 
 31,551 
 
 39711 
 
 47642 
 
 57216 
 
 65367 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kilometers of Wire: 
 Brazilianische Electric- 
 itats-Gesellschaft.. . 
 The Interurban Tele- 
 phone Co 
 
 93,358 
 
 114,090 
 13,740 
 
 135,192 
 16,016 
 
 131,443 
 9831 
 
 150,000 
 
 Cia. de Tel. Interesta- 
 doaes 
 
 
 1037 
 
 1981 
 
 2477 
 
 
 Cia. Tel. Estado de 
 Sao Paulo 
 
 
 78,107 
 
 78,107 ] 
 
 
 
 Cia. Rede Tel. Bragan- 
 tina . . 
 
 
 52369 
 
 49 577 J 
 
 138,085 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 259343 
 
 280873 
 
 281 836 
 
 302 16Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 67 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 the extensive development of the telephone requires 
 the organizing ability and the up-to-date manage- 
 ment of experts thoroughly competent to provide 
 an efficient service, and a ready willingness on the 
 part of the Government to aid all public enterprises 
 that are earnestly striving to promote the welfare 
 of a country. 
 
 GENERAL TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT 
 
 Bearing in mind that from the very start the 
 development of the telephone had been left to private 
 enterprise, it is not at all strange that for 30 years 
 the Administration did not possess complete infor- 
 mation concerning the telephone development of 
 the Republic. In the 1906 report of the Telegraph 
 Administration, in the chapter entitled 'Servigo 
 Telephonico Particular/' the Director General writes 
 that it is the intention of the Administration to 
 prepare a detailed statement of the telephone de- 
 velopment of the country. This is followed by an 
 explanation of the difficulties which the Administra- 
 tion faced in gathering the necessary data. The 
 report for 1907, referring to the telephone develop- 
 ment of Brazil, contains the following paragraph: 
 
 "In the majority of the States of the Federation the 
 companies that furnish a private telephone service are of 
 small importance, and only in the States of Sao Paulo and 
 Rio Grande do Sul are these telephone companies of an 
 appreciable size. In the last mentioned State the Adminstra- 
 tion has had occasion to interfere with the action of the 
 Minister of Industries, Ways, and Public Works, by re- 
 fusing to grant concessions for telephone lines to be built 
 in zones already served by the lines of the National tele- 
 graph." 
 
 68 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 The first "Quadro do Servigo Telephonico Par- 
 ticular/' or summary of telephone companies, is 
 contained in the 1907 report of the Telegraph Ad- 
 ministration. It is, however, quite incomplete, and 
 gives a total of 11,207 telephones and 12,342 kilo- 
 meters (7,664 miles) of wire. 
 
 In the 1909 report the Director General of Tele- 
 graphs made another effort to assemble the statistics 
 of private telephone companies in each State of the 
 Federation. As in the former list, the data are de- 
 ficient, the total number of telephones having in- 
 creased, according to this statement, to 14,345 with 
 15,200 kilometers (9,439 miles) of wire. In its five 
 subsequent annual reports the Telegraph Adminis- , 
 tration furnishes no information whatever on the 
 development of private telephone systems in Brazil, 
 but in the 1915 report there is a condensed summary 
 of telephone statistics, as shown in the following 
 table. As the Administration has omitted the statis- 
 tics of the Brazilianische Electricitats-Gesellschaft 
 they have been added in order to make the table 
 complete. 
 
 The latest report of the Telegraph Administra- 
 tion, that for 1917, merely repeats the above table, 
 while the "Annuario Estatistico do Brazil/* also 
 published in 1917, only contains the 1907 statistics 
 for the private telephone companies. 
 
 That the Government of a country, occupying 
 such a leading role in the commerce of the world, has 
 apparently so far overlooked the importance of pos- 
 sessing accurate and up-to-date statistical infor- 
 mation about one of its most valuable public ser- 
 vices, is regrettable. 
 
 69 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 TELEPHONE STATISTICS OF BRAZIL, 1915 
 
 States 
 
 Kilometers 
 of Wire 
 
 Number of 
 Telephones 
 
 Investment 
 (milreis) 
 
 Alagoas 
 
 379 
 
 296 
 
 
 Amazonas 
 
 432 
 
 374 
 
 190,000 
 
 Bahia 
 
 2,130 
 
 1,459 
 
 
 Ceara 
 
 653 
 
 268 
 
 
 Espirito Santo 
 
 88 
 
 480 
 
 
 Federal District: 
 Government system 
 Braz. Elec.-Gesellschaft. . . 
 Goyaz 
 
 4,548 
 90,080 
 36 
 
 1,209 
 11,811 
 150 
 
 13,000,666 
 50,000 
 
 Maranhao 
 
 319 
 
 370 
 
 40,000 
 
 Matto Grosso 
 
 290 
 
 675 
 
 145,000 
 
 Minas Geraes 
 
 168 
 
 532 
 
 
 Para 
 
 139 
 
 603 
 
 
 Parana 
 
 1070 
 
 722 
 
 1000000 
 
 Pernambuco 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,072 
 
 
 Piauhy 
 
 127 
 
 57 
 
 
 Rio de Janeiro 
 
 13,138 
 
 1,141 
 
 300,000 
 
 Rio Grande do Sul 
 
 44,383 
 
 10,368 
 
 5,458,000 
 
 Santa Catharina 
 
 573 
 
 550 
 
 140,000 
 
 Sao Paulo 
 
 45,725 
 
 7,648 
 
 8,820,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 206,278 
 
 39,785 
 
 29,143,000 
 
 
 128,000 miles 
 
 
 $9,617,000 
 
 Based upon such information as has been received 
 from private sources the total number of telephones 
 in Brazil on January 1, 1921, is estimated as 85,000, 
 which represents a development of 0.28 telephones 
 per 100 of population. Undoubtedly, if complete 
 recent statistics were available from all private 
 companies, the telephone development of the Re- 
 public would be considerably higher. 
 
