The war stimulated direct service between the United States and Brazil, several lines now competing for business formerly held by Europeans; fast steamers offer quick passenger and freight service, following the hasty war revival of the wood-built sailing-ship: during 1915 there was a remarkable increase of activity in these vessels, and the writer has seen ten or more at the same time lying in some bright Brazilian port, their long graceful lines of the schooner taking one back to the days of Midshipman Easy or Tom Cringle of the famous Log. Many shipowners of these sailing craft must have made fortunes, for whereas in normal times they would have gladly carried freight for three dollars a ton, they were able to get four to four dollars and a half and so on in an ever ascending scale until over fourteen dollars was taken, and with a somewhat haughty sniff at that in late 1916. In 1916 the only steamers under the United States flag operating in Brazilian waters were oil tankers, the coal-carriers of the Berwind company, and the vessels of the United States & Brazil S. S. line, carrying the products of the United States Steel corporation and taking back manganese ores and general cargo. Later, with the creation of a big American mercantile marine by the U. S. Shipping Board, and the allocation of a large number of ex-German steamers to the service of the United States, strongly sustained direct lines between North American and Brazilian ports were created which carry immense quantities of coffee in exchange for manufactured goods. Chilean, Cuban, Peruvian, Argentine and Uruguayan vessels now visit Brazil from sister Republics, and her own mercantile marine has undergone a remarkable development. Not only did the Cia. Nacional de Navegação Costeira and the Cia. Commercio e Navegação add in a most enterprising manner to their fleets, but the Lage firm created important repairing and ship-building yards upon an island in Rio Bay, which performed great service to the Allies during the war; and the Government-supported Lloyd Brasileiro began to send its steamers far afield to North American and European waters.