March 



i9°3] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



183 



ities and better systematized supplies of labor and the 

 necessaries of life, the output of Acre rubber would be 

 greatly increased and rendered more stable. 



Now all enterprise in this direction is confined practi- 

 cally to individual efforts, under conditions most unfavor- 

 able for work on a small scale, by parties not combined in 

 any way for the promotion of mutual interests. The only 

 interest of each is to get out as much rubber as possible in 

 a season, and at the end no improvement has been made in 

 means of transportation, in sanitary conditions, or the pro- 

 vision of food — all of which might result from the efforts 

 of a syndicate working with large capital, and with a view 

 to continuous efforts for a long term of years. 



The success of Brazil in her contention — and it often 

 happens that " possession is nine points of the law " — will 

 perpetuate indefinitely the unprogressive conditions of one 

 of the largest and richest rubber fields known to exist. It 

 will discourage the development of the Acre country with 

 foreign capital, and domestic capital and domestic initia- 

 tive in such matters do not exist there With any question 

 of indemnity claims by the concessionaires, in case the Bo- 

 livian grant should be nullified, the rubber trade is not 

 concerned. It is enough for the latter that the problem 

 of shortening the route between the forest and the factory 

 still remains to be solved. 



Russia may not be progressive, according to our West- 

 ern ideas, but she has been quick to appreciate the value to 

 the world of her worn out rubber shoes, and now proposes to 

 levy a duty on their export. A single discarded galoche is en- 

 titled to little respect, but there be subjects of the Czar who 

 cannot afford to despise small things, and millions of old 

 galoches gathered in a heap bring a lot of golden rubles. Based 

 on the estimate of the Russian output of rubber scrap printed 

 elsewhere in this paper, the new export duty will enrich the 

 treasury by more than $300,000 a year— which the foreigner 

 will have to pay. This, by the way, is but a single illustration 

 of the magnitude to which the business of reclaiming rubber 

 has grown. And it is worth quoting in answer to the people 

 who are continually inquiring whether some newly reported 

 " substitute " does not threaten to drive rubber out of use. It 

 ought to be plain that, if the best " substitute " yet invented 

 has not been able to rival old rubber shoes, the producers of 

 new crude rubber have little reason to fear for their occupation. 



A MORE PERPLEXING PROBLEM than how to maintain rubber 

 footwear prices perhaps never confronted any class of mer- 

 chants. Always a necessity, since its first introduction, the 

 rubber shoe has become more so this winter on account of ex- 

 ceptional weather. Besides, a pair of the best rubbers costs 

 hardly as much as one physician's prescription. And yet there 

 are dealers who are worried over the prospect of not being 

 able to do business at a profit. Time was when some dealers 

 threw rubbers away, for fear that if they charged fair prices 

 somebody might undersell them. Then manufacturers adopted 

 the rule of not selling to any jobber who would not insist upon 

 retailers paying standard prices. The consumer, by the way, 

 pays every time all that the retailer asks, rather than risk death 

 from pneumonia. But the jobbers objected to the contract 

 system, on the principle that, having bought a stock of rub- 

 bers, they owned the goods and were morally free to do with 

 them what they pleased. Now that the manufacturers' re- 



strictions have been withdrawn, some jobbers are fearful that 

 advantage will be taken of the freer market by some other job- 

 bers, to knock the bottom out of prices. Why not let them do 

 it, and ruin themselves ? There are lew jobbeis who do not 

 sell leather shoes for more than somebody else is selling leather 

 shoes for, and yet the jobbing trade as a whole grows and 

 prospers. They sell leather goods at what they think are right 

 prices and let the cheaper trade cut its own throat. Why not 

 apply the same rule to rubbers? With all the snowstorms of 

 this winter, one might expect the jobbers to feel tempted to 

 charge even more than standard prices. 



The highest priced rubber in the world, for some time 

 past, has been the product of trees of the " Paia " species, un- 

 der cultivation in Ceylon. This fact is of interest as proving 

 (i) that cultivated trees will produce rubber as well as native 

 ones ; (2) that specially prepared rubber will bring higher prices ; 

 and (3) that, contrary to views formerly held by experts, rubber 

 of the " Para " species is susceptible ol cultivation outside of 

 the Amazon valley. On another page appears an interesting 

 communication from a Ceylon planter who has prepaied some 

 of the rubber which is bringing " record " prices in London. 



There used to be a special school of statisticians who 

 labored to compute the amount of money spent in playing golf. 

 Now a wider field for their talent is afforded by the question. 

 Where does the money come from to pay the fees on the cease- 

 less issue of golf ball patents .' And where is storage room 

 found for all the patent specifications relating to this line of 

 invention ? 



AMERICAN RUBBER SHOES IN SCOTLAND. 



BY THE UNITED STATES CONSUL AT EDINBURGH. 



IN my annual report for 1899 [see The India Rubber 

 World, October i, 1900 — page 15] I ventured the sug- 

 gestion that a good market might be found in Scotland for the 

 American style of thin, close fitting rubbers, inasmuch as there 

 was wet weather during more than half the year and, the tem- 

 perature never being low, a light rubber was certainly prefera- 

 ble to the heavy British overshoe. It was noted that overshoes 

 or rubber were only needed to protect the feet from dampness, 

 and that they were worn by but few persons, probably because 

 the British rubbers were too clumsy and uncomfortable. An 

 agent of the United States Rubber Co., was here in the winter 

 of 1899, surveying the business field, making close inquiry into 

 the trade, and adding to the number of shops then handling its 

 goods. The result has been remarkable. This comparatively 

 new American enterprise has proved a great success, and the 

 trade is rapidly increasing. Not long ago I was in the office of 

 a wholesale house carrying these goods and was told by the 

 manager that he had received orders that morning before 12 

 o'clock amounting to about 80 cases. This gives an idea of 

 the substantial character of the trade. In the damp climate 

 of these islands rubbers are, in fact, a common necessity, and 

 it is likely that they will come to be so regarded, especially for 

 ladies' wear, as the light and graceful American rubber not 

 only affords protection, but is comfortable and looks well 

 The enormous productive capacity of the American rubber 

 concerns enables them to sell their goods to the foreign whole- 

 sale dealers at fairly low figures, and if in point of quality the 

 present high standard be maintained, there seems to be no 

 reason why the market gained here should not become a per- 

 manent possession of our producers. — Commercial Relations of 

 the United States for igoi. 



