gathered on the last Friday in Lent beheld from the nave of the church a white face depicted on the dark torso of the Christno less than a semblance of the Divino Rostro (The Divine Face). Great excitement, much acclaim, enormous devotion spread throughout the country, and thousands poured daily from all directions into the village to behold this miracle and make conjectures as to its significance.

The road to Taxisco, always a thing of

beauty, is especially lovely during the months of the tropical springs-November and June when morning glories in every conceivable hue cover the landscape like a huge counterpane. Birds of all colors fly from tree to tree looking for shelter from the brilliant rays of the sun; the crystal water of the many streams busy on their way to mingle with the Pacific Ocean are a fisherman's paradise. So the pilgrimage to Taxisco is not a hard undertaking.

THE Inter-American Economic and Social Council of the Pan American Union is sponsoring several economic surveys in an effort to improve living standards and advance prosperity throughout the Western Hemisphere. Completed studies include those connected with the production of cacao, oil plants, and fiber plants other than cotton. The studies are of immediate interest because of the critical and strategic importance that these crops acquired during the recent war period, an importance that resulted in the establishment and expansion of numerous small enterprises throughout the Latin American republics. A study in reference to the status and future production potentialities of plant fiber industries other than cotton throughout the Latin American countries was conducted in the latter half of 1947. A report was prepared for the Ninth International Conference of American States which meets at Bogotá, Colombia, March 30, 1948. This article brings to the attention of readers of the BULLETIN the fact that the fiber study has been made and points out some of its objectives and conclusions. The fiber survey is timely in relationship to the shortages of fibers throughout the world at this time. Latin America depends largely upon imports of jute fiber and its products from India to package its agricultural and mineral products. The curtailment of jute production in India so as to grow food crops for the increasing population and the current disturbed conditions brought about by the division of the country into the Dominion of Pakistan

CLEANING ABAC The machine used to clea fibers in the leaf-stem imported from the Philippi to Ecuador.

1

deficient supply of high-grade sisal fiber. The slowness with which the Eastern Hemisphere countries are returning to normal conditions has prolonged the period of shortages of these important fibers and has emphasized the need of analyzing the production requirement and supplies of such fibers in the Western Hemisphere.

It is well known that efforts were made during the war to expand the production of jute and various other fibers in Brazil, of flax in Peru and Chile, and of abacá in several Central American countries. It is time to evaluate the conditions which may make it desirable to discontinue these operations or to continue them on the present production basis or on a larger scale.

Latin American countries are fortunate in having had at the beginning of World War II many small cordage and textile industries which served as a nucleus for expansion to considerably larger enterprises through the experience and knowhow of individuals. Furthermore, the Latin American people showed commendable initiative in providing from their own machine-shops additional equipment

which formerly was considered obtain able only through imports from foreig countries. However, many Latin Ameri can agricultural fiber industries are iso lated from industrial areas and ar relatively primitive. Great opportunitie exist to improve such industries and se up many of them on a more permanen basis, so as to contribute to the prosperity of the respective country.

In executing the study, a field survey was made of many of the small fiber in dustries throughout Latin America. Th time element involved in making this survey and preparing the report to comply with the deadline for the presentation of the report to the Bogotá Conference created many difficulties in carrying through the study. Few people may realize that the fiber industries are not located in readily accessible places. For instance, the abacá plantings in four Latin American countries are all in coastal areas and can be reached only by side trips from the capital cities or by boat. The jute, caroá, phormium, and sisal industries in Brazil are many miles away from main-traveled. routes and, in most cases, accessible only

12

ngh automobile travel over semiroved roads.

Efforts made by various Latin American dividuals to cooperate and help make it ssible for the field investigator to visit any of the isolated fiber industries eated a pleasing environment for the ork, which stimulated continued interit in the pursuit of the objectives.

All Latin American countries are directly r indirectly interested in the production or tilization of fibers used for packaging their gricultural and mineral products. This ommon interest and need throughout the Pan American republics are believed greater and far more important than any other combination of factors connected with other fiber crops. The consumption of fibers used in packaging material in the Latin American republics is approximately our times as great as that of all the fibers consumed in the production of cordage and wines. The respective annual requirenents and consumption of the Latin American republics are approximately 82,000 metric tons of bagging material and 50,000 metric tons of cordage material. The amount of material used in bags epresents about 12 per cent of the world's roduction of jute fiber, or ranges from pproximately 40 to 70 per cent of the equirements of the United States for imilar purposes. The cordage requirements represent about one-third of the equirements of the United States, or ossibly more, for cordage products are manufactured by handicraft under condions that make it difficult to obtain prouction statistics.

The amount of hard fibers produced by atin American Republics is seven times rger than the production of soft fibers or packaging material. It is necessary o import large quantities of soft fibers into Latin America, but the republics are large xporters of hard fibers. They have avail

able for annual export approximately 128,000 metric tons of unmanufactured hard fibers and 18,000 metric tons of manufactured hard-fiber products. These amounts together approximately equal the immediate prewar import requirements of the United States for hard fibers. Trade in this commodity would greatly stimulate hemispheric commerce and the prosperity of the producing countries if the United States were interested in such purchases. Unfortunately, the quality of the products is not all that might be desired. It is in this direction that efforts should be made to improve the quality and marketing grades of Latin American fibers to conform to standards of products. available in other world markets and thus stimulate United States purchases from Latin America.

The Latin American countries which consume the largest amounts of cordage are self-sufficient in reference to hard

fiber production and manufacturing facilities for cordage production. Only a few countries, including Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Paraguay, and Panama, are deficient in manufacutirng capacity, but their needs are relatively small. On the other hand, all countries of Latin America are deficient in soft-fiber production. Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, and Venezuela use hard-fiber sacks made from domestically grown and manufactured hard fibers. In addition, several other countries, including Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic have installed equipment for manufacturing soft fibers into bags, using imported and some domestically grown fibers as well.

The continued production and improve

ment of Latin American fibers may go far toward strengthening inter-American trade and furthering hemispheric solidarity. The strengthening of hemispheric relations in trade as a Western Hemisphere policy undoubtedly would stimulate the production of bagging fibers. The United States, which has the need and offers the biggest markets for Latin American products, is not likely to be entirely uninterested in future policies affecting the production of these fibers. The immense need for fibers which the United States so recently experienced in World War II, as well as its needs in peace, make it inevitable that the United States will maintain a benevolent attitude toward greater production of fibers in Latin American countries.