fices in
the Brazilian ports (about 1910) to deal direct with the _fazendeiro_
and the _commisario_, the gradual elimination of the _ensaccador_ was
begun. Today he has entirely disappeared from the Santos market, and is
disappearing from Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Victoria.

Coffee reaches Santos in a mixed condition; that is, it has not been
graded, or separated according to its various qualities. This is the
work of the _commisario_, who puts each shipment into "lots" in new
"official" bags, each of which bears a mark stating that the contents
are Sao Paulo growth. If the coffee is offered for sale by the owner,
the _commisario_ will then put it on the "street," the section of Santos
given over to coffee trading.

The _commisario_ works with samples of the coffee he has to offer and
only puts out one set at a time. He names his "asking" price, known
locally as the _pedido_, which is the maximum rate he expects to get,
but seldom receives. A set of samples may be shown to twenty-five or
thirty exporting houses in a day, one at a time. When the sample is in
the hands of a firm for consideration, no other exporter has the right
to buy the lot even at the _pedido_ price, and the _commisario_ can not
accept other offers until he has refused the bid. On the other hand, if
a house refuses to give up the samples, it is understood that it is
willing to pay the _pedido_ price. The firm first offering a price
acceptable to the _commisario's_ broker gets the lot, even though other
houses have offered the same price.

When a lot is sold, the samples are turned over to the successful
bidder, and he then asks the _commisario_ for larger samples for
comparison with the first set.

[Illustration: STAMPING BAGS FOR EXPORT, SANTOS]

_Commisarios Make as High as Nine Percent_

Having sold the coffee of a given planter, the _commisario_ often gets
as much as nine percent for his share of the transaction. Unless the
bags have been furnished to the planter at a good rental, the coffee
must be transferred to the _commisario's_ bags; and for this the planter
pays a commission.

[Illustration: COFFEE FROM THE FAZENDAS IS DELIVERED AT THE
COMMISSARIOS' WAREHOUSES IN RIO]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A SANTOS CLEANING AND GRADING WAREHOUSE]

[Illustration: PREPARING BRAZIL COFFEE FOR EXPORT]

[Illustration: GRADING COFFEE AT SANTOS]

Formerly the coffee, being rebagged by the _ensaccador_, was manipulated
in what is called ligas;