106 



THE INDIA RUBBER NVORLD 



[January i, 1907. 



THE AMERICAN CONGO CONCESSION. 



T) Y the terms of their agreement with the government of 

 -*— ' the Congo Free State, the American Congo Co. are to 

 have possession, for 60 years, with rights of exploitation, of 

 two tracts of land, aggregating 1.000,000 hectares [ = 2.471.- 

 000 acres]. One of these is a belt 15^.' miles wide, extend- 

 ing along the Congo river from the month of the Kasai, its 

 largest tributary, up to where the Vumbi, a small stream, 

 enters the Congo. The second and larger lot extends from 

 Stanley Pool along the Congo to the south bank of the 

 Kasai, and along that stream to above the point of conflu- 

 ence with it of the Kwango river. The area mentioned is 

 equal to 3860 square miles, or more than three times the 

 size of Rhode Island — and nearly twice as large as the state 

 of Delaware. This area is understood to be rich in rubber, 

 yielded by lianes (vines) and also by underground creepers 

 of the Landolpliia Thollonii or similar species. 



The company are empowered to make a further selection 

 of two lots, aggregating 5000 hectares [=12,355 acres], to 

 be held for two years, with the right of renewal for two 



AMERICAN CONCESSION ON THE CONGO. 

 [The shaded portion on the left denotes the 3S00 squ.-ire miles ceded tothe Amer, 

 ican ConKo Co. The domainf df la couronne is outlined, and the areas under 

 concession lo the ABIK, Kasai. and Katanga companies. .\ detail map of the 

 American concession is given on the upper right hand.] 



years, on which to experiment with mechanical and chemi- 

 cal processes for the extraction of rubber. The location of 

 these tracts is to be within the limits described as the do- 

 maine dela coiirone. lying between the Abir and Kasai trust 

 concessions. This is regarded as the private projierty of King 

 Leopold and is apart from the domai/ie national, in which the 

 American Congo Co.'s concession is located. 



In addition to the above grants, the American company 

 have the privilege, within lo years, of acquiring an addition- 

 al 500,000 hectares [=1.235.500 acres] on terms yet to be 

 agreed on. London papers report that the Congo Free State 

 is to hold half the bonds to be issued by the .American com- 

 pany, besides 1 per cent, of the dividends. 



The map on this page indicates the location of the Ameri- 

 can rubber concession, which is a section of the domaine na- 

 tional (or domaine prive) not hitherto the subject of a conces- 

 sion. The two small tracts ceded for experimental purposes 

 for a limited time are to be located within the area designat- 



ed on the map as the " domain of the crown. " The New York 

 American is authority for the statement that same Ameri- 

 can interests have purchased shares in the Soci6t€ ABIR 

 (AngolJelgian India-Rubbcr and Exploration Co.) and the 

 Compagnie du Katanga, important Belgian (vncessionaire 

 companies whose holdings are also located on the map pre- 

 sented herewith. 



More important, in Belgian estimation, than the rubber 

 concession granted to Mr. Ryan and his associates, is a min- 

 ing and lumber concession in which the same American 

 group are interested, granted to Iva Soci^te Internationale 

 Forestier& et Miniere du Congo, formed at Brussels under 

 decree of November 6, 1906. This is to exist for 60 years 

 and to embrace 3,716,700 hectares[= 14,345 .square miles], to 

 be located in the domain of the crown and in areas reserved 

 bj' the state in the district occupied by the Katanga conces- 

 sion. The 7000 shares of the mining company (of 500 francs 

 each) are thus allotted : 



Domaine national (Congo Free State) 2,500 



Fondation de la couronne (King Leopold) 1,000 



Belgian capitalists 1 1750 



American capitalists , 1,750 



The first 3500 shares on the list are to be allotted gratis in 

 view of the advantages accorded by the Congo Free State. 

 Besides, the crown will subscribe for 5S0 shares allotted to 

 the Belgian capitalists. In addition to the 7000 capital shares 

 will be issued an equal number of dividend shares sans dis- 

 ignation de valeur (without designation of value), which are 

 to share in the distribution of any profits over a fi.xed rate 

 per cent, on the capital stock. The holders of the dividend 

 shares are the same as of the capital shares. This is the 

 usual form of organization of large concessionaire companies 

 in which the Congo Free State holds an interest, and presum- 

 ably the same rule applies to the American Congo Co. The 

 only difference is that in the present case other than Belgian 

 capital is admitted. 



A $40,000,000 COMPANY ORGANIZED. 



The Intercontinental Rubber Co. filed articles of incorpo- 

 ration on December 6, 1906, at the office of the secretary of 

 state of New Jersey. The company propose, with a capital- 

 ization of $40,000,000, to carry on the business of collecting, 

 extracting, producing, manufacturing, and dealing in crude 

 rubber and other like gums. The general purposes of the 

 company are the same as those of the Continental Rubber 

 Co., incorporated in New Jersey in 1905, though the incor- 

 poration papers disclose no connection with the Continental 

 company. It is learned definitelj' however, that the new 

 company are to exploit the Congo rubber concessions ac- 

 quired recently by Mr. Thomas F. Ryan and his associates, 

 and it is assumed that the plan involves the absorption of 

 the American Congo Co. and the Continental Rubber Co., 

 the latter of which was formed to exploit Guaytile rubber in 

 Mexico. 



The capital of the Intercontinental Rubber Co. is divided 

 into $10,000,000 in preference shares, entitled to 7 per cent, 

 dividends, and $30,000,000 of common stock. The incorpor- 

 ators are William C. Sherwood, Louis vSherwood, and Rich- 

 ard F. Tulley, all of Jersey City, but these names probably 

 have been used only for purposes of preliminarj' organiza- 

 tion. It is understood that shares are to be allotted to 

 Belgian, French, and English financiers who are associ- 

 ated with Americans in the Congo enterprise. 



