280 THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD [Aprii, i, 1905. 



A LORD OF THE RUBBER FOREST. But it is possible that within a few years we shall be 



-; , looking back with an appreciation that the motor car busi- 



T A / E doubt if a more picturesque figure exists in the „ 1 • ■. • r i- n • .u j 



W "^ . . . ness in 1905 was merely in its infancy, rollowing the de- 



** world's commerce today than IS portrayed in word . 1 u- u .u f .1 .11 



■' f J tails which we give on another page of the automobile 



and picture, on another page of this issue, by a correspond- . j 1 1 . ur u i e . »u 



' ' ' * ' ■' ^ trade already established is a reference to the prospect 



ent of The India Rukbkr World who lias lately visited ,u . ,u u 1 u u- u 1 u u 



■' that the horsedrawn omnibuses which so long have been a 

 the rubber territory of that strangely remote country, Bo- 1 if » ■ . ^ . o; ■ i j u .1 1 



■' ° •' ■" marked feature in street traffic in London may shortly be 



livia. The fact of rubber being a "necessity of civiliza- 1 » 1 1 ,1 » .1 •• c i.- i. .. 



* ^ . supplanted by " motor buses, every one of which is at 



tion " could not be more strongly emphasized than by its .. • . 1 j . u ■ a ..u ■ uu 



^ J ' ■> present intended to be equipped with expensive rubber 



being drawn from the forests above the fal s of the Ma- ,. —, u c •% c ..u ^ .. 



*" tires. The number of buses of the type now in use has 



deira, in the face of such difficulties as have to be overcome , .• . 1 1 • u j r i ir .1 ■ u 



' been estimated as high as 20,000, and if half this number 

 in trading of whatever kind in that region. r „ » u 1 1 k ■ » 1 1 t ^ . . -^u 



'^ "^ of motor cars should be introduced on London streets with- 



As for the central personage involved in the Upper Ma- • .. . , .. • .. • i u r .^u- 



' . . , , , ,. ■' in the next few years, the requirements in rubber from this 



deira river rubber trade. It IS probable that his counterpart . , ,, , , ^ 



' '. . ' new quarter alone would be enough to prevent any ma- 



is nowhere else to be found— either in rubber or any other . • 1 , r ,v 



. . . ■' terial decline in rubber prices, 



business. The feudal system which nourished in Europe t j u • . .1 1 •. • .l !j j 



^ ^ London, however, is not the only city in the world des- 



in the " middle ages," after having been abolished in China .• j ,. u i- 1 -^u . .u .u 



° . " . . tined to be supplied with motor buses in case the experi- 



before the Christian era, is in full sway at this moment in . , . , ., .11 r 1 mi 



' ■' ment now being made there should prove successful. All 



one of the American republics— for the reason that the ., , ■ ■ 1 ,.• ■ ..1. tt -^ j t^- j u 



' the large provincial cities in the United Kingdom may be 

 world must have rubber from the region referred to, and » j * <• n .u 1 r .u ^ i- » 



, ^ , .... expected to follow the example of the metropolis, to say 



that rubber cannot be obtained under any other industrial ,, ■ <• .u ■.■ • 



•' nothing of very many other cities, in many countries, 

 system yet applicable to that little developed spot on the , ^u 1 ^ .. ^ -i ^ c ^ ■ 



-'•''' 1 r where the electric street railway system of American 



globe. After Nicolas Suarez a new regime may prevail . , , ,, , » ^ u » ui- u j 



*■ , , ,....„, towns, large and small, has not yet become established, 



there, but then the pressure of outside conditions will have t j j •. • ui ^u . .u . ■ r » ,. 1 



' . , , , , ■ , , , Indeed, it is possible that the extension of street railway 



become more intense, and rubber can be gained from north- ^ u 1 » i » .t ^u 1. t, 



,. . . , , . *" , , , systems may receive a check, at least until there has been 



eastern Bolivia without the agency of such an absolute .. .. r r • ^ .. c »u 1 ^- cc • r 



» " •' . an opportunity for a fair test of the relative efficiency of 



lord of the forest as is now the self appointed representa- ,, ^ u • ■ .. j j . • 1 



^^ ^ the system now being introduced on so extensive a scale 



live of law and order at Cachuela Esperanza. • t j 



, '^ , „ ,. . in London. 