 70 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 Preface and Extracts from the Stipulations Attached to Decree 
 No. 8065 of April 17, 1881 
 
 We the undersigned, Theodore N. Vail, Henry S. 
 Russell, Charles P. Mackie, William A. Forbes, George L. 
 Bradley, Charles Emerson and James H. Howard, for our- 
 selves, our associates and successors, declare that we have 
 formed in the State of New York a joint-stock company, 
 consisting of seven or more members, for the purpose of 
 carrying on the business of constructing and operating tele- 
 phone lines in the city of Rio de Janeiro and its suburbs, 
 and in the city of Nictheroy, in the Empire of Brazil, which 
 latter city shall be placed in communication with said capital 
 by means of a submarine cable, in accordance with the stipu- 
 lations of decree No. 7539 of November 15, 1879; also for 
 constructing and operating other telephone lines and for 
 transacting any other business relating thereto which now, 
 or in future, may be permitted or conceded by the Govern- 
 ment of Brazil to the said Association and for the above 
 mentioned purposes; also for buying and renting all kinds 
 of movable or immovable property needed by said Associa- 
 tion, in accordance with the stipulations attached hereto. 
 
 Article 1. The name of the Association shall be the 
 TELEPHONE COMPANY OF BRAZIL (Companhia 
 Telephonica do Brazil). 
 
 The Association shall continue until November 1, 1890, 
 unless it be legally dissolved prior to that date, or in accor- 
 dance with these stipulations. 
 
 Article 3. The following persons shall constitute the first 
 Board of Directors of the Association and shall continue 
 until retired, in accordance with these statutes, namely: 
 Theodore N. Vail, Henry S. Russell, Charles P. Mackie, 
 William H. Forbes and J. H. Howard. 
 
 Article 4. The headquarters of the Association shall be 
 in the city of New York, or in any other place, or places, 
 which at any time may be designated in writing by two- 
 thirds of the Directors. 
 
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HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Article 5. On the second Wednesday of January of each 
 year a meeting of the stockholders shall be held at the head- 
 quarters of the Association. The first meeting shall take 
 place on November 1, 1880. 
 
 Article 6. The capital of the Association shall be divided 
 into 3,000 shares of a nominal value of $100 each. This 
 number may be increased or decreased at any time as set 
 forth hereafter. 
 
 Article 7. The number of shares held by each member 
 of the Association is: 
 
 Henry S. Russell 2,940 
 
 Theodore N. Vail 10 
 
 Charles P. Mackie 10 
 
 William H. Forbes 10 
 
 George L. Bradley 10 
 
 Charles Emerson 10 
 
 James H. Howard 10 
 
 The Articles of Association were signed and sealed on 
 October 13, 1880, at Boston, State of Massachusetts, and 
 filed with James B. Bell, Registrar of Documents for the 
 State of New York in the city of Boston. The signatures 
 were also certified to by Henry C. Adams, Brazilian Vice 
 Consul in Boston, at the request of the Continental Tele- 
 phone Company. 
 
 A translation into Portuguese of the Articles of Associa- 
 tion was made by J. J. Christian Voigt, sworn public trans- 
 lator, at his office in Rio de Janeiro, on December 10, 1880, 
 and was attached to Imperial Decree No. 8065 of April 
 17, 1881. 
 
 APPENDIX II 
 
 Interstate Toll Lines 
 
 The rules governing the construction of interstate tele- 
 phone toll lines were attached to Article 99 of Budget Law 
 No. 3089 of January 8, 1916, which fixed the general ex- 
 penditures of the United States of Brazil for the financial 
 year 1916. 
 
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AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 Article 99. The Government will issue concessions for 
 interstate telephone lines, subject to rules assuring their 
 regular and satisfactory working, but such concessions do 
 not establish any exclusive privilege. 
 
 Regulations 
 
 I. The Telephone Company has permission to build lines 
 
 from to over the boundaries of the 
 
 States of and and to proceed with 
 
 their operation, in accordance with the provisions of Article 
 99 of law No. 3089 of January 8, 1916. 
 
 II. The Company shall obtain the approval of the Govern- 
 ment for the connection referred to in paragraph I, also for 
 the plan showing at what point or points the lines are to be 
 joined. Furthermore, the Company must submit to the 
 Government a written report showing the position of the 
 said lines in relation to other electric circuits, if there are 
 any within a distance of twenty meters (66 ft.) on either 
 side of the proposed line. This report must specify the type 
 and number of posts and insulators which the Company 
 intends to use, the number of conductors to be strung, their 
 quality and diameter, also the method of construction. 
 
 If the Government requires no changes in the plan sub- 
 mitted within ninety days after the filing of the plan and 
 the written report, both shall be deemed approved. After 
 the approval of the plan and material, either by a special 
 permit or by the lapse of ninety days, construction may be 
 started. 
 
 III. The connections between frontier municipalities 
 of two States shall be the subject of a special license whenever 
 said municipalities are not included in the plan that has 
 been approved. Nevertheless, the substitution of or ad- 
 dition of lines to the already approved plan may be made 
 without obtaining a new concession, provided the con- 
 ditions stated in paragraph II are complied with. 
 
