October i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUB13ER WORLD 



WORKING RUBBER ESTATES ON THE AMAZON. 



By Ashmore Russan {^London). 



I HAVE read with great interest the account of the inter- 

 view with Mr. N. H. Witt, of Manaos, on the subject ex- 

 pressed in my heading, which appeared in the July num- 

 ber of The India Rubber World, and I may say at once 

 that I agree generally with his views that the time has not yet 

 arrived — if it ever will — when foreign companies will be able to 

 compete with native producers, and successfully work Rubber 

 properties in the great valley of the Amazon and its myriad 

 feeders. Mr. Witt says that he has seen not a few failures ; the 

 present writer, unfortunately, has been a shareholder in several 

 of the companies correctly alluded to as "failures" by Mr. 

 Witt. 



With regard to the Comptoir Colonial Franijais, referred to by 

 that gentleman as having lost about $2,000,000 in little more 

 than a year's trading in rubber on the Amazon, I do not think the 

 whole of that loss was incurred in Brazil. The Comptoir Colo- 

 nial Franrais owned estates on the Congo in Central Africa — in 

 French territory, and, I believe, also in the Congo Free State. 

 Doubtless some of the $2,000,000 was lost in Africa, but assum- 

 ing that the company only lost half the amount ($1,000,000) 

 on the Amazon during about a year's trading, that result is 

 bad enough, and discouraging enough, in all conscience. 



I am more or less familiar with the history of, I think, the 

 whole list of foreign rubber companies which have attempted 

 to work rubber in Brazil and Bolivia, and I have before me at 

 this moment copies of many of the documents which were 

 placed before the Comptoir Colonial Frangais by the owners of 

 the estates, in working which that company has come to grief. 

 The vendors of the properties to the French company were 

 Messrs. F. M. Marques & Co. of Para, and the estates are situ- 

 ated on the river Javary, an affluent of the river Amazon, and 

 on another smaller tributary in the same district. 



According to the papers before me, the properties on the 

 Javary and its affluents numbered twenty-seven, with 2500 

 estradas opened out and 250,000 trees (more or less) ready for 

 tapping, the approximate area of the whole being given as 

 768,116,600 square meters, or about 300 square miles. This is 

 believed to be one of the finest estates in the Amazon region. 

 According to the documents, it comprised everything neces- 

 sary in the shape of houses, stores, sheds (barracoes), etc., for 

 the collectors. There were three steam launches— two of 40 

 tons and one of 10 tons ; two iron lighters, and nine boats and 

 canoes. All these adjuncts were apparently taken over by the 

 French company. The amount of rubber produced from these 

 estates is known to have been very large. I have before me 

 the production for each year fron 1891-92 to 1897 98. During 

 the worst year (1891-92) the estates produced 215,927 kilos, and 

 during the best year (1892-93), 348,920 kilos, the total for the 

 seven years being 2,053,492 kilos, or 2,053 metric tons, an aver- 

 age of about 293 metric tons per annum, of the annual value, 

 taken at the low average figure of ^300 per ton, of £87,900, 

 or, say, about $439,000. I know of no reason why these figures 

 should not be taken as correct. 



I am able also to give a few extracts from a statement 

 signed by F. M. Marques & Co., describing how they became 

 possessed of the properties, giving the reasons for selling, and 

 estimating the profits. These extracts, read in the light of the 

 results, will, I think, assist the reader to form his own opinion 

 as to the desirability of attempting to work such properties by 



means of companies whose headquarters are established in for- 

 eign countries. The extracts are as follows : 



Our trade on the Javary river dates as far back as 1888, when we 

 began to work it up, not possessing at that time any properties or land 

 of any kind. By degrees we bought with ready cash or by transfer con- 

 tracts (mortgages) the India-rubber plantations which we now possess, 

 but having insullicient capital to develop them thoroughly, we decided 

 to transfer the same to some concern or person possessed of sufficient 

 means to do so, and we feel sure that a return of 50 per cent, on the 

 capital employed will be obtained, and even much more if the estates 



are properly worked. With the exception of one trader we have the 



monopoly of the Javary and Curu<;,i (a tributary) trade ; so that if the 

 trader to whom we have alluded were bought up, a matter of no difficulty, 



the entire control of those rivers would be obtained. To conclude 



we beg to state that our properties are of enormous extent, and are con- 

 nected, a great advantage not easy to be met with, and we feel confident 

 that if properly worked the revenue will be trebled in say three years. 



The net profits are given in this statement as 1973 per cent, 

 on the turnover, in addition to which there is 10 per cent, com- 

 mission on the gross value of the goods supplied for the keep- 

 ing of the working staff. The document is very voluminous 

 and I forbear from quoting any more, but it is at the Editor's 

 disposal at any time. It represents the position on October 19, 



1898, as stated by the owners. 



The Comptoir Colonial Fran(;ais was formed, I believe, in 



1899, and got to work early in 1900. It is now, as Mr. Witt 

 has pointed out, in bankruptcy. I will give my views as to the 

 reasons for this unfortunate result further on. 



But the Comptoir Colonial Franrais was not the first com- 

 pany formed to work rubber estates in South America. The 

 earliest of which I have any knowledge was the Orton (Bo- 

 livia) Rubber Co., Limited, floated a year or two before the 

 Comptoir Colonial Franrais. The properties lately belonging 

 to the Orton company are situated on the river Orton, which 

 is in the Acre territory, near Sir Martin Conway's concession, 

 and only a few miles from the headwaters of the river Acre. 

 The estates were the property of Dr. Vaca Diez and a partner. 

 Diez came to Europe, interested some French financiers, and a 

 company was formed under the company laws of Great Britain. 

 A considerable amount of working capital was provided, and 

 Vaca Diez, having enlisted the services of a number of Basques* 

 and others, returned to the Amazon, chartered a large steam- 

 boat at Para, and started for his estates. I have conversed 

 with more than one member of that unfortunate expedition. 

 Somewhere about 200 European would-be rubber collectors left 

 Para for the estate; I have been told that only six reached it. 

 Vaca Diez and the principal leaders were drowned in attempt- 

 ing to reach the property in a small launch by the Rio Madeira 

 route. The only survivor was my informant. The large steam- 

 boat carrying the Basques, etc., never got to the Rio Orton at 

 all, nor even, I believe, so far as the river Acre. The Orton 

 (Bolivia) company was wound up a few weeks ago ; the prop- 

 erties were, I understand, taken back by Dr. Vaca Diez's 

 widow. 



The next company formed in England was the Araazonas 

 Rubber Estates, Limited, which was floated towards the end 

 of 1897 or early in 1898, with a capital of ;/;30o,ooo, to work es- 



•^ Natives of the Biscay provinces of Spain and the neighboring French pro- 



