Si II EMBER I, 1903.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



421 



INDIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES. 



OFFICIAL statement of values of exports of manufactures 

 of India-rubber and Guttapercha, for the month of |une, 

 1903. and for five fiscal years, ending June 30 : 



[(a) Included in " Ail Other" prior to July i, 1899.] 



The number of pairs of rubber footwear exported during the 

 past nine fiscal years has increased as follows : 

 iSg4-g5. .. .383,723 1897-98. .. .391,832 1900-01 .... 1,469,100 



i8g5-g6... 350.713 i8g8-gg. ..486,586 1901-02. .. .2,594,688 



1896.97... 306,026 1899 00. .. .762,016 1902 03. .. .2,307 401 



The average export price during the past fiscal year was 

 5 cents per pair higher than in 1901-02. 



RUBBER SHIPMENTS TO NONCONTIGUOUS TERRITORIES. 



Official statement of values, for the twelve months ending 

 June t,o, 1903, of manufactures of India-rubber : 



Alaska $135,982 



Hawaiian Islands 64,315 



Porto Rico. . . 19,606 



1'hilippines 58,861 



Total $278,764 



IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED STATES. 



India-rubber goods $478,663 



Guttapercha goods 163,337 



Total $642, oco 



Reexports 16,888 



I90I-O2. 



$449,756 

 127, 7S0 



§665,972 

 225,198 



$577,536 $391,170 

 13,173 8,656 



$S82,5i 4 



Net Imports $625,1 12 $564,363 



BELGIUM (SPECIAL COMMERCE). 



Official values (in francs) of India-rubber goods, for the 

 first six months of 1903 and two years preceding : 



IMrORTS. EXPORTS. 



To France 329.109 



" Great Britain 112,228 



" Holland 97.432 



as " parts " of bicycles or automobiles, or rubber toys, which 

 are included under "toys of all sorts." In all these branches 

 exports have been unusually large this year. 



COMPARATIVE STATEMENT — SIX MONTHS. 



1 moneys con-. ms of United States values at 



- Imp 



Germany Si, 705,032 $4,732,392 



1 Great Britain [1,906,375 ] 3,263,757 



b United States 502,044 [,915,541 



France (special commerce) 1,186,371 903,047 



Austria- Hungary 732,686 975,228 



Italy 481, S23 391.329 



Belgium (special commerce) 204,211 125,155 



Total $6,718,542 $I2,3C6,449 



11— No 1 eturns of imports yet for 1903 ; the figure given here is one-half ihc 

 v.tluc <»f imports for 1902. 

 ^•Excluding shipments to non-contiguous territ 



The above table indicates a net export during six months of 

 the value of $5,587,907 to non manufacturing countries. This 

 sum doubtless would be considerably increased if there could 

 be added to it the Russian exports to countries not manufac- 

 turing rubber goods. 



THE ACRE DISPUTE SETTLED. 



From Germany 312,552 



" Great Britain. .. . 381,168 



" France 329,446 



" United States. . . 18,591 



" Other countries. . 16,330 



Germany 21,199 



Other countries . .. 88,501 



Total 1,058,087 



Six months, 1902.. 858,012 

 Six months, 1901.. 702,305 



Total 



Six months, 1902 

 Six months, 1901 . 



648,469 

 6SI.148 

 633.475 



ITALY. 



Official values of imports and exports of India-rubber and 

 Gutta-percha goods, for the months of January-June, inclusive, 

 in lire [r lira=i franc=i9.3 cents] : 



Imports 2,061,240 



Exports 1,514,130 



1903- 

 ■ 490 

 2,027,610 



GERMANY. 

 Official statistics of values (in marks) of imports and exports 

 of India-rubber goods for the first six months of three years : 



1901. 1902. 1903. 



Imports 6,740,000 6,410,000 7.164,000 



Exports 15,570,000 16.31S.000 iq,SS4,ooo 



Returns of exports do not embrace tires, which are exported 



THE New York Herald publishes a despatch from Rio de 

 Janeiro, dated August 12, to the effect that a settlement 

 of the Acre territory dispute has been reached, and Brazil's 

 sovereignty over the greater part of the territory has been ac- 

 knowledged by Bolivia, who has been indemnified for her mili- 

 tary expenditures. A harbor will be built on the river Madeira 

 and a railway constructed from the Mamore river to the Madeira. 

 Some time ago, India Rubber World readers will remember, 

 the government of Bolivia granted a concession of the Acre 

 district to an Anglo-American syndicate— The Bolivian Co. — 

 which act met with active opposition from Brazil, on the ground 

 that the district belonged to the latter country. The syndicate 

 referred to, in view of the disputed ownership of the country, 

 accepted an indemnity from Brazil and went into liquidation. 

 [For a map of the district and a summary of the disputed ques- 

 tions, see The India Rubber World, April i, 1903— page 

 221.] 



The region drained by the Acre river — which connects with 

 the Amazon — is commonly regarded as the richest rubber dis- 

 trict in the world, and the settlement of the question of its 

 ownership, and the restoration of order there, may be expected 

 to be followed by renewed activity in the development of the 

 rubber trade there. As for the proposed railway, the object of 

 which will be to assist transportation around the falls in the 

 Madeira — another affluent of the Amazon — no other undertak- 

 ing could contribute so much to the-development of the Bo- 

 livia, and especially of the export of rubber from the regions in 

 that country drained by the Beni, Madre de Dios, and other 

 important streams which are without an outlet except through 

 the Madeira. 



In view of the complaints of the German postal authorities 

 of the practice of mailing printed matter in large unsealed en- 

 velopes, with wide open flaps into which other mail matter is 

 apt to get caught, causing confusion in delivery, the Gummi- 

 Ztitung recommends the use of rubber bands, with address 

 cards attached, for packages of the character described. Busi- 

 ness papers, samples of merchandise, and the like, first wrapped 

 with a thin paper, would be held in shape by such special rub- 

 ber band, while the address could be placed upon the accom- 

 panying card or tag. The same device should prove no less 

 practicable in other countries. 