 IV. The General Telegraph Administration shall super- 
 vise the proper construction of the line, or lines, and the 
 Company shall pay the sum of 2,400 milreis ($792) annually, 
 
 73 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 payable semi-annually in advance, for each section of 25 
 kilometers (15.5 miles) of line, or fraction thereof, beyond 
 the frontier. 
 
 V. In the conduct of the telephone service hereby au- 
 thorized, the Company shall comply with the regulations 
 of the General Telegraph Department. 
 
 VI. In case of civil disturbance, the Government may 
 take charge of the telephone service or may suspend it, in- 
 demnifying the Company for losses which may result from 
 such action; said losses shall be calculated on the basis of 
 the earnings during the corresponding period of the pre- 
 vious year. 
 
 VII. The Company undertakes to guarantee the satis- 
 factory working of the lines. 
 
 VIII. The rates between the different States shall not 
 be higher than those in force for the same distances, measured 
 in kilometers, within the respective States. Service re- 
 quired by the Government shall be entitled to a rebate of 
 50% of the rates established for interstate communi- 
 cations. 
 
 IX. Before signing the contract the Company shall 
 deposit with the Federal Treasury the sum of 3 contos ($990) 
 as a guarantee of its faithful execution. 
 
 X. For non-fulfilment of any of the paragraphs of the 
 agreement, fines of from 100 milreis ($33) to 500 milreis 
 ($165) may be imposed upon the Company by the Ministry, 
 on the recommendation of the supervising department, 
 which fines shall be paid within 30 days from the date of 
 their demand, and if not paid they shall be deducted from 
 the guarantee deposit of 3 contos ($990). 
 
 In such case the Company will be notified by the General 
 Telegraph Administration to replace the said guarantee 
 within the period of 30 days, and if the Company fails to do 
 so, the rights which have been granted shall be cancelled, 
 independent of any action or judicial intervention. 
 
 XI. If the Company decrees to transfer the contract 
 to another company, enterprise or individual, it must first 
 give notice to the Government of its intention to do so. 
 
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AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 XII. Aside from the right of expropriation, as specified 
 in other pertinent laws, the Government may take posses- 
 sion of the telephone lines in operation upon an agreement 
 with the Company, in accordance with the provisions em- 
 bodied in the contracts which it may have with the State 
 and municipalities. 
 
 APPENDIX III 
 
 State of Sao Paulo 
 
 Law No. 11 of October 28, 1891 
 
 (A Concession for Telephone Lines does not establish an 
 exclusive monopoly.) 
 
 Article 1. Within the provisions of the present law, 
 every citizen is entitled to construct and operate telephone 
 lines within the boundary of the State. 
 
 Article 2. For a telephone line which does not extend 
 beyond the limits of one municipality, the permission for 
 the construction and operation of such line shall be obtained 
 from the respective municipality. 
 
 Article 3. However, if such line serves simultaneously 
 two or more municipalities, the permission for the construc- 
 tion and operation of the line shall be obtained from the 
 State Administration. 
 
 Article 4. Recipients of a State concession for a tele- 
 phone line shall comply with all municipal regulations 
 within the limits of each municipality traversed by the line. 
 
 Article 5. The right to grant concessions for telephone 
 lines and to subject them to regulations, does not entitle 
 the municipality to levy taxes or create onerous conditions 
 in favor of municipal lines against lines that have received 
 a State concession. 
 
 Article 6. The construction of telephone lines shall be 
 permitted on all public thoroughfares, provided permission 
 has been obtained from the proper authority. 
 
 Article 7. A concession for building telephone lines 
 given by the municipality or by the State, shall not establish 
 
 75 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 an exclusive privilege on the part of the concessionaire or 
 the company. 
 
 Article 8. The parties to whom concessions are granted 
 assume the following obligations to the State: 
 
 a) To give preference to official calls. 
 
 b) To surrender their lines to the State Government, in 
 
 consideration of the payment of an indemnity, 
 whenever the Government may deem such ex- 
 propriation advisable. 
 
 Article 9. The Government shall issue the regulations 
 necessary for the execution of this law. 
 
 Regulations 
 
 1. The Telephone Company is hereby granted 
 
 permission to establish and operate a telephone line con- 
 necting the municipalities of and 
 
 2. The present concession shall remain in force for the 
 
 period of 25 years from The Government may 
 
 declare this concession forfeited 
 
 a) If the construction of the line has not been commenced 
 
 within six months from the date of the concession. 
 
 b) If after construction has been started, telephone ser- 
 
 vice has not been inaugurated within one year from 
 the present date. 
 
 c) If after its inauguration, service is interrupted for 
 
 more than three consecutive months without due 
 cause. 
 
 3. The present concession does not establish any monop- 
 oly or exclusive privilege in favor of the licensee, who must 
 respect the legal rights of others. The Government may, 
 at any time, grant new concessions for the telephone service, 
 or itself establish such service between the points mentioned 
 in paragraph I. 
 
 4. The present concession includes besides the lines 
 and accessories, the intermediate or terminal stations which 
 may be used in intermunicipal service. Service within 
 any municipality shall be established exclusively by virtue 
 of permission from the respective municipal board. 
 
 76 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 5. The concessionaire shall have the right to build tele- 
 phone lines on all highways included between the points 
 referred to in paragraph I, but for such purpose he shall 
 first obtain permission from the proper authorities. For 
 the support of wires or erection of poles on private property 
 the concessionaire shall obtain the necessary consent from 
 the owner. 
 
