330 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July i, 1906. 



In speaking of Guayule as rubber, the writer, aware that 

 some manufacturers class it as a substitute, still holds that 

 it is a rubber, and a good one, and one that has a definite 

 place in general rubber manufacture. To be sure it must be 

 handled with wisdom ; it should be washed thoroughly, 

 sheeted thin, and used as soon as dry. If not, that is, if it 

 hangs in the drying room too long, it becomes soft. Used 

 wisely there is no doubt but it can displace higher priced 

 rubbers without the slightest danger to the goods. 



The present grade of (Vuayule, while showing wonderful 

 improvement over those first put on the market, will un- 

 doubtedly be succeeded by even better. The softness which 

 it possesses is of course due to the large percentage of resin 

 in it, normally about 21 per cent. Some of the most experi- 



The facts here cited have been carefully verified by the 

 Kditor of Thu Indi.'V Rubber World and are given wholly 

 as a matter of interest to rubber manufacturers. 



..-T.tR NG GUAYULE SHRUBS 



[T\pe of wagon in which Guayule is hauled ; also general character of the 

 country and size of plants in foreground.] 



enced chemists in the country have been at work for months 

 experimenting on practical processes for removing all or a 

 part of this resin. They have succeeded in extracting two- 

 thirds of the resin content, leaving the rubber so near like a 

 high grade of Panama that it would be difficult to tell the 

 difference. This deresinated rubber is not yet on the market, 

 but will he eventually and should find a place for itself. 



It must not be thought, however, that the presence of 

 resin is always detrimental. One has only to retuember that 

 in certain comjiounds resin is added, to prove this. It is 

 therefore a question if the present grade of Guayule at its 

 low price is not for many purposes a better bargain for the 

 manufacturer than would be a deresinated Guayule at a 

 much higher price. 



PROMOTOR BORGES CONVICTED. 



A VERDICT of guilty was rendered by a jury in the 



-^^^ Boston superior criminal court on Jutie 9, against 

 Ferdinand E. Borgcs, who had been on trial since May 14 on 

 charges connected with the promotion of the Ubero rubber 

 plantation companies. Borges was on trial on two counts of 

 conspiracy (with William D. Owen) to steal, and 126 counts 

 of larceny. The jury failed to reach an agreement in regard 

 to one conspiracy count and 53 charges of larceny, all con- 

 nected with the Ubero Plantation Co. of Boston. The con- 

 viction was on the charge of conspiracj' and 73 counts of 

 larceny based upon the securing of investments in the Con- 

 solidated Ubero Plantations Co. by alleged false representa- 

 tions. Speaking generally, the jury were unable to agree 

 that Borges had been guilty of conspiracy or larceny in his 

 company promotion before the formation of the Consolidated 

 company. It has been figured out that if the maximum 

 sentence were imposed in each case the aggregate would be 

 more than 200 years imprisonment. Counsel for Borges 

 were given until June 30 to file exceptions. Counsel said 

 that undoubtedly the case would be carried to the supreme 



iiurt Borges had been confined in jail for over seven 

 ■Months, in default of $75,000 bail. 



The troubles of the Ubero plantation companies have 

 lieeu reported in detail in The India Rubber World. The 

 history of these organizations was given in our issue of May 

 1 , 1905 (page 278). About that time much dissatisfaction 

 ! egan to be expressed by investors in regard to the man- 

 iL^ement of the companies, and various investigations were 



L't on foot, which resulted in indicating that little of the 



money invested had been devoted to the development of the 



plantations, but that it had been appropriated to the pei- 



■ nal use of the promoters. Proceedings were instituted for 



! lacing the Ubero companies in the hands of receivers, and 



iiminal proceedings were brought bj- a number of investois 

 iL^ainst Borges. who had been active in securing monej' fiim 

 the public at the Boston oflice, and William D. Owen, a 

 former member of Congress, who had been chiefly instru- 

 mental in organizing the companies. Owen has been in 

 Europe since the first exposure of the frauds, beyond the 

 reach of anj- legal service. 



This is the second case in which a conviction has been had 

 in the United States in connection with fraudulent practices 

 in the promotion of rubber plantation companies. Frank B. 

 Bittinger was arrested Februarj- 13, 1903, on a charge of the 

 fraudulent use of the mails in promoting the Nicaragua Co., 

 which purported to be forming a rubber plantation in Nica- 

 ragua, and had headquarters at Dayton, Ohio. He was in- 

 dicted November 5, 1903, in the United States court at Chi- 

 cago, and on December 10 sentenced to-spend one jear and 

 a day in jail, and to paj- a fine of $1000. 



S.A.R.\\v.\K (Borneo) imposes an export duty on Gutta- 

 percha of 10 per cent, ad valorem ; on Guttajelutong (Ponti- 

 anak gum) of 60 cents (silver) 1 per pikul [=t33j pounds] ; 

 and on India-rubber, $10 per pikul. 