It may not matter greatly to the consumer of Bolivian ^^ t ti ^.^.^ ^ ^u r j 



■',,,•' ... The India Rubber vVoRLD has more than once referred 



rubber under what circumstances or by whom it is pro- ,, j 1 ^ r ,.u • 1 ,. ■ u . 



, . . , ,., "^ to the development of the commercial motorcar — in what- 



duced — so long as all consumers obtain it under like con- , ^^ c ■ ^ ^ ^x. \,\, 



" , , , , , , . . , . , ever shape — as a matter of more importance to the rubber 



ditions. None the less the study of the conditions which ■ , . .u .u . <■ . ui r ■ . . .u 



, ^_ , J , , • , • tire trade than that of automobiles for private use, and the 



have produced Nicolas Suarez and made him predominant , . . u ■ ■ ^ j 



^ , , , ^ ., . , , new London passenger service now being inaugurated 



over an area of thousands of square miles is of inter- ^ c ^u- • • 'nu 1 i- 



^ . , , , ,. , seems to confirm this impression. The public passenger 



est, for the reason that it throws a veritable searchlight ■ ■ , . . . .u- 1 1 . . r ... 



' -,,,,, , vehicle belongs to this class, and it must, for some time to 



upon the question why rubber from the Amazon valley , . , -^u ■ u .• c ^\. v. 1 



^ ' ^ , ,..,,. , come, be equipped with rubber tires, even if the horseless 



costs the consumer so much. And it illuminates another , ■ , , • • . j, • j 



, . ^ ,,,.,., freight wagon, now coming into rapidly increased use, 



point: why companies formed in Europe and the United , ,, c u u 1 1 j • .u j- .■ r . 



^ , , . ... . should finally be developed in the direction of not requir- 



States do not succeed better in exploiting rubber in the . • . r uu 



1 , , ,-, , >ng an equipment of rubber. 



Amazon wilds. \\ hat American would deliberately step 



into the shoes of the subject of Mr. Post's sketch to con- ^ ^^^^ feature in revenue returns appears in a late 



trol his force of Indian rubber gatherers ? newspaper from the Amazon. Statements of revenues actually 



^=^^^^===^^ collected we are all familiar with, and estimates of revenues ex- 



THP CRP AT TsIP\A/ II'sR nP RI IRRPP pected during given periods to come. Then there are tables of 



■ due and uncollected taxes, but this report from the Amazon is 



THE details which appear elsewhere in this issue regard- different from all: it is a detailed statement of what "might 



ing the exports of automobiles and accessories from have been." so to speak. Here are the figures : 

 ., , J. 1 • I, • u ■ .u- » J From the first to the 27th of last month jjanuaryl there were e.-^port- 



the leading countries having a share in this trade are . , , , ., ' • , , , , , ,_ 



. ed from the port of Manaos, coming from the three departments of the 



alone enough to indicate a large demand for vehicles of f^^^^^, ^^„-^^^^^ „, ^cre, 1.140,128 kilos of India-rubber, officially val- 



this class. But when it is considered that not more than ued at 6.639:3i2$76i. Loss of the state of Amazonas in taxes, distrib- 



2 per cent, of the automobiles purchased in the United uted as follows : 



States last year figured in international trade, and that in State taxes, 20 per cent 1,347:9621552 



1 ^, ^ - .L J - 1 • ,• , Municipal taxes, 2.26 per cent 149:9391768 



several Other countries the domestic production of such Amanzonense Bank, 100 reis 108 : i2g$84o 



vehicles was very much larger than the number imported, 



..,,.,, , ,, . , . -,> L Total 1.606 : 032$i6o 



the total volume of the motor car business Will be seen to ,- j - . 1 tt •. j c. . .u- ..1 •• 



Expressed in terms of United States money, this loss 



have assumed vast proportions. The demand which this ^^ounted to more than $400,000, and in less than one month, 



comparatively new trade has made already upon the lim- ^t the same rate for a year one would think that the state 



ited supplies of rubber is enough to have influenced seri- would be threatened with bankruptcy. What really is meant 



ously the cost of this commodity. is that if the district referred to were considered as part of the 