 6. The concessionaire must submit to municipal regula- 
 tions within the limits of each municipality through which 
 the lines pass. The Government must protect the con- 
 cessionaire against non-observance of the provisions which 
 forbid municipalities to create taxes or onerous conditions 
 against the licensee's line in favor of the municipal lines. 
 
 7. In the construction of the lines which the conces- 
 sionaire may build, the rules and principles of the art shall 
 be observed. The Government shall always have the right 
 to prevent the construction of lines which do not present 
 the proper conditions of solidity or of guarantee against 
 accidents, and the removal or replacement of supports, wires, 
 etc., that may in any way be detrimental to public transit. 
 
 8. Before beginning construction, and in order that the 
 right mentioned in the preceding paragraph may be exer- 
 cised, the concessionaire shall send to the Government a 
 plan of the route of the main lines which shall show the 
 terminal or intermediate stations, the distance from all 
 telegraph, telephone, or electrical transmission lines which 
 may be in the vicinity of the route, as well as the railroads 
 and highways followed or crossed. The concessionaire shall 
 also submit drawings showing the type of line to be con- 
 structed, whether aerial or underground, supports, crossarms, 
 wires, etc., together with information regarding the material 
 and apparatus to be employed and the protective devices 
 employed when crossing other conductors of electricity or 
 in crossing railroads. As soon as construction work has 
 been finished the concessionaire shall furnish the Govern- 
 ment with exact information regarding the route and length 
 of lines (branch lines being listed separately), the number of 
 terminal and intermediate stations, and the number of 
 
 77 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 public and subscribers' stations. For the same purpose as 
 above mentioned, the concessionaire shall give due notice 
 in advance of all modifications adopted from time to time 
 with reference to the route, character of line and means of 
 protection. 
 
 9. The concessionaire shall observe the regulations issued 
 for the faithful execution of law No. 11 of October 28, 1891, 
 and the instructions establishing the conditions upon which 
 the highways may be used and other instructions issued in 
 the interests of the safety of transit, both on the highways 
 and on the railroads which the telephone line may follow or 
 cross, and for the protection from accident of the telephone 
 users. 
 
 10. For intermunicipal service the Government may re- 
 quire that there be used at least two complete metallic 
 circuits for calls from exchanges and public stations. The 
 Government may also require the use of underground lines, 
 or of overhead lines of a special type, in sections of the inter- 
 municipal line where conditions demand such construction. 
 
 11. The poles, crossarms, wires and accessories of the 
 concessionaire's line shall be so placed as not to interfere 
 with or disturb the telegraph and telephone lines and appara- 
 tus already in operation. It is also his duty to see that the 
 apparatus installed by him shall not be affected by existing 
 electrical conductors. He must always avoid, as far as 
 possible, running his lines parallel with others, and crossing 
 other lines, such crossings, where necessary, being made 
 preferably at right angles. The Government may require 
 the use of special devices for protection or safety incases 
 involving risk of accident. 
 
 12. The Government shall require other concessionaires 
 of telephone and electric power transmission lines, to make 
 their installations in such manner as not to interfere with or 
 disturb the operation of the concessionaire's lines. 
 
 13. The concessionaire shall give notice to the Govern- 
 ment of the date of commencing the operation of his lines 
 for subscribers' service, exchange and public stations, and 
 shall attach to such notice a copy of the rates to be charged. 
 
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AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 All rates shall be uniform and without discrimination, so 
 that any reductions shall be applicable to all subscribers in 
 the same class. Changes in the rates shall always be brought 
 to the attention of the Government. 
 
 14. The concessionaire shall keep the lines and all ac- 
 cessory apparatus in good condition so as to guarantee the 
 continuity and regularity of service at all points where tele- 
 phone service is furnished. The subscribers' contracts shall 
 contain provisions protecting the subscribers' interests, with 
 statements of the rebates or indemnities, also provisions for 
 cancellation in case of continued interruption of service. 
 
 15. In localities reached or traversed by the lines, plac- 
 ing such localities in communication with one or more points 
 in different municipalities, the concessionaire shall establish 
 exchanges or public stations to which all subscribers' lines 
 shall be connected, and where telephone service can be 
 furnished to non-subscribers. Such public stations may be 
 dispensed with by special act of the Government if the line 
 connecting two points in different municipalities is so short 
 that the subscribers' lines may be considered as being con- 
 nected with the exchange or city system existing at one of 
 the terminals of the line. However, establishment of such 
 stations shall be compulsory when city systems are in opera- 
 tion at both terminals of the line, whether connected to the 
 intermunicipal system or not. 
 
 16. At public pay stations for intermunicipal service the 
 concessionaire shall install the usual devices to guarantee 
 the privacy of telephone conversation. Calls shall be given 
 precedence in the order in which they are requested. The 
 rates, regulations, time-tables, etc., of the service shall be 
 posted in these stations. 
 
 17. The recording in writing and the distribution of tele- 
 phone messages shall be allowed only by express authoriza- 
 tion of the Government and will not be allowed when tele- 
 graph service is available or is established between the 
 points on the concessionaire's line. 
 
 18. The object of the present concession is telephone 
 service. If the concessionaire, by use of his line or by un- 
 
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HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 authorized delivery of telephone messages in writing, es- 
 tablishes an illegal competition with the Government tele- 
 graph service, the concession shall be annulled and the 
 Government shall take steps, if necessary, to render such 
 annulment effective. 
 
