File No. 763.72/6393
The Ambassador in Brazil ( Morgan) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 11.]
Sir: I have the pleasure to report that an arrangement has been completed between Admiral W. B. Caperton, U. S. Navy, Commander-in-Chief [Page 313] of the Pacific Squadron, and the Brazilian Minister of Marine by which the Brazilian Navy will cooperate with the American in patrolling the South Atlantic.
According to an agreement between the American and British naval authorities, Admiral Caperton’s squadron will patrol the high seas from Fernando Noronha Island, near Pernambuco, to Rio de Janeiro; the British squadron will patrol from that point to the River Plate; and the French from Fernando Noronha to the West Indies. The Brazilian Navy will undertake the patrol of the Brazilian coast and for that purpose has been organized into three detachments, to be known as the Northern, Central, and Southern Divisions. Rear-Admiral Santos will be in charge of the Northern; Rear-Admiral Mattos of the Central; and Rear-Admiral Frontim of the Southern Division.
Under present arrangements the cruisers Deodoro and Floriano; torpedo-boat Tymbwa; cruiser Tiradentes; two destroyers; gunboats Missões and Acre; and the despatch-boats Teffe and Jutahy will patrol the northern section. The central section will be patrolled by the two dreadnoughts Minas Geraes and São Paulo; four destroyers; three submarines; and the mine-defense flotilla composed of the Carlos Gomez, the Mario do Couto, and the Jaguarão. The division of the south will comprise the two scout-cruisers Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul; the two cruisers Barroso and Republica; despatch-boat José Bonifacio; and four destroyers. The patrol will begin as soon as the boiler and condenser tubes for several of the units which have been ordered in the United States have been received.
The patrol may be expected to begin about the 1st of September.
It is probable that the mercantile fleet of the Lloyd Brasileiro Line, which is owned by the Government, will cooperate, in the patrol, with the Brazilian Navy. A Brazilian naval officer has been appointed to attend daily at the Embassy to serve as a medium of communication between the Minister of Marine and Capt. Frank K. Hill, U. S. N., the naval attaché. He began his duties to-day.
It is unnecessary to point out the importance of the arrangement outlined above and the effect which it should have in developing the political relations between the United States and Brazil, in checking the devastation of German raiders, and in protecting the Brazilian coasts from attack.
I have [etc.]