November i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER \VORLD 



49 



The natives of this region have developed some degree of 

 civilization, cultivating crops for their own use, and in places 

 have engaged in a small way in gathering rubber. There are 

 also some Brazilian settlers who are familiar with working in 

 rubber, and the company purposes inducing more Brazilians, 

 particularly Cearenses experienced in working rubber, to enter 

 iti employ. The Casiquiare district is less remote than some 

 of the upper Amazon rubb'er fields to which the Cearenses go 

 annually, besides which it is adapted for permanent residence, 

 which is not true of districts which are overflowed every year. 



It is the idea of the company that, having a rich and un- 

 worked rubber district of large extent, with many resident na- 

 tives who are capable of being trained to work rubber, and with 

 advantages attractive to Brazilian rubber workers, together 

 with a large amount of capital and facilities for maintaining 

 company stores, it will be able during the next crop season to 

 begin operations extensively and to ship considerable rubber at a 

 cost which will insure profits. One advantage that the company 

 expects to have over some that have operated in the upper Am- 

 azin districts is that piracy of rubber will be practically impos- 

 sible. The Para company will be able t~> so control the ap 

 proaches to the Casiquiare that neither goods can be entered 

 nor rubber sent out without the knowledge of the company's 

 agents, and there is no other means of communication with 

 the outside world. 



The Para Rubber Plantation Co. was incorporated August 

 II, 1902, under the laws of Arizona, with §5,000,000 capital. 

 The officers are: John Cudahy, president of the Cudahy Pack- 

 ing Co., Chicago, /r«i(/^«/ ,■ Allen T. Haight, president Man- 

 hattan Terrace Co., New York, vice president ; Elmer P. Mar- 

 tin, secretary S. K. Martin Lumber Co., Chicago, treasurer ,• F. 

 M.Crawford, No. 52 Broadway. New York, secretary. The re- 

 maining directors are : J. Wesley Allison, president The Cramp 

 Steel Co., Limited, New York; W.J. Hilands, broker. Chicago; 

 L. B. Adams, Guaranty Savings and Loan Bank, Minneapolis ; 

 A. H. Bartle, capitalist. New York ; Leslie Stavert, credit man 

 American Linseed Oil Co., Chicago. In addition to the above, 

 the company has an advisory board, consi ting of Andre Miche- 

 lin, of Michelin & Cie, the French rubber manufacturers, and 

 the following members of the crude rubber trade at Antwerp : 

 Robert Osterrieth (of Osterrieth & Co.), Armund Grisar (of 

 Grisar& Marsily) ; Fuchs de Decker & Co., and L. C. van den 

 Brock. Besides, Kenneth Rose, of San Carlos, V^enezuela. who 

 has resided for some years in the Spanish American states, be- 

 coming familiar with the condition of rubber trading, has been 

 employed as South American manager for the company, with a 

 seat on the advisory board. The company is offering its shares 

 to the public at $10, par value. 



Venezuela is divided into thirteen states and two territories. 

 The Casiquiare district lies in Amazonas territory, in the ex- 

 treme southwestern part of the republic and bounded on the 

 west by Colombia and on the south by Brazil. The population 

 of the territory is estimated at about 46,000. of whom 12,000 are 

 civilized Indians. 



THE UNITED STATES RUBBER CO. ON THE ACRE. 



The action of the executive committee, favoring the acquire- 

 ment of an interest by this company in the Acre concession, 

 referred to in the last India Rubber World, was confirmed 

 at the next regular meeting of the ooard. There have since 

 been no developments with regard to the matter, though cor- 

 respondence has been in progress between the officials of the 

 United States Rubber Co. and the concessionaires under the Bo- 

 livian grant, Mr. Whitridge and Sir Martin Conway, who are 

 now in Europe. From all that can be learned of the South 

 American situation, Bolivia has no intention of yielding to the 



Brazilian pretensions in the direction of annulling the conces- 

 sion granted to the American syndicate. Meanwhile, the Acre 

 district has been the resort of all kind of adventurers, and it is 

 not likely that conditions there will be favorable to business for 

 some time to come. 



AMERICAN CRUDE RUBBER CO. 



This company was incorporated under New Jersey laws on 

 August 29. the certificate filed with the secretary of state 

 being signed by Owen E. Abraham and John W. McConnochie, 

 of No. 52 Broadway, New York, and Kenneth McLaren, of 

 New Jersey. The registered office of the company is No. 15 

 Exchange place, Jersey City, N. J. The two New York incor- 

 porators are connected with the law offices of Abner McKin- 

 ley, a brother of the late president of the United States, who 

 is understood to be interested in the enterprise, but thus far no 

 information has been furnished regarding the plans of the 

 company. 



RUBBER FROM MOLLENDO. 



Rubber from this port on the Pacific has begun to reach 

 the New York market direct, being the product of Bolivia, and 

 particularly of certain concessions worked by capital from the 

 United States. There are now two such companies working 

 on a considerable scale — the Chicago-Bolivian Rubber Co., 

 with its headquarters in Boston, and the Andes Rubber Co., 

 with headquarters in Baltimore. During the past month rub- 

 ber has been received at New York, shipped by each of the 

 two companies named. 



IN THE FRENCH CONGO. 



The Congo and Sangha Development Co., incorporated 

 under the laws of New Jersey, and mentioned in The India 

 Rubber World of May i, 1902, as planning to acquire and 

 work one of the rubber concessions in the French Congo, have 

 postponed the beginning of work with a view to largely ex- 

 panding the scope of the company. The modifications in- 

 volved requiring the consideration of the French government, 

 all the papers in the case have been submitted to the ministry 

 of the colonies and now await its action. 

 IN ECUADOR. 



Carl O. Retsloff, who is to be resident manager at Esmer- 

 aldas of the Ecuador Rubber and Development Co., lately or- 

 ganized at Winnebago City, Minnesota, and E. T. Crowther, 

 assistant manager, left for Ecuador early in October, prepared 

 to begin their work of exploiting rubber. 



A TRANSACTION !N FIRE HOSE. 



THE city of Springfield, Ohio, has been buying some fire 

 hose. At a special meeting of the police and fire board, 

 attended by the mayor, three hours were devoted to a consid- 

 eration of the subject. First, bids were open from twelve 

 rubber hose manufacturers, seven of whom were represented 

 at the meeting by salesmen. After the reading of the bids, 

 the salesmen retired from the room, being recalled singly 

 to talk for ten minutes each on the merits of their hose. The 

 subject was then deferred until the next regular meeting of 

 the board, called at an earlier hour than usual, in order that 

 the hose business might be concluded in one evening. The 

 result was the purchase of 4000 feet of hose at 75 cents per 

 foot, or $3000. The members of the Springfield board are to 

 be commended for devoting their time so liberally to the pub- 

 lic service. Bat the cost to the rubber trade, as a whole, of 

 having seven salaried men on the scene must be deducted 

 from the profits of the industry as a whole, from supplying 

 this $3000 worth of hose, on which basis doubtless a good deal 

 of rubber business is done without a very substantial profit. 