 19. For reasons of a public nature the Government may 
 impose limitations on the telephone service, or may make 
 exclusive use of such service, in consideration of an indemnity 
 fixed by mutual agreement, or in the absence of such agree- 
 ment, awarded by arbitration, as provided in paragraph 23. 
 
 20. The concessionaire shall: 
 
 a) Give preference to official calls. 
 
 b) Surrender its lines to the State Government in con- 
 
 sideration of an indemnity, whenever the Govern- 
 ment may decide that expropriation is advisable, 
 such expropriation to be carried out in accordance 
 with the law then in force. 
 
 21. All communications which the concessionaire may 
 have to make to the Government shall be addressed to the 
 Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce and Public 
 Works of the State, or to such department as that office may 
 designate, and all official communications relating to the 
 service in charge of the concessionaire shall issue from such 
 
 partment. 
 
 22. The concessionaire, or any party acting for him, shall 
 inform the Government of all alterations which may be 
 made in the organization of the undertaking by virture of 
 the transfer of the present concession. The concessionaire 
 shall present to the Government within the first two months 
 of each year statistical data covering the preceding year 
 relating to the length of lines, number of telephones in the 
 service of subscribers, receipts and expenses, and new con- 
 struction and betterments. When the service is in charge of 
 a company the latter must furnish to the Government a list 
 of the officers and a copy of the report to the stockholders. 
 
 23. Any disagreements which may arise between the 
 Government and the concessionaire shall be settled by ar- 
 bitration, in the following manner: each of the parties shall 
 
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AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 appoint one arbiter; if these two do not agree, a third arbiter 
 shall be selected by the two parties, and if they cannot agree 
 each party shall designate one person, and the third arbiter, 
 selected by lots between these two, shall decide the question. 
 
 24. If the system is in operation before the presentation 
 to the Government of the plan of the main line and the other 
 information referred to in the first and second parts of 
 paragraph 8, the Government shall fix a reasonable time 
 limit for such presentation and may impose a fine in case 
 the limit is exceeded. 
 
 25. The State courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction 
 over the concessionaire. 
 
 26. For non-observance of any of the above paragraphs 
 the concessionaire shall be subject to a fine of from 100 
 milreis ($33) to 1,000 milreis ($330). 
 
 27. The concession to which the present rules refer shall 
 become void if the concessionaire does not appear at the 
 Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce and Public 
 Works, to sign the contract within 60 days from the date 
 of the publication of this decree. 
 
 APPENDIX IV 
 
 State of Minas Geraes 
 
 Decree No. 3961 of July 19, 1913, governing the concessions 
 for building telephone lines connecting the municipali- 
 ties of the State. 
 
 Regulations 
 
 Article 1. In accordance with the provisions of the 
 Federal Constitution, decree 1663 of January 30, 1894, and 
 State Law No. 2 of September 14, 1891, No. 148 of July 26, 
 1895, and No. 596 of September 19, 1912, the power to 
 grant exclusive privileges for the construction of telephone 
 lines is entrusted to the State and Municipal Governments, 
 in accordance with the provisions of the present Regulations. 
 
 Article 2. Concessions granted by the State may or may 
 not involve exclusive privileges, and they become the per- 
 
 81 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 petual property of the concessionaires. Exclusive privi- 
 leges, however, shall not be granted for a term longer than 
 25 years, and shall not prevent or interfere with subsequent 
 concessions for the construction of other lines passing 
 through any of the municipalities covered by such exclusive 
 privileges or the connection of such municipalities with 
 other lines not covered in the original exclusive concession. 
 
 Article 3. Concessionaires seeking exclusive privileges 
 must petition the Government of the State for such privi- 
 leges, through the Secretary of Agriculture, Industry, Lands, 
 Ways and Public Works, setting forth the municipalities 
 which the lines shall serve or cross, the length of the lines, 
 the distance from other lines existing in the same district, 
 the probable cost of construction, and any other information 
 which they may deem it desirable to present. 
 
 Article 4. When concessions have been granted by the 
 issuance of a decree, the concessionaire shall sign the re- 
 spective contract, in the office of the Secretary of Agricul- 
 ture, within the period of 90 days from the date of said 
 decree under penalty of the cancellation of the concession 
 without further action on the part of the State Government. 
 
 Article 5. Concessions without exclusive privileges, as 
 well as permits for line connections only, even if under 
 exclusive privileges, shall be granted by act of the Secretary 
 of Agriculture, Industry, Lands, Ways and Public Works. 
 Such concessions shall not prevent the granting of exclusive 
 privileges for other lines in the same municipality. The 
 latter, furthermore, shall enjoy preference, other conditions 
 being the same, over the lines having non-exclusive rights. 
 
 Article 6. No concession shall be transferred before the 
 respective line is built, nor without previous consent of the 
 State Government. 
 
 Article 7. No concession shall be granted for the con- 
 struction of lines to connect more than 20 municipalities. 
 In the case, however, of a line already built and in regular 
 operation, even though it connects 20 municipalities, the 
 concessionaire shall enjoy preference as regards the con- 
 
 82 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 struction of extensions, provided the limit established in 
 this article, with reference to concessions for such extensions, 
 is not violated. 
 
 Article 8. Every concessionaire of telephone lines shall 
 respect and observe the municipal laws within the limits of 
 each municipality in which the lines run. 
 
 Article 9. The concessionaire of telephone lines shall 
 give preference to official calls, which shall be free of charge. 
 The concessionaire shall also give up his line or lines to the 
 Government of the States, whenever the latter may so 
 desire, in consideration of an indemnity previously agreed 
 upon. 
 
