December i, 1901.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



65 



ing shares to church people. Although the Chronicle's state- 

 ments were very definite, and of a character such as might 

 invite a libel suit, they were dismissed by the persons most 

 interested, in a letter to The India Rubber World, to the 

 effect that — 



Of course you understand that this is the attack of a bitter enemy, 

 made with the intention of ruining Mr. Ellsworth and the company. 

 The thing was so thoroughly overdone as to utterly lose its effect. 



This letter appeared in full in an article published in our 

 November, 1900, issue, under the heading "What is The Truth 

 About Chiapas.'" — a question not answered satisfactorily in 

 the mass of printed circulars and statements sent to us at that 

 time from the company's ofiice. At a still later date— January, 

 1901 — under the heading " Rubber Planting Companies to 

 Avoid," the Chiapas concern was one of those referred to as 

 having discredited themselves by the character of their adver- 

 tising matter. Our article of that date said : 



Thus far it would seem that the planting done by this ccmpany [the 

 Chiapas] has been done only on paper, and that paper not such as will 

 bear very close scrutiny. 



Now comes a pamphlet from the " Chicago Chiapas Rubber 

 Plantation Co., authorized selling agent for the San Luis divis- 

 ion of the Chiapas Plantation," of which Chicago concern one 

 A. J. Scott is " president and manager." Of course this pamph- 

 let quotes our old friend Consul Guenther, in regard to the 

 wonderful trees in Chiapas "which have been tapped for 35 

 years and are now producing 50 pounds of rubber annually to 

 the tree." And, by the way, it is strange that the practical rub- 

 ber planters in Mexico are all silent on the subject of Consul 

 Guenther and his trees. 



But it is not Mr. A. J. Scott's pamphlet, but the accompany- 

 ing circular letter, that is most interesting. It begins with " a 

 few personal words." In the second sentence he mentions 

 having been pastor of a church near Chicago for seven years. 

 Then he tells how he longed for " a secure place " in which to 

 invest his small savings " where they would eventually pay 

 large profits." It appears that he went to California and met 

 the Rev. J. W. Ellsworth, and now he is seeking to emulate 

 Ellsworth in Chicago. 



I do not e.xpect you to accept my statements simply because I am a 

 minister in good standing [says the Rev. A. J. Scott], but that may be 

 a sufficient reason for reading the little pamphlet which I send you. 



In the pamphlet one may read, set in capital letters — 



100 I'OUN[)S OF RUBBER HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM AN 

 OLD TREE AT A SINGLE TAPPING. 

 — followed by this in smaller type : 



The cost of transportation is an inconsiderable item. Here is an 

 article worth |i a pound that we can ship from our plantation to New 

 York or London for less than i cent per pound. We could sell rubber 

 for 10 cents a pound and pay good dividends ; we could ship our pro- 

 duct by mail and pay large profits to shareholders. 



But we must quote from the Rev. A. J. Scott's letter again : 



Certainly no man who believes in the Gospel should think lightly of 

 this thing because it seems TOO GOOD. 



All of which suggests that, however religion may be regarded 

 in its own proper place, the mixture of religion with rubber 

 planting on paper makes a sorry combination in the eyes of 

 people who really know anything about rubber. 



An A.MERiCAN Pacific cable, it now appears, will be ready 

 for work, as lar as Hawaii, as soon as an order already placed 

 with the great Silvertown company can be executed. It was 

 to be hoped that, by the time American capital and enterprise 

 was ready for this new field, an American factory would be pre- 

 pared to build an ocean cable. But there will be many miles 



of such cables to be laid yet, and the field is as open to Ameri- 

 can skill and energy and capital as to the same elements of 

 progress in any other country. It is a good thing, by the way, 

 that the new Pacific cable is to be under private control_ 

 Doubtless it would be well managed by the government, but it 

 is more in harmony with American sentiment and tradition for 

 such enterprises to be left to private initiative and manage- 

 ment. 



The time required for rubber trees to reach a produc- 

 tive age may appear long to those whose ideas of planting have 

 been confined to the growth of crops each year, between spring 

 and autumn. It is natural, therefore, that a tendency should 

 exist to plant " short crops," which may mature and yield an in- 

 come from the same ground, while rubber seedlings are matur- 

 ing into productive trees. But what would the rubber plan- 

 ters who are impatient at waiting seven or eight years for a 

 " crop " think of " going in " for the cultivation of timber, as is 

 done in Perak, for instance? We mention this because a re- 

 port received from the region mentioned states that the object 

 of a certain plantation is to grow timber, and " Paid ' rubber 

 trees are interplanted with the young growth of other woods, 

 "chiefly in order to obtain some return from the plantation 

 during the first ten or fifteen years of its existence, and before 

 the timber can be of any value." Think of Pard rubber for a 

 " short crop ! " 



The MOST INTERRSTING FEATURE of the second annual auto- 

 mobile show under the auspices of the Automobile Club of 

 America, held at Madison Square Garden, in New York, during 

 the past month, from the standpoint af the rubber industry, 

 was the marked predominance of the pneumatic tire in the 

 equipment of the vehicles exhibited, and, further, the indication 

 of a tendency in favor of detachable tires in preference to the 

 single tubes. It appears settled that, so long as pneumatic 

 tires are used, their liability to punctuie will exist, and, no mat- 

 ter what may be true of the ease of repair of single tube bicycle 

 tires, a more difficult proposition is encountered when repairs 

 are necessary on the heavy type of tires required for automo- 

 biles. Hence the advantage ofhavingatire with an outer cover 

 capable of being treated independently of the air tube. All 

 the various types of tires were shown in Madison Square Gar- 

 den, however, and all with their advocates, apart from the manu- 

 facturers and dealers interested. By the way, the exhibition was 

 the most successful of its class yet held in America, indicating 

 both progress in the evolution of practical automobile con- 

 struction, and an increase in public interest in the new vehicles 

 and public intelligence regarding them. 



Tests showing the adulteration of crude rubber and 

 the various ingredients used in the rubber manufacture are 

 eagerly sought in every factory. In the larger plants, where a 

 laboratory and testing department exist, it is of course com- 

 paratively easy to detect adu'terations and impurities, but the 

 smaller factories are often hard pressed t' prove where the fault 

 lies. On another page will be found an article on the adultera- 

 tion of Para rubber by the introduction of farina flour, in which 

 is described a very simple method of detecting the presence of 

 the adulterant — something that every superintendent may well 

 remember. 



Following upon the decline in the cost of crude rubber, 

 shoe manufacturers have further cause for congratulation in 

 the prospect that we shall have more snow than last winter. 

 Large sales, even at small profits, mean good business. 



