140 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January i, 1909. 



PARA RUBBER PRICES FOR TWENTY-TWO YEARS (BASED ON HIGHEST NEW YORK PRICE DURING EACH MONTH). 



THE RISE IN RUBBER PRICES. 



nPHE chart of New York rubber prices which appears on this 

 •*■ page is based upon the highest credible quotations during 

 each month, for 22 years, for fine Upriver Para. The figures 

 upon which this chart is based, have been derived from the rec- 

 ords of one New York house, and they are probably as trust- 

 worthy as can be obtained in the trade. It will be seen that the 

 range of fluctuations in rubber is very wide ; probably no other 

 commodity shows such marked changes. It will be understood, 

 of course, that rubber changes hands at the extreme figures only 

 to a limited extent, but no matter how small the volume of 

 transactions at the highest figures the quotation deserves to be 

 mentioned as that the consumer would have to pay in case he 

 were in need of rubber at the moment. 



Concerning the frequent expression that the tendency of rub- 

 ber prices is constantly upward this, of course, is not true from 

 day to day, but only when applied to the market for a consider- 

 able period. To refer again to the chart, it will be seen that the 

 highest quotation for any Para grade at one time in 1889 was 

 62 cents. There was a rapid advance from this figure and 

 many fluctuations occurred until, in the spring of 1894, "rock 

 bottom" was reached again, at 66 cents. Rubber again went up 

 and down until the highest price covered by the chart for more 

 than a decade was reached — $i.io>2 — from which there was a 

 fall, not to the former low figures, but only to 70 cents. Six 

 years later, owing to the recent financial depression, rubber 

 again fell sharply, but this time only to 78 cents. The point to 

 be made is that when from time to time an extreme decline is 

 reached the limit is higher than on former similar occasions. 

 There is not yet in sight any indication of what might be called 

 stability in rubber prices, but if the history of the trade proves 

 anything it is that in normal conditions rubber goes higher 

 rather than lower. 



One other point suggested by the chart is that very trivial 

 matters apparently suffice to change the market violently, which 

 is due to the fact that, while the rubber trade as a whole is of 

 great importance and volume, the visible supply of raw ma- 



terial is never large, and the best informed mind is unable to 

 predict intelligently the extent of forthcoming supplies. The 

 late John H. Cheever, a leading American rubber manufacturer, 

 was accustomed to say that, so far as he could see, fluctuations 

 in the crude rubber market were as apt to be caused by the 

 sinking of a boat in the Missouri river as by anything else. 



By the way, Mr. Cheever, when appearing once as a witness 

 in legal proceedings in New York, submitted a statement of 

 prices which he had paid for crude rubber during the years 

 1856 to 1881 inclusive, during which time the highest price 

 reached for fine Para was $1.20, but this was during the Civil 

 War, when gold was at such a premium as to make this paper 

 money price equivalent to about 48 cents gold. Just 30 years 

 ago, when the currency had been again placed on a gold basis, he 

 was buying fine Para at 50 cents. By the way, the lowest price 

 which he reported paying for fine rubber was in March 1858 — 30 

 cents a pound. The price of Cartagena rubber was then i2!/2, 

 and East Indian 15 cents. There is no record in the trade of 

 lower prices having been reached sjnce that date. 



Tennis Goods in Winter. — Tennis shoes are among the rubber 

 goods that are salable in many cities and towns during the win- 

 ter time. The increase in gymnasiums, bowling alleys and other 

 places for physical culture has created a demand for sneakers 

 during the winter time. Some retailers hesitate to show these 

 shoes in their window displays, for fear that their customers 

 will consider them out of season. But they may properly be 

 displayed in a special sale of rubber goods. — Boot and Shoe 

 Recorder. 



Saved by a Stretch. — "You must have had some very narrow 

 escapes from death in your eventful career," said an admirer to 

 the great detective. 



"I have had a few," he admitted, modestly. "Probably the 

 closest shave I have had was when a band of South American 

 outlaws hanged me, and went away without noticing that they 

 had strung me up to a rubber tree." — Brooklyn Life. 