 Article 10. Incoming press calls shall be entitled to a re- 
 duction of from 25% to 50% of the rate schedule approved 
 by the Government. 
 
 Article 11. For the support of wires for the erection of 
 poles on private property, the concessionaire shall obtain 
 the necessary consent of the owners of such property. 
 
 If, for a line to be built under an exclusive concession, 
 it is not possible to obtain such consent, even in considera- 
 tion of an equitable indemnity by the concessionaire of the 
 line, the Government shall grant to the latter the right of 
 expropriation in the interest of the public and in accordance 
 with the existing laws. 
 
 Article 12. The State Government shall always have the 
 right to prevent the construction of lines which are lacking 
 in solidity and protection against accidents. The Govern- 
 ment may also require the removal or replacement of all 
 such supports, wires, etc., as may in any way interfere with 
 public traffic. 
 
 a) For this purpose, the Government shall also have the 
 right to supervise the construction of the lines 
 through an employee whose compensation shall be 
 paid by the Government, for the account of the 
 concessionaire, who shall pay into the State treasury 
 in advance, and also quarterly, the amount which 
 shall be inserted in the concession. 
 
 83 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 b) Supervision shall begin as soon as construction of the 
 
 line is commenced. 
 
 c) In order that these provisions may be enforced, the 
 
 concessionaire shall submit to the Government, 
 before beginning actual construction work; 
 
 1. A plan of the route of the lines, showing termi- 
 nal and intermediate stations and the position 
 of telegraph lines, other telephone lines, or 
 electric power lines which may be in the vicinity 
 of the proposed route, as well as the distance of 
 all such lines from the proposed route. The 
 plan shall also show the railroads and highways 
 followed or crossed. 
 
 2. Drawings showing the type of line to be erected, 
 whether aerial or underground, and supports, 
 crossarms, wires, etc. 
 
 3. Statement of the material and apparatus to be 
 employed, and of the protective measures to be 
 adopted in the proximity of, or in crossing other 
 existing electrical conductors, and in crossing 
 railroad tracks. 
 
 Article 13. The line having been built before service can 
 begin, the concessionaire shall submit for the approval of the 
 State Government, at least 15 days in advance, the respective 
 rate schedules. Any change in rates made thereafter shall 
 also be subject to the approval of the State Government. 
 If the Government has not approved the rate schedules or 
 ordered changes within 15 days after presentation, such 
 schedules shall be considered approved, and the concessionaire 
 shall be free to commence service. 
 
 Article 14. In all public stations there shall be exhibited 
 the regulations, rate schedules, and time-tables of the service, 
 and the privacy of telephone conversation shall be assured. 
 
 Article 15. All calls shall be furnished in the order in 
 which they have been submitted. 
 
 Article 16. For non-observance of the Government 
 orders, issued in accordance with the provisions of the 
 
 84 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 present Regulations, and for non-observance of the latter, 
 the concessionaire shall be fined from 100 milreis ($33) to 
 1,000 milreis ($330), according to the gravity of the vio- 
 lation, such fine to be doubled for a second offense or in 
 case violation continues after the imposition of the first 
 fine. 
 
 Article 17. In addition to the provisions of Article 4, 
 the concession shall become void: 
 
 a) If the fines, in accordance with the preceding article, 
 
 are not paid, and the fault not corrected, within 
 3 months after the imposition of the fine. 
 
 b) If the time limits established for beginning the work 
 
 and for finishing the lines are exceeded, without an 
 extension having been granted by the Government, 
 or if the construction work remains interrupted 
 during 90 consecutive days, without justification. 
 
 Article 18. Before signing the contract, and in order to 
 guarantee its execution, the concessionaire shall deposit in the 
 State Treasury, in cash or in Government bonds, the sum of 
 500 milreis ($165) for each group of 5 municipalities in- 
 cluded in the concession. This guarantee shall be required 
 even when a smaller number of municipalities than 5 is in- 
 cluded in a concession, and shall be retained until the ex- 
 piration of the term of the exclusive privilege. From this 
 guarantee shall be deducted the fines imposed upon the con- 
 cessionaire; after such deduction the guarantee shall be 
 replaced within 30 days from the date of notifying the con- 
 cessionaire by the proper department. 
 
 Article 19. No Municipal Chamber exercising the powers 
 conferred by laws No. 2 of September 14, 1891, and No. 148 of 
 July 26, 1895, shall grant a concession for the construction 
 of telephone lines outside the limits of the respective munic- 
 ipality. In case it is desired to establish telephone service 
 between two or more municipalities, the agreement of the 
 Chambers affected and the consent of the State Govern- 
 ment shall first be obtained. 
 
 Article 20. The Court which shall decide all questions, 
 
 85 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 arising from concessions for extending telephone service by 
 the Government, shall be that of the State Capital. 
 
 Article 21. The provisions of the Regulations, approved 
 by decree No. 1018 of March 30, 1897, remain in force as 
 far as they are not cancelled by the present Regulations. 
 
 APPENDIX V 
 International Agreements 
 
 Telegraph Convention between Brazil and Argentina 
 
 On June 15, 1899, Brazil signed a telegraph traffic con- 
 vention with Argentina, by which Argentina agreed to 
 furnish a special international wire between Buenos Aires 
 and Paso de dos Libres, thence across the Brazilian frontier 
 to Uruguayana (Brazil). On its part, Brazil undertook to 
 provide a special wire between Uruguayana and Porto Alegre. 
 As compensation for the transmission of international 
 messages the Telegraph Administrations of the two Re- 
 publics adopted the subjoined schedule, the debits and 
 credits to be adjusted monthly. 
 
