September i, 1905 ] 



THE INDIA RUBBER ^?VORLD 



399 



THOMAS W. LAWSON AS A RUBBER HISTORIAN. 



TIME is a great un ravel ler of mysteries. Conditions change 

 from year to year, and the necessity that once exists for 

 keeping secret facts concerning important combinations 

 and movements in industrial or financial circles may 

 disappear and the public learn more or less of the truth. Dur- 

 ing the month just clused, through the publication of an article 

 in a leading New York magazine, new light was thrown upon 

 what has been considered one of the most elusive mysteries in 

 rubber history. 



When the United States Rubber Co. was organized in 1892, 

 with a capital of $50,000,000, its purpose was the consolidation 

 of the largest manufacturers of footwear in the country. The 

 hope was entertained that the company would be able for a long 

 time to control the entire output of this line of goods in the 

 United States, but at the end of tert years there were a dozen or 

 more independent rubber shoe factories in the field. 



It was at this time that influential capitalists who had watched 

 the development of the rubber industry, and thoroughly under- 

 stood the conditions then obtaining, decided to consolidate 

 these independent companies under one management — and that 

 not antagonistic to the United Slates Rubber Co. Conferences 

 were held between these capitalists and the representatives of 

 the factories at the Waldorf-Astoria (New York) in January 

 1901, and in the end a working plan was adopted. Among those 

 interested in the promotion of the scheme was James R. Keene, 

 one of the oldest and shrewdest of Wall street speculators. It 

 was given out that through Mr. Keene's influence the Standard 

 Oil Co. had subscribed $7,500,000 to the capital stock of the new 

 company, which was to be known as the Standard Rubber Shoe 

 Co. or by some other such name. 



Options were secured on a number of the independent fac- 

 tories and subscriptions to the proposed capital stock of $1 5,000,- 

 000 were coming in, when, for reasons not made public, the sup- 

 port of the Standard Oil Co. was withdrawn. The scheme at 

 once went to pieces. 



On December 24 1900, the International Crude Rubber Co., 

 with an authorized capital of $30,000,000, was incorporated un- 

 der the laws of New Jersey, for the purpose of dealing in crude 

 rubber. The list of directors published at the time included 

 the names of Charles R. Flint, then one of the lea.iing import- 

 ters of crude rubber ; Henry H. Rogers and John D. Archbold, 

 both directors of the Standard Oil Co. ; Albert C. Burrage, pres- 

 ident of the Amalgamated Copper Co., and representatives of the 

 United States Rubber Co., in which at that time Mr. Flint was 

 an influential director. The avowed purpose was the consoli- 

 dation of the crude rubber importing interests in America, un- 

 der auspices in harmony with (1) the United States Rubber Co., 

 (2) the proposed new consolidation of the independent rubber 

 shoe companies, and also (3) the Rubber Goods Manufacturing 

 Co., a consolidation of mechanical rubber goods factories 

 brought about in 1899 through the agency of Mr. Flint. 



The newspapers were full of the crude rubber cornering pro- 

 ject. Mr. Flint told the reporters who sought interviews with 

 him that Standard Oil interests would be largely represented 

 in the enterprise. As is always the case in the promotion of 

 big schemes in Wall street this fact did much to strengthen the 

 position of the International. Bat coincident with the drop- 

 ping of the plans forthe Standard Rubber Shoe Co. — forwhich, 

 by the way, no incorporation papers were ever filed— the Inter- 

 national Crude Rubber Co. suddenly ceased to be talked about. 



Indeed, it was never heard of again, in public, except in con- 

 nection with the failure of Mr. Flint's older concern, the Crude 

 Rubber Co., in January, 1902, when the charter of the Inter- 

 national Crude Rubber Co. was used to cover some of the de- 

 tails of the liquidation. 



Here were two great enterprises, which were promised by 

 their promoters to revolutionize the rubber industry, that sud- 

 denly failed, ostensibly because the Standard Oil octopus had 

 withdrawn its influence and support after both had been 

 pledged to their promoters. The question that was on every- 

 body's lips at the time was: " What has happened .' " The 

 newspapers tried to find out but without success. There were 

 many guesses but none were satisfactory. 



The man who now comes forward and throws " the lime light 

 of publicity " on the mystery is Thomas W. Lawson, of Boston, 

 who has been contributing a series of articles on " Frenzied Fi- 

 nance " to Eviryhody's Mai^azine (New York). In the Septem- 

 ber issue Mr. Lawson devotes several chapters to [ames R. 

 Keene and his connection with Amalgamated Copper stocks 

 and the rubber companies already alluded to. Lawson, by the 

 way, is one of the most erratic and sensational speculators of 

 recent years. He has been connected with some of the largest 

 financial schemes recently floated in America, and is reputed to 

 be worth several millions of dollars. He was formerly interest- 

 ed with Henry H. Rogers, of the Standard Oil Co.. in several 

 heavy transactions, but especially in Amalgamated Copper. 



It was through his association with Mr. Rogers in the latter 

 company that Mr. Lawson secured the information which he 

 now makes public in Everybody' s Magazine concerning James 

 R. Keene. one of the most fearless and skilful financial spec- 

 ulators in the United States. Mr. Keene has made and lost 

 half a dozen fortunes during his long career. Although now 

 well along in years, whenever he makes a move on the Wall 

 street checkerboard he is still watched with absorbing interest 

 by all the experts in the game. He has sources of informa- 

 tion that enable him to know what is going on and what is 

 going to happen in the financial district. He is thus in a po- 

 sition to take advantage of every twist and turn of the 

 market. 



Mr. Keene got his start in life in Carson City, Nevada, where 

 Mackay, Flood, Fair, and O'Brien were carving out fortunes. 

 He then went to San Francisco where, through daring specu- 

 lations in " Bonanza " silver mining stocks which were espec- 

 ially active at the time, he succeeded in accumulating several 

 million dollars. With this in hand in ready cash he proceeded 

 to New York, which he believed offered a broader and richer 

 field for his speculative genius. It is at this point that Mr. 

 Lawson takes up Mr. Keene's career. 



To recite the Lawson story briefly, Mr. Keene had not been 

 in New York long before he had parted with every dollar 

 of his fortune to the native stock speculators. Having had his 

 eye teeth cut by this experience, Keene started in to make an- 

 other fortune. The celerity with which he recovered his stand- 

 ings and fortune attracted much attention and he was speedily 

 hailed as a new wizard of finance. His enemies were discon- 

 certed, for they feared that he would devote his attention to 

 bringing about their ruin. They never could tell what he was 

 doing until he was ready to explode his move and when that 

 little ceremony had been performed they picked themselves out 

 of the wreck sadder but wiser men. 



