RIO DE JANEIRO

according to the census of 1920, the population of the independent municipal commune, or iederal district, which contains the city and is detached from the province of the same name, was 1,157,873, an increase of 43% since 1906. in 1920 there were 1,265 factories, with 46,953 operatives, representing a capital of nearly 270,000,000 paper milreis and an annual production valued at 5,000,000,000 milreis. the federal district is governed by a prefect appointed by the president of the republic, and elects three senators and 10 deputies to the national congress. the legislative power of the munici- pality is vested in a council of 24 intendentes elected for three years. the consolidated debt of the municipality in 1920 was computed at 227,089,200 paper milreis, of which 129,225,450 milreis was an external debt, and 97,863,750 milreis internal. the revenue had grown from 29,070,883 paper milreis in 1910 to 51,182,357 paper milreis in rorg. education.—primary instruction is provided by the munici- pality, which in 1920 maintained 320 day schools and 68 night schools, with a matriculation of 74,111 pupils in the former and 8,662 in the latter. there were in addition 236 elementary pri- vate schools, with 19,825 pupils; over 80 receive a subvention from the govt. if they adopt the official curriculum and admit a certain number of children free. secondary instruction is cared for in public /ycees and private establishments. there is no uni- versity, but the capital possesses higher faculties of law, medi- cine and engineering, besides schools providing instruction in pharmacy, dentistry, commerce, music, drama and fine arts. the national govt. also maintains a naval academy, a military college and a preparatory school of tactics. the most important libraries are: the national library, the best appointed in south america, the municipal, the cabinete portuguez da leitura, that of the lycee of arts and crafts and the collections existing in the ministries and departments. streets and buildings —during the period 1910-26 the am- bitious programme of municipal improvements inaugurated in 1903 was in large measure completed. the port works, including a sea wall over 2 m. long, 8 {t. above mean high tide and lying almost entirely in deep water, enclose a broad reach of reclaimed land and provide the city with the most modern facilities for loading and unloading ships. the avenida rio branco (formerly avenida central) is one of the handsomest thoroughfares in the western hemisphere. over a mile long from north to south, it is lined with fine private and public buildings. the military, naval and jockey clubs are situated there, and also the offices of some of the principal newspapers, such as the jornal do com- mercio and o paiz, besides fashionable shops, cafes and business places. at the southern end is a group of elegant state edifices: the municipal theatre, the monroe palace and the national library and academy of fine arts. the municipal theatre, designed in 1904, cost over £2,000,000, although it seats but 1,700 people. the building which houses the national library, opened in 1910 in commemoration of the centenary of its found- ing (1808), is also a notable addition to the city. it is a fireproof structure of granite, marble and steel, cquipped with every modern library appliance. one of the important developments of rio de janeiro has been in suburban road building. as the hiils come practically to the 260 bay and sea, construction is dimcult, but great progress has been made and a 40 m. motor drive over perfect roads joins all the famous beaches with tijuca and the city. the magnificent bayside drive, the avenida beira-mar, with double motor track and intervening lawns and gardens is particularly remarkable. sunitation.—the city, formerly a hotbed of yellow fever and smallpox, has become one of the healthicst tropical cities in the world. the death-rate has fallen to about 20 per 1,c00. this is the result of a campaign of scrupulous cleanliness, rigid enforce- ment of sanitary measures and scientific eradication of mos- quitos and other germ-bearing insects, inaugurated under the direction of the celebrated brazilian scientist, dr. oswaldo cruz, in the first administration of president rodrigues alves (1903). in r920 a law was passed by congress creating a national de- partment of public health, consisting of three divisions, one in charge of the federal capital cc. tt: fl)