diplomatic, industrial and commercial relations. On May 23 a treaty was announced in which the countries of the A. B. C. undertook to submit to an international committee any dif- ferences that might arise among them, and not to open hostilities until the committee had concluded its labours. The treaty was ratified by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies in Oct. 1916. The A. B. C. in the spring of 1914 had offered its mediation in the dis- pute between the Government of the United States and Victoriano Huerta,, provisional President of Mexico. In Aug. 1915 President Wilson invited the A. B. C. Powers, together with Uruguay, Bolivia and Guatemala, to enter into a conference on Mexican affairs, the result of which was the unanimous recognition of Venustiano Carranza as " chief of the executive of the de facto Government of Mexico." Brazil also took a prominent part in the Pan-American Financial Conference held in Washington in May 1915, in an attempt to better existing financial conditions in North and South America.
The administration of President Braz, which ended in Nov. 1918, was from a financial point of view very successful. He succeeded in reducing public expenditures, restored specie payment for internal debts, promoted the development of natural resources, and improved the economic relations between Brazil and her neighbours. Prices were high, but industry and commerce prospered, and the excessive demand abroad for Bra- zilian products so increased exportation that the country was left with the largest trade balance it had ever known. In the national elections of 1918 there was no contest, the sole candidate for the presidency being Snr. Rodrigues Alves, a native of Sao Paulo and senator from that state, who had been president of the republic in 1902-6. The president-elect, however, was too ill to be inaugurated in Nov., and died on Jan. 15 1919, without assuming office. Another election was held in April to fill the unexpired term, and Dr. Epitacio da Silva Pessoa was chosen. Dr. Pessoa was then in Paris as chief of the Brazilian delegation to the Peace Conference. On his return journey in 1919 he paid official visits to England, Portugal and the United States.
From the outbreak of the World War in 1914, popular sym- pathies in Brazil had been almost wholly on the side of the Entente Powers, in spite of some annoyance caused by the British " black lists." The German policy of unrestricted sub- marine warfare announced early in 1917 forced the nation to assume an active share in the conflict. On Feb. 8 the Brazilian Cabinet dispatched a strongly worded protest to Berlin, declaring that the proposed " blockade " was contrary to international law, and that Brazil would hold Germany responsible for any consequences that might ensue to Brazilian shipping. A similar note was sent to Austria. On April 4 the steamer " Parana " was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of France and several of the crew drowned. On April 10, after an inquiry into the inci- dent, the German minister at Rio de Janeiro was handed his passports. In the crisis Dr. Lauro Miiller, minister for foreign affairs, resigned his portfolio, apparently feeling that his German name and antecedents might embarrass the Government. Snr. Nilo Pecanha, a former president of the republic, was appointed in his place. Rupture with Germany did not involve an im- mediate departure from neutrality, but with the sinking of another steamer, the " Tijuca," the drift toward war became more rapid. Late in May President Braz sent a message to Congress advising that neutrality be revoked, on the score that unity of action with the United States, now a belligerent, was a tradition of Brazilian foreign policy. On May 29 the Chamber of Deputies unanimously passed a bill authorizing revocation whenever the executive deemed the occasion appropriate. Con- gress also authorized the seizure of the German ships interned in Brazilian waters, aggregating nearly 150,000 tons. After the sinking of another vessel, the " Macao," a state of war was formally declared Oct. 26 1917. Many anti-German demonstra- tions took place during the year, especially in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.
Brazil, considering her immediate resources, gave valuable aid to the Allied Powers. Although the larger units of the navy had not been entirely renovated by the time of the Armistice, destroy-
ers and other small vessels saw active service on both sides of the Atlantic. Many physicians and a few aviators went abroad to be attached to the Allied armies. The Federal Government in Dec. 1917 also promulgated a new military law, by which all citizens of the republic between the ages of 21 and 30 were subject to selective draft. But up to the cessation of hostilities comparative- ly few had been called out, because the Government lacked the means for adequate instruction and equipment.
As a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles, Brazil was one of the original members of the League of Nations, and became one of the nine Powers represented on the League Council.
(C. H. H.)
BREAL, MICHEL JULES ALFRED (1832-1915), French philologist (see 4.481); resigned his chair at the College de France in 1905. He died in Paris Nov. 25 1915.
BREMEN, Germany (see 4.493). Pop. 311,266 according to the census of 1919; in 1910 it was 299,526. The economic life
of the city state of Bremen in Germany was, in the period from
1908-14, in a state of high prosperity. The North German Lloyd
attained its highest figures of emigrant traffic (107,124) in the
first half of the year 1909. The number of emigrants carried was
beginning to diminish about the year 1912. In the course of
the years 1912 and 1913 the competition of the port of Emden,
the construction of which had been completed by the Prussian
State, began to make itself felt.
Bremen gradually passed from being a purely commercial city to a development as an industrial city, the result of which was to impose a heavy burden upon the finances of the city state. Towards the middle of 1913, conflicts of interest arose between the North German Lloyd and the Hamburg-Amerika line; the North German Lloyd chose the path 'of more unobtru- sive development of its business. The prospects of shipping, and therewith the prospects of the business expansion of Bremen, had begun to deteriorate as far back as the beginning of the year 1914.
The effect of the war was to paralyze almost completely the trade of the city seaport. Bremen was the first of the German states to introduce a tax upon war profits (May 1915). Attempts to con- solidate the maritime traffic led, in the year 1916, to the establishment of the Bremen association for the import trade. On Aug. 24 1916 Bremen celebrated the return of the mercantile submarine " Deutschland " from its successful voyage to New York.
Conflicts on the subject of the constitution began in April 1917. Bremen was the first town which, after Kiel, entered upon a revolu- tionary movement (Nov. 6 1918). The Workmen's and Soldiers' Council seized political power on Nov. 14. On Dec. 28 it was decided to arm the proletariat. This was followed, on Jan. 10 1919, by the formation of a Socialist republic of Bremen with a council of com- missaries of the people. On Jan. 28 1919 the Government of the Reich sent troops to deliver Bremen from the domination of the communists. This force entered the city on Feb. 4 after protracted negotiations. Elections were held for the Bremen State Assembly on March 9, and a coalition government of the Socialist and non- Socialist parties was formed. The new constitution was passed on May II 1920. It conferred upon the Senate (as in Hamburg) political and administrative powers. Side by side with the demo- cratic Parliament the following representative bodies were likewise established: -A chamber of the working classes, a chamber of salaried employees, a chamber of agriculture, a chamber repre- senting the retail trade, and a chamber representing the large commercial and wholesale interests. The constitution of Bremen contains a special declaration that the Church is separated from the State. (O. KR.)
BRENTANO, LUDWIG JOSEPH [called Lujo] (1844- ),
German economist (see 4.496), was one of the German delegates sent over to London in Nov. 1919 to attend the economic con-
ference convened by the " Fight the Famine " Council. At the
first session of the conference, held at the Caxton Hall Nov. 4,
he urged the organization and encouragement of German in-
dustry to enable Germany to fulfil her treaty obligations. His
more recent publications include a pamphlet on the proposed
League of Nations, and two short works, 1st das System Bren-
tano zusammengebrochen ? and Russland, der kranke Mann (both
1918).
BREST LITOVSK, BATTLES ROUND, 1915. The operations
round Brest Litovsk (see 4.500), from July 15 to Aug. 26 1915, formed an important part of Mackensen's campaign in Poland