 A. TELEGRAMS FROM BRAZIL TO ARGENTINA: 
 
 The Brazilian Telegraph Administration will credit the 
 Telegraph Administration of Argentina as follows: 
 
 a) 20 centimes gold per word for an ordinary paid tele- 
 
 gram to be sent over the lines of the Argentine State 
 Telegraph Administration. 
 
 b) 40 centimes gold per word for an ordinary paid tele- 
 
 gram to be sent over lines other than those of the 
 Argentine State Telegraph Administration; also 
 messages to Paraguay and Bolivia. 
 
 c) In addition to the charge made for transit messages 
 
 (to be determined by the Berne International 
 Bureau), an extra charge is made for telegrams 
 destined to points not mentioned under a and b. 
 
 d) 10 centimes gold per word for press telegrams to be 
 
 sent over the lines of the Argentine State Telegraph 
 Administration. 
 
 86 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 e) 20 centimes gold per word for press telegrams to be 
 sent over lines other than those of the Argentine 
 State Telegraph Administration and to Paraguay 
 and Bolivia. 
 
 B. TELEGRAMS FROM ARGENTINA TO BRAZIL: 
 
 The Argentine Telegraph Administration will credit the 
 Telegraph Administration of Brazil as follows: 
 
 a) 50 centimes gold per word for a telegram to points 
 within the zone designated as Southern Brazil. 
 
 b) 1 franc 50 centimes per word for a telegram to points 
 
 within the zone designated as Northern Brazil. 
 
 c) 1 franc gold per word for an international telegram 
 
 which passes over the Brazilian telegraph lines from 
 one frontier to the other (transit messages). 
 
 d) 25 centimes gold per word for press messages sent to 
 
 any point reached by the Brazilian telegraph lines. 
 
 Telegraph Convention between Brazil and Uruguay 
 
 On April 8, 1899, Brazil and Uruguay entered into an 
 agreement for the mutual exchange of telegraph messages 
 by connecting the Brazilian frontier telegraph offices at 
 Quarahy and Livramento with the nearest offices in Uruguay, 
 which were at S. Eugenio and Rivera. The main features 
 of this agreement were: 
 
 Article 3. The Brazilian Telegraph Administration agrees 
 that for traffic purposes, in accordance with a former agree- 
 ment which the Brazilian Telegraph Administration entered 
 into with a private telegraph company of Uruguay (Empreza 
 do Telegrapho Oriental), the route Livramento- Rivera shall 
 be considered the "via de escolha," or the route left to the 
 choice of the sender of the message. 
 
 Article 4. If for any reason the last mentioned agree- 
 ment ceases to exist, the route Livramento-Rivera shall 
 become the ordinary route for all continental and inter- 
 national transit messages over the land lines of Brazil and 
 Uruguay. 
 
 87 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Article 6. If after one year traffic over, the line Porto 
 Alegre-Livramento-Montevideo becomes so heavy as to 
 cause more delay in transmission than would result over the 
 direct line via Jaguarao, the Telegraph Administration of 
 Uruguay will undertake to connect Montevideo with Artigas 
 by two special wires whose electrical resistance shall not 
 exceed 7.5 ohms per kilometer. 
 
 Article 7. Assuming that the conditions stated in Ar- 
 ticles 4, 5, and 6 prevail, the Brazilian Telegraph Adminis- 
 tration agrees not to connect any of its telegraph lines with 
 any others already built, or to be built, in Uruguay, so that 
 all messages passing over the land lines of Brazil, destined 
 for Uruguay, or for transit through the latter country, and 
 vice versa, shall be sent via Jaguarao- Artigas or Livramento- 
 Rivera, due regard to be had, however, to the route of 
 preference indicated by the sender of the message. 
 
 Article 9. For a private message sent over the route 
 Livramento-Rivera, the route of choice as indicated above, 
 the Telegraph Administration of Uruguay is to receive the 
 following compensation: 
 
 a) 40 centimes gold per word for a message sent to any of 
 
 the State telegraph offices of Uruguay. 
 
 b) The same amount, plus an additional charge, due 
 
 private telegraph companies, for a message directed 
 to a point in the interior of Uruguay, not reached 
 by any State telegraph lines. 
 
 c) 40 centimes gold per word, plus any additional charge, 
 
 due to other lines, for a telegram passing through 
 Montevideo to Chile, Peru, and other South 
 American countries. 
 
 d) 80 centimes gold per word for a telegram sent to 
 
 Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. 
 
 Article 10. If the conditions mentioned in Article 4 exist, 
 the above charges shall be modified as follows: 
 
 a) 25 centimes gold per word for a message sent to any of 
 the State telegraph offices. 
 
 88 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 b) The same amount, plus any additional charge, due 
 
 private telephone companies, for a message directed 
 to a point in the interior of Uruguay, not reached 
 by any of the State telegraph lines. 
 
 c) 40 centimes gold per word for a telegram sent to 
 
 Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. 
 
 d) 25 centimes gold per word, plus any additional charge 
 
 due other lines, for a message passing through 
 Montevideo to Chile, Peru, and other South 
 American countries. 
 
