234 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April i, 1905. 



of 108 Casli'lloas which lie between the camp and the river. The 

 results of giving these trees the necessary amount of sunlight 

 is shown by the remarkable growth and increased latex pro- 

 ducing power of these trees. 



I wish your readers could have looked in upon this stretch of 

 virgin forest last June and could now take another view of it, 

 and see what really effective work these Astec Indians can do 

 if well fed and properly managed. I enclose photographs of 

 the new ranches, clearings, and other views which I am certain 

 will interest you. Hasta la vista. w. m. morse. 



February 28, 1905. 



THE WESTERN RUBBER SHOE TRADE. 



KV A CHlCAno CORRESI'ONDtNT. 



WESTERN jobbers declare the season of 1904-5 has been 

 a very satisfactory one for the rubber shoe trade. 

 While the emergency trade in the north and northwestern 

 parts of Chicago's territory has been exceedingly backward, it 

 is just now giving indications of equalling the previous years 

 both in volume of business and character of goods handled. 



In this northern trade the " Combination " footwear is the 

 popular article and its uses are being extended yearly. This is 

 especially true in Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, Iowa, 

 and Minnesota, where the weather as a rule is cold and crisp. 



There has been a slight decrease in the demand for heavy 

 rubber footwear in the larger cities, which is attributable di- 

 rectly to the use of waterproofed leather goods, but on the 

 other hand the demand for light weight rubber footwear has 

 increased materially in the larger cities. 



Every year the jobbers as a rule exhaust their regular stock 

 before the season ends and call upon the wholesalers and man- 

 ufacturer for an additional stock. In order to meet this de- 

 mand, which is usually very pressing, large emergency stocks 

 are kept in Chicago by the manufacturers, to be drawn on 

 when this emergency trade demands it. Last year this demand 

 came early, especially from the Chicago jobbers who were kept 

 busy in this immediate vicinity in supplying retailers. 



It will be recalled that last winter was the most remarkable 

 in years. In fact, in the history of the local weather office 

 there has onl/been one other in which there was so much 

 snow fall. Snow fell Thanksgiving day in Chicago and earlier 

 in the country, and remained on the ground continually unti' 

 well into February, and after the first thaw another came which 

 remained until the end of winter. While that condition was 

 conducive to the demand for combinations, the thaw came so 

 late that the volume of rubber shoe goods sold was not so 

 great. On the whole, however, the business last year was a 

 record breaker, according to the local jobber. 



" We have had an exceedingly satisfactory season," said Mr. 

 E.G.Stearns, of the Chicago Rubber Shoe Co. " It will ex- 

 ceed in volume of business last year. The season has been 

 more uneven, and while the amount of snow has been less the 

 weather in the northern portion of this territory east of the 

 Mississippi conducive to a good demand for rubber footwear. 

 I am optimistic regarding the future. I believe the demand for 

 this class of goods is going to continue to increase right along. 

 It is true that waterproofed leather goods has made inroads on 

 the trade in heavy rubber shoes in the larger cities, but as an 

 offset to this there is an increased demand for lighter rubber 

 shoes. The population is increasing rapidly and the tendency 

 to wear rubber shoes is increasing even more rapidly. Thus 

 while the tendency to use waterproofed leather may be greater 

 than before this increase in that line of business does not ap- 

 pear to be at the expense of the rubber trade. This season has 



exceeded the record breaker of 190304 in volume, and the in- 

 creased demand has come largely from Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, 

 and other states in the southern part of my territory." 



Mr. Charles B. Allen, western manager of the United States 

 Rubber Co., said that he could only speak of the emergency 

 business because the regular trade was supplied from the fac- 

 tory direct. " The season has been a little backward as far as 

 the regular territories supplied by us with emergency ship- 

 ments," said Mr. Allen. " This applies to the north and north- 

 west, but the south and southwest has more than made up for 

 this. Kansas City, St. Louis, and Tennessee points more than 

 ofTset this. These points have made an almost unprecedented 

 demand on us for emergency stocks, because of the sudden 

 drop in the temperature in the southern part of the country 

 and the successive freezing and thawing during the winter 

 months all through Tennessee, Missouri and adjoining states. 

 The demand kept us busy. In the states further north the 

 breaking up of winter came late. In fact the demand is just 

 beginning to be felt to any considerable extent now. Taken as 

 a whole the volume of emergency business will exceed that of 

 last season I think. Of course this indicates that the regular 

 stocks have been exhausted." 



VAIN SEARCH FOR RUBBER SUBSTITUTES. 



THE seeker after "artificial gold " has been succeeded by 

 the man who would supplant nature in the production 

 of rubber. The Akron (Ohio) Times-Democrat, in an article 

 on " The Long, Vain Search for Substitutes for Rubber," says 

 that the leading rubber concerns of that town, while examples 

 of great industry, annually blight the prospects of many great 

 fortunes. It has been estimated that at the laboratory of a 

 single rubber company in Akron as many as 200 substitutes 

 are "weighed and found wanting" in a year. North, east, 

 south, and west, men find before them substances for which no 

 other use is apparent, and immediately they think that these 

 must be suited for rubber substitutes. 



It may be the sap of a plant. The discoverer finds that, on 

 being exposed to the air, it becomes sticky. As the Times- 

 Democrat expresses it : 



" That is enough for him. He sees a fortune within his grasp 

 and refrains fro:ii telling even his closest friend of the method 

 by which he intends to become a millionaire in a few weeks, 

 at the longest. He carefully gathers up a supply of the plant, 

 and ships them away to be tested, and then he sits down and 

 plans what he will do with his money. There is an ominous 

 silence for a time, and then there comes back a letter, short and 

 regretful, and that is the end. 



" So optimistic are these discoverers sometimes, that when 

 they receive the letter telling them that their hopes were in 

 vain, they refuse to believe the truth, and they suspect that the 

 rubber company or the chemist who has made the tests, is try- 

 ing to swindle them, and there are cases in which attorneys 

 have been retained and preparations have been made to begin 

 suits in the courts, over weeds and plants that have absolutely 

 no value in the rubber business or any other." 



Venezuelan Rubber Lands for Boers.— General Samuel 

 Pearson, late of the South African Republic, but who has re- 

 sided in the United States for most of the time since the suc- 

 cess of the British arms in South Africa, has been recently in 

 Venezuela, whence reports come that he has concluded nego- 

 tiations with President Castro for a concession of lands com- 

 prising 70,000 square miles, said to be rich in India rubber and 

 mahogany, on which to found a colony of Boers and Irish. 



