282 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May I, 1909. 



In this connection we should, however, bear in mind that the 

 accumulation and keeping of large stocks of rubber will scarcely 

 be practicable; or, at all events, it will be exceedingly risky. (1) 

 In view of the loss in weight which the rubber would suffer, while 

 there is not much loss in the case of other products — coffee, for 

 instance, frequently showing an increase in wciglit ; and (2) on 

 account of the high rate of interest that would be charged for 

 loans made on rubber warrants. 



These losses in weight and interest charges would be all the 

 more crushing because they must be borne by a very high-priced 

 product of world-wide consumption, and consequently on 

 enormous amounts. 



In stating their reasons for the measures taken in Para and 

 Rio in view of the valorization of rubber, the advocates of these 

 measures upbraided the foreign firms established in Brazil for 

 charging high rates of interest for advances made by them to 

 producers in the interior. 



These rates of interest, which range between 10 and 12 per 

 cent., are by no means excessive, being no higher than those 

 charged in similar cases in most of the colonies, such as Indo- 

 China, for instance, although the money lenders run less risk in 

 that country than in Brazil. The rates customarily charged in 

 this country [France] are amply justified by the fact that lenders 

 have no collateral whatsoever, nor any security for the satisfac- 

 tory settlement of their business operations, which are carried jn 

 at enormous distances from their own headquarters,- sometimes 

 as far as 50 days' travel from the Amazon, and 'involve many 

 dangers, such as those frequently incurred in passing the rapid-;, 

 as well as the dangers inherent to an unusually unhealthtnl 

 climate. •. ■ , '. 



If the Brazilian producers sorely suffered, as they aYer,frpm a 

 panic in the rubber trade during 1908, they were, alas, not the 

 only sufferers, for their bankers have had, to pay ample tribute, 

 in consequence of the general depression which prevailed at that 

 time. ■ . " . ' . 



Moreover, the question arises whether the jai.d panic, a recur- 

 rence of which the Brazilian legislators appear to be 'trying. to 

 prevent, must be attributed to local conditions,, which if could re- 

 move or at least modify by legislation. . ■ .. .' ' 



But such was by no means the case ! The crisis which seri- 

 ously upset the rubber markets of the world was. due to the same 

 causes as the panic which successively seized 3II the rnarkets of 

 every description throughout the world. It was. caused" by. the 

 general tightness of money which was the immediate, consequence 

 of the great American panic. The legislators of Para arid. Ri'o 

 believe, more especially, . that, the measures .they hav.e adppted 

 will restore the rubber market to a healthy conditioji, since deal- 

 ing in futures has become impossible, and there will no longer 

 be any speculation to disturb the market. , . . ' . . ' ' . , ' 



Unfortunately, however, the market,' on the contrary, will be 

 restricted to such an extent that the producer will no longer be 

 . able to exist, while the speculation — ;for there ' will always be 

 speculation in spite of all — will be in the hands of operators be- 

 longing to an inferior class, or of such doubtful standing that 

 only its disadvantages will be felt. 



Furthermore, it is imiversally acknowledged in all markets for 

 products of large consumption, as well as the financial centers, 

 that operations in future, largely in conjunction with cash trans- 

 actions, constitute the factor which creates the ample market 

 activity required for the maintenance of valiies, and, will in a 

 majority of cases allow of a natural. leveling of quotations in the 

 various markets of the world, without any excessive jumps. 



A BRAZILIAN VIEW OF VALORIZATION. 



The fluctuations in the prices of rubber such as were illus- 

 trated in a chart in this journal [January I, T909 — page 140] are 

 discussed at length in The Brazilian Revieiv of March 9, which 

 remarks that such marked changes are most inconvenient for the 

 producers, who may in a momentary decline see tlie fruits of 



their labor for years swept away. Why, they angrily inquire, 

 should such things be in a world that apparently can never get 

 rubber enough ? They are not satisfied always by an explana- 

 tion which refers merely to the law of supply and demand. The 

 writer in the Review does- not. question the. operation of this 

 natural law, but is of the opinion that it is possible by manipula- 

 tion to so regulate supply that it shall exceed demand, and send 

 prices down, or stimulate demand and send them up, whicli 

 he considers to have been done. . That, the -relations of supply to 

 demand are generally normal, he says, is shown by the figures to 

 the world's visible supply at the. end of each season, which of late 

 have scarcely varied. All- the . rub})er produced bas gone into 

 consumption. In the interval, . it'. is true, there may have been 

 moments when supplies coming too, quickly into the market ex- 

 ceeded the capacity of the deinand, or vice versa — circumstances 

 which are liable to be taken advantage of by speculators. 



All that is wanted to secure stability of prices according to 

 the Revinv is to eliminate speculation, to do which it is only 

 necessary to keep supply on a level with demand. To keep 

 supply and demand even rubber tfiust be held back at its source 

 until it is wanted for consumption. The writer in our Rio con- 

 temporary does not go into, details as to how the control of 

 rubber prices can be brought about, but his article closes with 

 the insistence that Brazil, threatened with the competition of the 

 rubber plantations of the Far East, should, while Amazon rubber 

 does still dominate the market, insure to producers a fair price 

 for their rubber, and'meanwhile exert every effort to reduce the 

 cost of producing forest rubber and encourage plantations in the 

 native habitat of the Hevea species; 



"EVERLASTING" BLOW-OFF VALVE. 



'/^'SGOOD SAYEN, himself a practical rubber man, has pro- 



^-^ . duced many valuable specialties for the rubber trade, but 



'jfoiie more valuable' fha'n' the Everlasting Blow-Off Valve. It 



• is so simple that the illustration is in itself a description. The 



"Everl.\.sting" Blow-Off Valve. 



valve is composed of a top and bottom bonnet, a disc, a lever 

 and a post, and that is all. It is very substantial in constrilc- 

 tion, has no clogging features and is always clean and tight. 

 This is sold by Osgood Sayen, No. 421 Arcade building, 

 Philadelphia. 



