362 



THE INDIA RUBBER ^VORLD 



[August i, 1902. 



ing were the prize winners in the golf tournament, with their 

 scores : 



First Prize — F. B. Rickaby, of the Diamond Rubber Co. (Akron, 

 Ohio) ; score 45 6-39. 



Second Prize — William J. Kelly, of George A. Alden & Co. ; score 

 52-12 40. 



Third Prize — W. D. Swazey, of the Enterprise Rubber Co. , score, 

 43-2-41. 



Visitors' Cup— R. L. Aldrich, of Cobb, Aldrich & Co. (Boston); 

 score, 40. 



After the presentation of the prizes, in response to most en- 

 thusiastic calls, the Hon. L. D. Apsley, vice-president of the 

 Club, made a short speech, being followed by Robert D. Evans, 



honorary vice-president of the Club. Votes of thanks were 

 then passed to the Country Club, to Arthur W. Stedman, and 

 to the companies who had presented the golf balls. As the 

 members departed, many pleasant things were said of the 

 Sports, thinner, and Entertainments committees, regarding the 

 exceedingly successful occasion and pleasant time that all had 

 enjoyed. In addition to the individuals named as active in 

 bringing about this outing, those whose work was most evi- 

 dent were \V. E. Barker, of the Sports committee. Treasurer 

 George P. Whitmore, and Assistant Secretary W. H. Gleason. 

 The view of the house of the Country Club on the preceding 

 page is reproduced, by permission, from the July issue of 

 Afunsey's Magazine (New York.) 



AFFAIRS IN THE AMAZON RUBBER COUNTRY. 



No development of importance in regard to the conces- 

 sion for the Acre territory from the Bolivian govern- 

 ment to an American syndicate has become known 

 during the past month, beyond the fact that repre- 

 sentations have been made to the United States government 

 by the diplomatic representatives of both Bolivia and Brazil. 

 The attitude of the government at Washington is that of re- 

 fusing to take sides with either country in their controversy. 

 The United States will stand ready, however, to safeguard 

 any interests of American citizens which may become involved. 

 Mention has been made already in these pages of the presence 

 in Bolivia of an exploring party, upon the results of whose 

 work might depend the further action of the Bolivian Syndi- 

 cate. The botanist of this party is Robert S. Williams, of the 

 New York Botanical Garden, who has sent word from Bolivia 

 that he expects to reach New York in September or October. 



* * * 

 It is not in the nature of things that the vast rubber resources 

 which lie partly in Bolivia and partly in Peru should much 

 longer remain almost undeveloped. It is natural, however, that 

 Brazil, which so long has maintained a practical monopoly of 

 the business of supplying the world with " Pard rubber," should 

 fail to regard with friendly eyes any effort to exploit the re- 

 sources of regions which might become her rivals in this trade. 

 The attention of the world has been attracted lately by Brazil's 

 strong protest against the carrying out by Bolivia of a contract 

 made with an American citizen with a view to the development 

 of the Acre district. Brazil, by the way, is in a position sim- 

 ilarly to thwart every effort which Bolivia may make to utilize 

 her sole existing water outlet to the seaboard — namely, by the 

 Amazon. It has been a part of the plan involved in the Acre 

 concession to improve the means of reaching the Amazon from 

 the principal rubber district in Bolivia, by diverting the trade 

 which now reaches the Amazon only through the badly ob- 

 structed Madeira, to rivers which flow into the Amazon without 

 obstruction — by constructing either short canals or railways. 



In spite of Brazil, this new rubber district is bound to be 

 reached, in view of the growing demand for its supplies, and 

 that country now appears to be taking steps to use the force of 

 her favorable geographical position to exact a profit from any 

 future output from the Amazon regions beyond her own bor- 

 ders. The United States consul general at Rio de Janeiro, Mr. 

 Eugene Seeger, reports to his government that Dr. Souto 

 Maior, professor of geography in the National University at Rio 

 (who studied for six years in the United States), has secured from 

 the Brazilian government for a period of twenty-live years the 

 exclusive control of navigation on the Madeira from Santo An- 



tonio to the Bolivian border, at the mouth of the Beni river 

 with the privilege of levying tolls. Navigation is free on the 

 Amazon, and on its affluent the Madeira up to San Antonio, 

 but from there to the Bolivian frontier — a distance of 222 miles 

 — Dr Maior has exclusive control. He can levy a tax not only 

 upon every pound of rubber descending the Madeira from Bo- 

 livia, but upon all merchandise sent up stream. 



The avowed reason for granting this concession is that of 

 providing for the improvement of the Madeira. The section 

 of the river above San Antonio is broken up by cataracts, and 

 a proposition has been revived, based upon an expert report 

 published in 1869, demonstrating that, by constructing a series 

 of locks and small canals, uninterrupted navigation of the river 

 could be established. Dr. Maior has requested Consul General 

 Seeger to call the attention of American engineers and capi- 

 talists to this matter with a view toobtaining their cooperation. 

 Thus Brazil is in a position to control the Madeira river out- 

 let from Bolivia and to deny privileges of navigation on that 

 portion of the Acre which lies within her territory. 

 * * * 



Mention was made recently in this journal of a visit to 

 New York of two officials of the state of Amazonas, Brazil, 

 whose object was supposed to be the making of a loan for 

 that stale. Upon their return they stopped et Pard, where 

 they declined to be interviewed for the newspapers on the re- 

 sult of their mission. A late number of the Brazilian Review 

 (Rio de Janeiro) reports: "It is now said that the reported 

 loan obtained by the state government [of Amazonas] in the 

 United States was made to ii by capitalists represented by Mr. 

 Charles R. Flint, of New York. The amount mentioned is 

 nominally ^2,000,000, to be converted into Brazilian currency 

 at the exchange rate of 1 2d. per milreis. The syndicate redeems 

 the present debt of the state by paying ^30 for every 5 per 

 cent, currency bond of 1:000$. The commission amounts to 

 4.000:000$. The state government is said to have agreed to 

 pay 8.000:000$ for the Mandos electric tramway." 



A bond of 1000 milreis, at the exchange rate mentioned, 

 would be worth /50, and its surrender for ^30 means a con- 

 siderable scaling down of the state's obligations. The com- 

 mission named would be equivalent to ^200,000, and the price 

 mentioned for the Manaos railway ,£400,000, or about $2,000,- 

 000. This road was constructed and has been operated by the 

 Manaos Railway Co., an American corporation organized by 

 Charles R. Flint. The company operates fifteen miles of single 

 track road, employing usually twenty cars, and the plant is re- 

 ported to be for the most part in good condition. The com- 

 pany is subsidized and has exclusive rights for 30 years. 