 Article 11. The Brazilian Telegraph Administration is 
 to receive as compensation the terminal and transit charges 
 stated in Schedule B, attached to the International Rules 
 & Regulations, as revised in Budapest, i. e. 
 
 a) 50 centimes gold per word for a telegram sent to the 
 
 southern zone of Brazil. 
 
 b) 1 franc 50 centimes gold per word for a telegram sent 
 
 to the northern zone of Brazil. 
 
 c) 1 franc gold per word for a transit telegram that 
 
 passes over the Brazilian lines. 
 
 d) 1 franc 50 centimes gold per word, plus the charge 
 
 due to that company, for a telegram to be delivered 
 to any of the telegraph offices of the Amazon 
 Telegraph Company. 
 
 e) For messages via the transatlantic cables which touch 
 
 at Recife or at Pinheiro, destined for Central or 
 North America, the charges are those published in 
 the Boletin Telegraphico of the Brazilian Admin- 
 istration (No. 21 of November 15, 1898), deducting 
 from the total, however, the amount due the Tele- 
 graph Administration of Uruguay. 
 
 Article 20. The above agreement is for 3 years from the 
 date of the opening of the route Livramento-Rivera, but 
 each Administration reserves to itself the right to propose 
 modifications during the last 3 months of the duration of 
 this agreement. If neither changes nor cancellations of the 
 intertraffic agreement are proposed, the present agreement 
 shall continue automatically for another period of 3 years. 
 
 89 
 
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 
 
 Telegraph Convention between|Brazil and the Telegrapho Electrico 
 de Montevideo, known as the "Telegrapho Oriental'* 
 
 The following traffic agreement was entered into be- 
 tween the above mentioned parties on August 3, 1899. 
 
 Article 1. The "Telegrapho Oriental" agrees, within 
 6 months from the signing of this agreement, to put its line 
 between Jaguarao and Montevideo in such working condi- 
 tion as to guarantee a rapid international service. 
 
 Article 2. The "Telegrapho Oriental" promises to use 
 all proper means to assure a rapid service between Monte- 
 video and Buenos Aires, using for this purpose either the 
 line, or lines, owned by the company, or the line, or lines, of 
 any other private company which will enable the company 
 to operate a telegraph office in direct connection with its 
 central office in Montevideo. In order to carry out this 
 agreement the work must be finished within a year from the 
 date of the signing of the agreement, but within that period 
 the company may use the State telegraph lines, or any other 
 lines, which in the judgment of the company may be most 
 convenient for that purpose. 
 
 Article 3. If for any reason the company has failed to 
 finish the work within the time stipulated in Article 2, the 
 route Livramento-Rivera shall become the normal line of 
 transmission for continental and international transit 
 messages over the Brazilian land lines and the cables con- 
 necting with the latter. 
 
 Article 4. During the life of the present agreement the 
 Brazilian Administration agrees, as regards the exchange of 
 telegraph messages, not to connect its lines with those of 
 any other private telegraph company within the territory of 
 Uruguay. 
 
 Article 5. The Brazilian Telegraph Administration agrees 
 to deliver to the "Telegrapho Oriental" all telegraph 
 messages passing over its lines, and the cables connecting 
 with them, destined for South American republics, and 
 declares the route via Jaguarao to be the route of normal 
 and rapid transmission, except for such messages as, by the 
 
 90 
 
AND TELEGRAPH IN BRAZIL 
 
 sender's orders, shall be sent over a different route. On 
 the other hand, the "Telegrapho Oriental" promises to 
 route over the Brazilian lines all messages received from 
 points within Brazil, or any other country reached by the 
 cables connected with the Brazilian land lines, excepting 
 such messages as by the sender's orders shall be sent over a 
 different route. 
 
 Article 6. The Brazilian Telegraph Administration prom- 
 ises to prevent other companies from furnishing service at 
 rates lower than those established by the "Telegrapho 
 Oriental." 
 
 Article 9. Beginning with the date of the signing of this 
 agreement, the " Telegrapho Oriental" shall receive 40 
 centimes gold per word for an ordinary private telegram and 
 40 centimes gold per word for the same class of messages 
 from Montevideo to Buenos Aires. The Brazilian Tele- 
 graph Administration shall receive 50 centimes gold per 
 word for all messages passing over its lines to points situ- 
 ated within the southern zone, and one franc gold per word 
 for all messages sent to points within its northern zone. 
 
 Article 19. The present agreement shall remain in force 
 until March 31, 1913, but it may be modified by mutual 
 consent of the contracting parties. 
 
 91 
 
Sources of Information 
 
 1. "MEMORIA HISTORIC A," issued in Rio de Janeiro in 
 1909 by the Reparticao Geral dos Telegraphos. 
 
 2. Relatorios, or annual reports, issued by the Repar- 
 ticao Geral dos Telegraphos 1880-1918. 
 
 3. "Histoire de la Telephonic," by Julian Brault, pub- 
 lished in Paris in 1890. 
 
 4. "Annuario Estatistico do Brazil," issued in Rio de 
 Janeiro in 1917. 
 
 5. "Brazil Ferro-Carril," of October, 1921, published 
 in Rio de Janeiro. 
 
 6. Annual Reports of the Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light 
 and Power Co., 1907-1912. 
 
 7. Annual Reports of the Brazilian Traction, Light and 
 Power Co., Ltd., 1913-1920. 
 
 8. Annual Reports of the Companhia Telephonica Rio- 
 Grandense, 1912-1920. 
 
 10. Charters of 
 
 a. The Tropical American Telephone Company, Ltd. 
 
 b. The Continental Telephone Company. 
 
 c. The Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company. 
 
 11. Information received from American Legations and 
 Consulates in Brazil. 
 
 12. Information received through private correspondence: 
 
 a. With officials of the Government Telegraph. 
 
 b. With officials of Telephone Companies. 
 
 92 
 
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