April i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



227 



THE CHIAPAS RUBBER COMPANY. 



ON more than one occasion advertisements issued by the 

 Chiapas Rubber Plantation and Development Co. (San 

 Francisco), and published statements regarding their progress, 

 which had the appearance of having been inspired by the com- 

 pany, have been criticised in The India Rubber World, as 

 tending to discredit that enterprise, and even to discredit rub- 

 ber planting as a whole. At one time The India Rubber 

 World offices were visited by Mr. L. H. Bonestell, head of the 

 large wholesale paper house of Bonestell & Co., of San Fran- 

 cisco, and president of the Chiapas company, who desired the 

 publication in this paper of certain statements respecting the 

 work done by the planting company in Mexico. Mr. Bonestell 

 said that these statements had been made to him by others more 

 intimately connected with the management, but that they were 

 not matters of his own personal knowledge. It was suggested to 

 him that, after he had personally inspected the plantation, space 

 would be afforded in The India Rubber World for any state- 

 ment which he might make. 



Mr. Bonestell has since visited the Chiapas plantation, and 

 now favors The India Rubber World with a lengthy letter, 

 together with a printed report on his visit, addressed to the di- 

 rectors of the company, and forming No. 7 of the company's 

 bulletin, the " Chiapas Rubbei News." The bulletin is devoted 

 chiefly to the location of the estate and to the general develop- 

 ment work done. Mr. Bonestell says in it that he rode on 

 horseback "over the ground already planted and over that be- 

 ing cleared for planting this coming June and July." On the 

 planted ground, he says: 



I found a uniform growth of young rubber trees planted in June and 

 July last [igoi], and all having a bright, green, healthy, and vigorous 

 look ; many having reached the height of two feet, and showing without 

 question, that being planted at the stake {i. c, in the ground where they 

 are to remain), produces far better results than planting in a nursery 

 and then transplanting, which latter sets the plants back from four to 

 six months. In this manner, no nursery is required. 



As to the extent of the planting the report says : " With the 

 very large acreage now planted and the amount of land cleared 

 and being cleared [the plan of partial clearing is followed], we 

 should have from 10,000 to 12,000 acres planted by the middle 

 of this coming July." 



Now in March, 1901, Mr. Lucian NichoU, representing the 

 Chiapas company, called at The India Rubber World 

 offices and stated that planting had been begun in 1900, and 

 that about 60,000 trees [presumably covering 300 acres] were 

 then standing, and that the nurseries contained 50,000 more 

 trees, soon to be transplanted. And in November, 1901, Mr. 

 Bonestell stated in our offices, that planting was then in pro- 

 gress ; that about 3000 acres had been planted in rubber; and 

 that it was expected that 5000 acres more would be planted 

 before the end of the year. An advertisement offered by the 

 Chiapas company for insertion in The India Rubber World 

 last November, but which was not accepted, stated: '• T/ie 

 company have over 4000 acres already planted attd as much mote 

 land cleared ready for planting with plants growing in a nurs- 

 ery sufficient to plant the same." It happens that planting seeds 

 " at stake " can be done only in the few weeks of June and July 

 while the seeds are ripening, for the seeds do not long retain 

 their vitality. To plant at any other season would necessitate 

 the making of large nurseries, providing 200,000 trees for each 

 1000 acres planted. In Modern Mexico for May, 1901, C. B. 

 Waite wrote that he had visited the Chiapas estate, where he 

 found 250 acres planted in rubber, and 300,000 young trees in 



the nursery, which would have made possible a total planting 

 of 1750 acres up to the present time, plus any planting of seeds 

 at stake last summer. 



It is to be regretted that President Bonestell, in reporting to 

 his directors, is not m.ore definite in regard to the amount of 

 work done. He does state that the company had 140 men em- 

 ployed in clearing land, opening roads, and building bridges, 

 with as many more working under contractors. But such a 

 force would hardly be adequate for such large planting opera- 

 tions as are mentioned above. 



Nor is Mr. Bonestell's letter more definite. Touching the 

 question at issue he merely confirms his printed report, and 

 says : " From my recent experience I am fully satisfied with 

 the future prospects and production of the Chiapas company." 

 As favorable to his proposition, however, he mentions measur- 

 ing a few planted rubber trees, ten years old, on a neighboring 

 estate, from 40 to 50 feet in height, with a girth of 40 to 45 

 inches, two feet from the ground. He also obtained a small 

 amount of rubber from a tree on the Chiapas property, 21 

 months old, from the seed, and 15 inches in girth. 



Having submitted his facts, Mr. Bonestell writes ; 



I leave for you to consider whether or not the articles appearing in 

 your paper have been just or otherwise toward the Plantation company. 



The India Rubber World has to repeat that it is without 

 animus against any company actually engaged in planting rub- 

 ber, but is anxious in every way to encourage the planting in- 

 terest. But it cannot withdraw any remarks made in the past 

 against the use of garbled extracts from the late Minister Ro- 

 mero's book to create misleading hopes in regard to profits 

 from rubber, or against advertisements giving the impression 

 that rubber gathered from planted trees on the Chiapas estate 

 had been sold in the open market at S1.02 a pound. How- 

 ever, such statements no longer appear in this company's 

 printed matter, and no longer concern us. 



The India Rubber World has expressed doubts as to 

 whether any important work in planting had been done by the 

 Chiapas company; it was morally certain that certain pub- 

 lished statements — who was responsible for them, we don't 

 know — were misleading. To-day The India Rubber World 

 has no idea how many rubber trees, or how many acres, have 

 been planted by the company. It would, however, afford the 

 Editor much pleasure to accept President Bone.'tell's invitation 

 to visit his company's property. 



» * « 



And now Mr. A. J. Scott, engaged in Chicago in promoting 

 the Chiapas enterprise, issues an advertisement stating : 



All records have been broken by the Chiapas plantation in the number 

 of shares sold and acres planted to rubber trees. 



What do you think of the sale of 12,000 acres in two years? 



What of planting 2,000,000 trees in the nursery within 18 months? 

 Clearing and transplanting 6000 acres in one year? Transplanting 

 1633 acres in one month ? 



Mr. Scott's advertisement, by the way, is embellished with 

 a photographic view of one of the Chiapas company's rubber 

 nurseries, and another of a section covered with transplanted 

 rubber trees — indicating that he doesn't know that under the 

 Chiapas planting system nurseries are not needed. 



* * * 



Meanwhile there are continued indications of the growing 

 prosperity of the general manager of the Chiapas company. 

 The Mexican Herald, of March 9, reported : " Rev. J. W. 

 Ellsworth, president of a land company in the state of 

 Chiapas, has presented the members of the American Club 

 with a new phonograph." It is probably supplied with " records " 

 of the extent of rubber planting in Chiapas. 



