YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD DRUGGIST FOR ALMOST HALF
A CENTURY. MISSILDINE’S PHARMACY. PHONE NO. 4
BRAZILIAN LETTER
Palace Hotel, Pocos de Caldas,
Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Imagine my surprise to pick up
the morning paper of Feb. 23 here
and find no mention of war news
on the front page. I had to ac
tually scan through the entire
paper to find it hidden away in
the back. For there was far more
important news for the Brazilians!
The headlines ran: “The ministry
pronounces itself in favor of a
constitutional reform.” For these
people who have been without the
right to elect their president,
without House of Representatives,
or political parties since 1937, this
news was the greatest joy they
could have.
Earlier in the year they had had
the vicarious pleasure of elections
when our armed forces here sent
in their ballots, when they listen
ed eagerly to. the radio and read
the news of the outcomes in the
newspapers. Now they would ac
tually be able to do the same as we
in the near future. The forces of
the opposition have started the
bases for a new organization, the
National Democratic Union and
have1 put forward the game of
their candidate, Brigadier Gen
eral Gomes. This is the first men
iton in the press, although U. S.
editions of Time published it early
in January.
The papers for the past few
days have been full of interviews
given by important political men,
many of them outwardly denounc
ing! the regime. Many are rushing
home to see about the reconstruc
tion of the former political parties.
We still await the final outcome
and the actual voting day.
This Brazilian love of demo
cracy was also seen in the answers
to a questionnaire that the Co
ordinators of Inter-American Af
fairs sent out over the radio: “If
you went to the United States
what would you visit first?” I
had the job of cataloguing the
answers and-out of three thousand
replies, coming from eleven states
' (Brazil has twenty states), 856
were for the Statue of Liberty,
235 for Roosevelt and 163 for the
White House where he lives. Oth
ers wanted to see the monuments
of George Washington, Abraham
Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, not
so much for the monuments them
selves as for what each man had
stood for.
Have a guess- for the other most
voted place to see? I think you
will say Hollywood, and it was,
with 700. There must have been
at least a hundred different an
swers, showing the wide variety of
interest that the Brazilians lj^ve
in our country—universities,
seums, war industries and prowrc
tion, New York City Yellowstone
Park, Niagara Falls were among
the outstanding. Two answers
impressed by the fact that their
writers were interested in know
ing us as a people. A Sao Paulo
man wanted to see if Americans
were like the movies: well dressed,
well fed, having big roads and en
joying the three liberties. Another,
from Rio wanted to see tile people’s
way of life, the. transport, internal
organization, morale, financial re
sources, influence of the worker
in politics and the way politics
are discussed in general.
This gives you a small idea of
what the Brazilians think of their
sister republic to the North.
Ruth Woodward.
-YOU CAN HELP AT RED
CRO^^
TONIGHT!
A night of stars will be pre
sented Friday night by members
of the G. M. E. church Junior
Choir.
“BEYOND THE CROSS”
Presented at Tryon colored
school Sunday, March 25th, at 6
p. m. to 7 p. m. Friends, please
observe the change of time.
The Twelve Tribes of Israel
Want to thank every one, white
and colored for helping make our
program on 'Thursday-night, Mar.
15th, £ success. May God bless
all. Rev. €. R. White, Pastor.—
Adv't. p. " ™ f