Excerpts from a regional chronicle in the "Wieści z Polski" (News from Poland) magazine, in which, among other things, the economic situation of Polish immigrants in Paraná is mentioned, including, for example, the number of farms (approximately 20,000) or the issue of merchants and Polish crafts in Brazil. Incidentally, information is given about the closure of a Polish school in São Bento, as well as an extract from the 'Gazeta Polska w Brazylii' (Polish Newspaper in Brazil) created in Curitiba. The same page also mentions the Polish House established in Argentina in Buenos Aires (Source: "Wieści z Polski", Warsaw 1928, R: 1, no. 3, pp. 21-22, after: Jagiellonian Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text

The economic condition of Poles in Paraná.

In the three southern Brazilian states, where the Polish population is distributed more or less in compact national clusters, the average type of prosperous 20-acre (20 ha) farm prevails. Having arrived there during the period of colonisation organised at the government's expense and having acquired land on the most favourable terms, the emigrant reached a certain prosperity through his pioneering work. He placed the income from the diligently cultivated land in livestock and land, with which he furnished his numerous offspring.

Experts calculate the number of farms at about 20,000 and the average value of each at about 15,000 milrejs, so that the Polish agricultural settlements in Paraná represent a value of about 300 million milrejs. Small merchants, amounting to about 6 per cent of the local exodus, come quickly to wealth without large contributions of capital, due to extremely favourable economic conditions and easy credit. The merchant, known as the "wendist", is the colony's supplier of essential products and at the same time the only recipient of its produce.

Given that he most often turns from a merchant into a banker, it is easy to understand that his capital grows at an accelerated rate. "Venda" has experienced a period of flourishing in recent years, which, however, darkens somewhat in 1926/27 due to the poorer economy of "Herva mate" and the general economic crisis. "Wends" of Poland can be counted in hundreds, and the capital of the average "wend" ranges from 100-500,000 milrejs. Unfortunately, the enriched Polish "wend" is not at the height of capital turnover in higher trade or industry.

Usually, having taken the plunge, the Polish merchant cannot cope with the competition of strangers, due to lack of proper education and merchant's sophistication. Industrial enterprises in Polish hands do not exceed dozens, and both in terms of capital invested and in terms of size would be counted as domestic industry in European relations. The urban population of craftsmen and workers in today's numerical situation finds it easy to make a living.

Most of the older craftsmen have town squares with wooden houses, and unemployment in the European sense is not yet known there. The only unemployed are the intelligentsia, arriving without knowledge of the language and without the capital needed for the period of job search. The type of emigrant recently mentioned, usually being a malcontent, alienates the Polish colony from the old country. "Wendist", and through him and his client, the Polish colonist depend on wholesalers giving goods on credit. The big importers of iron, tools, chemicals, flour are mostly Germans and Italians, while the exporters of "herva", wood, leather are mostly Brazilians.

So far, our colony has no importers or exporters of its own, so it remains dependent on foreigners. In 1923, a company of Polish merchants was formed to export timber and "herva" on a larger scale, but went bankrupt in 1926, stating that the local Polish merchants were not yet mature enough to trade on a larger scale. Ambitious attempts by individuals to set up a Polish bank and a Polish chamber of commerce on their own failed, either because they were premature or because they lacked people with sufficient commercial skills. Polish colonisation enterprises on a larger scale have so far been mostly unsuccessful.

Faced with the decline of Paraná's two main sources of prosperity, i.e. wood, which is losing its markets, and "herva mate", which is experiencing a decline in Argentina, the Paraná government is supporting a private initiative to establish coffee plantations in northern Paraná. The Polish Consulate in Curitiba, for its part, is encouraging the more energetic individuals from among the Paraná Polish community to switch to this type of production while coffee land is still cheap to acquire.

Polish House in Buenos Aires.

On the initiative of a group of Poles settled in Argentina, above all Mr Michał Szelągowski, Rev. Kazimierz Bielicki, Eugeniusz Olejniczakowski, Zygmunt Białobrzeski, Jerzy Lalewicz, Franciszek Nowak, Kazimierz Karczewski, Janusz Bogusławski, Władysław Mierzwiński, Jan Sapa, all residing in Buenos Aires, on 23 August 1926, a society known as the 'Polish House' was established.

Only two years of activity of the "Polish House" in Buenos Aires was very fruitful for Polishness in distant Argentina. "Polish House" developed its activities in 2 directions: 1. in the field of care for emigrants, 2. in the field of spreading information about Poland in Argentine society. In order to alleviate the fate of poor emigrants coming from the country, who before they find a job in Argentina are often without a roof over their heads, from voluntary contributions of the Polish colony and with the support of the Polish Embassy a shelter was built to accommodate 120 people.

In addition to the shelter, in January of this year, the "Dom Polski" company set up an office of assistance and job placement for newly arrived compatriots from Poland, thanks to the considerable support of the Emigration Office. In order to strengthen the ties between Poland and Argentina, where so many Poles have found their home, the "Polish House" Association publishes a bimonthly propaganda magazine, "Polonia Economica y Cultural". As we can see, the activities of the association are comprehensive and well-conceived.