December 1, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



87 



for the business man's reading that we have seen for many 

 a day. 



The total number of patents for inventions issued in all 

 the countries of the world, according to a recent report, con- 

 siderably exceeds 2,000,000. The world owes much to its in- 

 ventors, of course, and perhaps to its patent offices, yet there is 

 reason for rejoicing that not 2,000,000 patents are now in actual 

 effect. Otherwise the dithculty of an average man's making a 

 living doubtless would be greatly enhanced. With so many 

 patents "working" at once hardly any industry could be engaged 

 in, in any form, without rendering one liable to an action for 

 alleged infringement. 



If the mixers of barytes succeed in getting the tariff on the 

 crude material raised from 75 cents to $5 a ton, certain lines of 

 rubber compounding will undergo a very sweeping revision. 



TARIFF ON CRUDE BARYTES URGED. 



'T'HE committee on ways and means of the House of Repre- 

 •*• sentatives, at Washington, on November 10 began a series 

 of hearings on the tariff, preliminary to the expected action of 

 Congress in the matter of revising the schedules of duties on 

 imports. The first w-itnesses heard happened to be interested in 

 chemical products, and on the second day barytes was dealt 

 with at length. The witnesses for the most part advocated a 

 duty on imported crude barytes, for the protection of the domes- 

 tic miners. A bill was introduced in Congress last year pro- 

 viding for a tariff of $5 a ton on crude barj'tes, which is now on 

 the free list. The volume of consumption of barytes products 

 in the rubber manufacture is so great that the proposals before 

 the committee would be of vital importance if their adoption 

 were imminent, but it is a far cry from an inter-session sitting 

 of a congressional committee and tlie translation of their findings 

 into law. 



RUSSIAN TAX ON SCRAP EXPORTS. 



A CONCERTED attempt is being made by some prominent 

 ■** members of the rubber reclaiming trade in United States 

 to have the Russian export duty taken off of scrap rubber. A 

 member of the trade advises The India Rubber World: "So 

 far we are making some progress in the matter. Just how long 

 it will take to work out is a nice question." 



The rate of the duty is i ruble 50 copecks per Russian pood 

 1=36 pounds], being equivalent to about $21.46 per 1,000 pounds, 

 or a little over 2]/^, cents per pound. The details of the going 

 into effect of this ta.K appeared in The India Rubber World 

 .August I, 1904 — page 392. The opinion prevailed at New York 

 at that time that the effect of the duty would be not only to 

 render Russian scrap firmer but to advance prices as soon as 

 a revival of demand after the summer months should lead to 

 a resumption of imports on an active scale. It was not felt 

 that the total amount of the duty would be added to the import 

 prices of Russian scrap, but certainly part of it and probably 

 half. It was considered that foreign scrap was a necessity, and 

 therefore enough must be paid for it to render its collection 

 profitable. 



The prices of rubber scrap at New York during the past year 

 or two have been influenced by so many conditions that it 

 would be hard to point out the actual effect of the Russian 

 fiscal policy upon the trade. But the fact that American re- 

 claimers are taking active steps to secure a reduction of the 

 tax would indicate a belief on llicir part that the tax adds to 

 the cost of their raw material. 



A recent report by the British consul at Odessa, the source 

 of a large part of the Russian imports of scrap, states that this 



trade became very prosperous at one time, the local price of 

 old goloshes increasing from 1.50 rubles to 6 rubles per pood 

 [^.15 cents to 8.60 cents per pound], and in spite of the ex- 

 port duty the volume of trade continued for awhile to rise. 

 As the British consul puts it — though we are not clear as to the 

 date of the condition he refers to — the exports fell off, begin- 

 ning with the financial flurry in the United States, until the 

 Russian rubber factories were without rivals as purchasers, and 

 were able to reduce the price to 3.50 to 4 rubles per pood 

 [^5.7 cents per pound]. 



The following table indicates the total imports of rubber scrap 

 into the United States for fiscal years ending June 30, and the 

 amounts direct from Russia. The table also specifies the 

 imports from Germany, a large portion of which are known to 

 originate in Russia, the figures denoting pounds : 



Fiscal Years. Total. Russia. Germany. 



1907-08 pounds 16,331,035 



1906-07 " 29,335,193 7766,304 7,402,928 



1905-06 " 24,756,486 7,891,040 5,212,716 



1904-05 " 15,575,214 6,788,582 2,277,221 



1903-04 " 20,270,970 12,460,187 3,126,742 



1902-03 " 24,659,394 10,454,897 7,290,920 



1901-02 " 22,991,900 8,536,237 8,716,907 



1900-01 " I5,235>235 6,212,76s 5,797,120 



PROPOSED TRIBUTE TO WICKHAM. 



jV/TR. QUINCY TUCKER, of Boston, who attended the Inter- 

 ^'■^ national Rubber Exhibition at London, who reports to 

 the Boot and Shoe Reporter his discovery, by chance, of "the 

 headquarters of H. A. Wickham, that venerable and respected 

 forester, who originally secured the Para rubber tree seeds from 

 the Amazon valley, away back in the 70's." He reports Mr. 

 Wickham to be still very much alive, but he suggests that Mr. 

 Wickham "be pensioned in his own age by the rubber growers' 

 associations in the Malay peninsula and Ceylon, and not wait 

 to erect a monument later on, after the planters have become 

 multi-millionaires." The India Rubber World [August i, 1908 

 — page 358] reviewed a notable new book by Mr. Wickham, re- 

 counting the history of his experiences in the Amazon valley 

 which resulted in the introduction of the Hcvca rubber species 

 into the Far East. 



NEW CONGO REGIME. 



THE government of Belgium on November 15 formally took 

 over the administration of the Congo Free State on the 

 lines of the treaty mentioned in The India Rubber World [Octo- 

 ber I — page 17]. The date selected for the formal ceremonies 

 was St. Leopold's day, in the church calendar, the name of the 

 king of the Belgians. Among the new conditions, which the gov- 

 ernment plans to adopt, will be freedom of trade by merchants 

 of all nations on the same footing with Belgians in the Congo 

 territory. The introduction of coined money is planned, and 

 this will be receivable for taxes from the natives, at their option, 

 instead of work or produce, which have been exacted from them 

 in the past. 



INDIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPOKTS FROM THE tJNITED STATES. 



/^FFICIAL statcineiUs of values of exports of manufacture of 

 ^^ india-rubber and gutta-percha for the month of September, 

 1908, and for the first nine months of five calendar years : 



Belting, Boots All 



Months. Packing, and Other Total. 



and Hose. Shoes. Rubber. 



September, 1908 .... $113,183 $ii6,444 $258,553 $488,180 



January to August.. 813,383 927.084 2,371,374 4.111,841 



Total $926,566 $1,043,528 $2,629,927 $4,600,021 



