January 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



177 



ated in a large way. It will hardly be possible under 

 the conditions prevailing there, for men with small capi- 

 tal, whose operations must necessarily be confined to 

 narrow limits, to hope for much success. As the chief 

 problem of the Brazilian planter is the labor supply, any 

 plantation venture in that part of the world necessitates 

 sufficient capital to include a broad scheme of coloniza- 

 tion ; wiiich means that labor nuisl not only be provided 

 with conditions of life that are sanitary, but with condi- 

 tions that are agreeable and attractive. In other words, 

 it must be made possible for the laborer to keep his health 

 and also to preserve his contentment of mind. This 

 requires scientific sanitation, medical supervision, a suffi- 

 cient supply of good and wholesome food, and the es- 

 tablishment of such an environment that the laborer will 

 be satisfied to stay and become permanently identified 

 witii the undertaking. These requirements call not only 

 for skilful management, but obviously for an abundance 

 of capital. 



But with the present attitude of Brazil, with its will- 

 ingness and eagerness to encourage foreign capital to 

 embark on the opening up of plantations, with the gov- 

 ernment extending such a warm hand of welcome, it 

 would certainly seem as if American capital would be 

 attracted to Amazon plantations. According to the 

 American Consul at Para, some American capital has 

 already been invested in plantations near that city. It is 

 likely to be followed by more. Certainly the field holds 

 out many substantial promises, and the risk is no greater 

 than usually attends the entrance of capital into a new 

 field. 



CHARLES GOODYEAR'S SON. 



IN the department in this publication entitled "The 

 * Editor's Book Table," where current books are re- 

 viewed from month to month, there will be found in 

 this issue a short description of a book on ancient 

 Greek architecture, called "Greek Refinements," writ- 

 ten by Professor William Henry Goodyear, Curator ot 

 Fine Arts in the Brooklyn Institute Museum. Many 

 people in the rubber trade are familiar with Professor 

 Goodyear — at least by reputation — and know that he 

 has written a number of notable books on ancient 

 architecture and other topics of a kindred nature ; but 

 probably very few rubber men are aware that he is the 

 son of Charles Goodyear. Such, however, is the case. 

 But as Charles Goodyear devoted his life to that ex- 

 perimentation in the utilization of a practically useless 

 nroduct that laid the foundation for the great modern 



rubber industry, his son has devoted his life largely to 

 architecture, and rather to the history and literature of 

 architecture than to its practical application. The 

 father's life was an intensely practical one, while the 

 son's career has been devoted (to borrow a word from 

 the title of his latest book) to the refinements of life — 

 to its intellectual rather than to its industrial activities. 

 .\t first glance it might seem that it is a far cry from 

 tile elder Goodvear eternally hovering over the kitchen 

 stove with his pan-full of compounded rubber to the 

 younger Goodyear minutely examining the curvatures 

 of ancient Greek temples and mediaeval churches. But, 

 as a matter of fact, the son comes logically enough by 

 his peculiar mental bias. The elder Goodyear was a 

 many-sided man. He was not only an indomitable — 

 almost fanatical — experimenter, but he was a religious 

 enthusiast, an idealist, and full of the artistic tempera- 

 ment ; and this temperament inherited by the son has 

 Iiad full opportunity- for expression. While the father 

 devoted his energies to benefiting the millions of hu- 

 manity yet to come, the son has devoted his energies 

 to interpreting the thought of those who dwelt upon 

 the earth centuries ago. It entirely satisfies one's sense 

 of the proprieties to have a distinguished father fol- 

 lowed by a distinguished son ; it is not necessary, or de- 

 sirable, that the one should follow directly in the footsteps 

 of the other. As long as the son of a father who has 

 achieved worthily fills his own life with worthy 

 achievements, it is enough. 



THE LATEST RUBBER STATISTICS. 



THE statistics given by Mr. Arthur Lampard, 

 quoted elsewhere, show an estimated rubber 

 production for 1912 of 104,700 tons and a consumption 

 of 108,250 tons ; the reduction in the visible supply 

 confirming those figures. 



His remarks on future production and consumption 

 are equally interesting. He does not anticipate that 

 at current prices there will be any notable increase in 

 the production of wild rubber in 1913, while he expects 

 plantation rubber will go up from 28,500 tons to 40,000 

 tons. Judging from American expectations and from 

 the large increase in American consumption which has 

 taken place this y^ear, he expresses the conviction that 

 the whole of the increase in sight could easily be 

 absorbed by America alone, even if all the other coun- 

 tries of the world are going to hold aloof, which, of 

 course, he observes, is inconceivable. He adds that 



