June i, igor.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



275 



representatives of company as directors may from time to time 

 appoint, and under such conditions and regulations as the di- 

 rectors or executive committee may from time to time prescribe. 

 =The income of the United States Rubber Co.. less the ex- 

 penses of administration, has been as follows, according to the 

 annual reports of the treasurer for the years following. Prior 

 to 1896 these particulars were not reported in detail : 



Year ending April i, 1896 $2,339,790.60 



Year ending March 31, 1897 1,999,611,34 



Year ending March 31, 1898 ." 2,070,750.41 



Year ending March 31, 1899 3,226,51346 



Year ending March 31, 1900 3,007,887.54 



Year ending March 31, 1901 . 62,605.57 



= The fact should not be overlooked, in any study of the 

 figures given above, that under the method of guaranteeing 

 prices adopted by the United States Rubber Co., rebates are 

 given whenever, before the close of any business year, there is 

 a reduction in prices. Such rebates must have been very 

 heavy during the past season, and in their absence it may be 

 that the usual showing of prohts would have been made. 



= Frederick M. Shepard, who retires from the office of presi- 

 dent after having hlled it for four years, was understood never 

 to have been an aspirant for the office, but to have accepted it 

 at a time when it was thought that he, better than any other 

 member of the board, might harmonize some discordant ele- 

 ments. Mr. Shepards friends say that he welcomes the oppor- 

 tunity to retire from office, in view of the length of time he has 

 spent in active business life and the number of other interests 

 with which he is concerned. It is reported that he has not dis- 

 posed of his stock in the company. 



UNITED STATES RUBBER STOCKS. 

 The following is a record of transactions on the New York 

 Stock Exchange, for several weeks past: 



DATES. 



Week ending Apr. 26 

 Weekending May 4 

 Weekending May 10 

 Weekending May 18 

 Weekending May 25 



ANOTHER MEXICAN RUBBER PLANTER. 



THE India Rubber World has published so much in the 

 last few months regarding the planting of India-rubber 

 in Mexico, that further information regarding the individuals 

 who have made a study of this question should be of interest 

 to its readers. The following is a brief sketch regarding Mr. 

 Maxwell Riddle, who is now acting as general manager and 

 treasurer of the Republic Development Co., which is engaged 

 in planting a large property for The Obispo Rubber Planta- 

 tion Co. on the isthmus of Tehuantepec. 



Mr. Riddle was born in Ravenna, Ohio, where his father has 

 been engaged in the manufacture of carriages for nearly half a 

 century. On leaving college Mr. Riddle entered his father's 

 office and started to learn the details of carriage manufactur- 

 ing. During the course of the six years which he devoted to 

 this business, he became much impressed with the increasing 

 use of rubber in rubber tires, which led him to a study of the 

 sources of supply for the crude product, and then to the ques- 

 tion of rubber planting, in the investigation of which he was 

 assisted greatly by the Bureau of American Republics in 

 Washington, the various foreign consuls, and the late Minister 

 Romero. After studying the question for more than a year, 

 he started on a trip through Central America, to learn for him- 

 self the facts regarding this interesting question. 



After a long trip through Central America, visited various lo- 

 calities in Mexico, making a particularly thorough examination 

 of the plantations in the states of Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, 

 and Tabasco. He found that the true rubber belt in Mexico was a 

 narrow strip of land following the border of the states of Vera 

 Cruzand Oaxaca and continuing along the border of the states 

 of Chiapas and Tabasco. This narrow strip havingbeen enriched 

 for centuries by the wash from the mountains behind it, and 

 being drenched by the continuous rains due to its proximity to 

 the great plateau, made it ideal for the cultivation of tropical 



products. He de- 

 cided to purchase 

 a property near 

 the border of Oax- 

 aca and Vera Cruz. 

 After returning to 

 the United States 

 for a short trip, he 

 went back to Mex- 

 ico and started 

 planting his prop- 

 erty in earnest, 

 and has now set 

 out more than 

 100,000 trees, 

 which he reports 

 are doing magnifi- 

 cently. During 

 the year 1899 he 

 became interested 

 with Chicago cap- 

 MAXWELL RIDDLE, -^^^^-^^^^ ^^ief of 



General Manager Republic Developmeut Co. whom waS Mr. 



Alfred Bishop Mason, president of the Vera Cruz and Pacific 

 railway, in the purchase of a tract of 2500 acres in the state 

 of Vera Cruz, to be planted in rubber and sugar cane, and 

 pasturage for cattle. This company have already succeeded 

 in putting their plantation on a dividend paying basis and 

 are anticipating very large returns when their rubber is in 

 bearing. 



Some months ago some capitalists in New York, recognizing 

 the value of Mr. Riddle's practical experience as a planter, in- 

 duced him to become associated with them as general manager 

 of the Republic Development Co., now planting about 1,500,- 

 000 trees on their Obispo plantation, in Oaxaca. Mr. Riddle 

 Is compelled to make frequent trips between Mexico and the 

 United States, and the proper management of this plantation, 

 as well as his private place, keeps him very busy. He reports 

 that they have had no difficulty in getting all the labor they 

 could use up to the present time, and anticipates no difficulty 

 In the immediate future, as the large town of Tuxtepec is within 

 walking distance of the plantation, and the men much prefer 

 to work on a place where they can get into town to see their 

 friends on Sunday. He reports also that the town of Tuxte- 

 pec ships a large amount of crude rubber every year ; much of 

 It coming from the region Immediately adjoining their planta- 

 tion. Although their system of planting requires the burning 

 of the timber and the underbrush, they are in hopes of saving 

 many of the wild trees, the returns from which will assist mate- 

 rially in paying dividends. 



It is encouraging to see people of Mr. Riddle's business ex- 

 perience engage in this important undertaking. The question 

 Is becoming recognized as of vital importance to the rubber 

 manufacturers, and when men of training and experience take 

 hold of it, its ultimate success seems assured. 



