en 



cr. 



I 



January 



1909.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



LIBRARY 

 NEW YORK 

 ttOTANICAL 



UAKUEN. 



121 



WPeR'^ 



Published on the let of each Month by 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING GO., 



No. 395 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 

 CABLE ADDRB8B: IRWORLD. NEW YORK. 



HENRY C. PEARSON, 



EDITOR. 



HAWTHORNE HILL, 

 ASSOCIATB. 



Vol. 39. 



JANUARY 1. 1909. 



No. 4. 



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COPTRIOBT, 1008, BY 



THE INDIA RUBBER POBUSniNO CO. 



Entered at New York poatofflcc as mall matter of the second class. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS ON LAST PAGE READING MATTER. 



THE BUSINESS PROSPECT. 



Tlll'2 new year opens imiler more favorable au.spices 

 than did the year which has just clcsed. Twelve 

 months ago the topic of foremost interest in the 

 business world was the financial crisis which then had 

 lately developed in the United States, the effects of which 

 were still acute. Some large banks had closed their doors, 

 there was a general limiting of business credits, and fac- 

 tories of nearly every kind were closed or else working on 

 reduced schedules. The ultimate effect was reflected in 

 every civilized country — in international trade, in stock 

 exchange transactions, in affairs as remote as those of 

 rubljcr planting in Ceylon or the ]Hiblic finances of the 

 ,\ma^on states. The india-rubber trade was affected, of 

 course, so close is its relation to nearly every form of in- 

 dustry ; on account of the reduced demand for rubber 

 goods the market prices of crude rubber fell to the lowest 

 figures for many years. 



The American people are ever optimistic, however, and 

 althougji at the beginning of 1908 the limits of the exist- 

 ing trouble could not he foreseen, it was regarded by 

 leaders in business not as a "panic" but rather as a 

 temporary flurry, the effects of which might even prove 

 beneficial by teaching caution in some c|uartcrs. The 

 history of tlie year has justified the optimists, anri gives 

 reason for hope of continued improvement during the 



coming year. .Moreover it has given the world at large 

 new evidence of the solvency of this country and its 

 cnjjacity to withstand financial shocks. It cannot be said 

 that business as a whole has resumed the status which 

 existed before the depression, but then the volume of 

 |)roduction hat! reached figures which might be described 

 as above normal. .\t least the country is prosperous now, 

 and fears of further trouble have vanished. 



It may be added that nearly all the large banks, the 

 closing of which, late in 1907, alarmed the public, have 

 resumed business, in most cases without involving loss 

 to shareholders or depositors. There were a few insti- 

 tutions, however, which met a different fate, for their 

 managers have had to face criminal proceedings, and at 

 least one is in prison. The elimination of unsound banks 

 is a cau.se for congratulation, and the public confidence 

 in the Ijankiiig system is strengthened rather than weak- 

 ened by the events of the year. Some very imiwrtant 

 corporations, industrial and otherwise, which were forced 

 to apply for receiverships, have been reorganized, under 

 the same management as before, and apparently have 

 good prospects. An important automobile concern, for 

 example, which failed for a very large sum, has paid its 

 claims in full, with interest added, and many other indi- 

 cations might Ije given of recovery in business circles. 



The advance in crude rubber prices is in itself a sign of 

 improving lousiness. The rubber factories are likely to be 

 kejjt Ijusy in tiie near future to supply goods required by 

 large consumers, who for awhile restricted their buying. 

 It is true that the rubber footwear trade has been con- 

 fronted by a lack of snow, but there is a possibility that 

 this shortage may be made up before spring comes. The 

 rubber tire trade, however, has been active all year, show- 

 ing no ill effects from the depression. 



IT MUST BE CRUDE RUBBER. 



AOUESTIOX that has arisen in the customs ad- 

 ministration at New York and has been referred 

 to The Inui,\ Rubber World, relates to a new 

 class of rubber which of late has come into this port in 

 considerable quantities. We have been asked whether 

 this is a manufactured product. The rubber in question 

 is imported in regularly shaped pieces — sheets, for ex- 

 ample — -having the appearance of having been fashioned 

 by the use of machinery, besides which some of them are 

 stamped with what seem to be the marks of a manufac- 

 tory, if this should be a manufactured product, the 

 zealous customs employees would feel obliged to impose a 

 duty on its importation — hence this investigation. 



We can see no reason why the particular product re- 

 ferred to shoulfl not come under the classification "crude 

 india-rubber" (in jiaragraph 579 of the Tariff act), quite 

 as mucli as any oilier rubber imported now or in the past. 

 The "Century Dictionary" defines manufacturing as "the 

 liroduction of articles for use from raw or prepared ma- 

 terials by giving to these materials new forms, qualities. 



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