October i, 1910.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



It is not unreasonable to suppose that ultimately the 

 Madeira region will become as habitable as the now 

 populous Mississippi valley in the United States, a 

 region which Charles Dickens, in his "Martin Chuz- 

 zlewit," not longer than 65 years ago, felt called upon 

 to warn the world against. 



An increase of more than 20 per cent, in one year in the 

 value of United States rubber goods to the new non-contiguous 

 territorial possessions of this country at first sight seems to in- 

 dicate progress. It is possible, however, that the larger figure 

 for the year last is due in part to higher prices of products 

 than in former years. However this may be, it appears that the 

 exports of belting, packing, and hose were smaller in value 

 than last year, and the figures for boots and shoes were 

 smaller than in igo8. 



Commenting on the prices of rubber goods in America, the 

 Providence (Rhode Island), Evening Tribtine says: 



.'\s for the level of American prices, broadly considered, it is always 

 artificial, of course, when compared with that of most other producing 

 nations. What is the tariff for if not to raise prices? 



Since "most other producing nations" adhere to the protective 

 policy, it is not plain why the tariff in the United States should, 

 apart from other considerations, "raise pdices" above those in 

 Europe. 



It is interesting to learn from many newspapers, published 

 throughout the United States [for example, in the Wilmington, 

 Delaware, Evening Journal, of September 17] that crude rubber 

 is now at $3 a pound. There seems still to be people who insist 

 that the price of crude rubber is increased by the import duty on 

 rubber goods, and the able journalists who insist upon mixing 

 their tariff views with all trade news may, before snow falls, get 

 crude rubber up to $40 a pound, and put all the blame upon 

 Congress. 



The able Little Rock (Arkansas) Gaceile, ancnt the re- 

 cent frenzied discussion of a United States senator having an 

 interest in a rubber company, expresses the opinion that sena- 

 tors should not be engaged in great business enterprises. Having 

 "wrapped around themselves their senatorial togas," they should 

 "pass their official lines in the serene seclusion of making laws," 

 shut off from all touch and contact with money making. Their 

 "senatorial togas" might keep them from freezing in winter, but 

 how about food? The able Gazette's idea, followed to a logical 

 conclusion, would prevent any but wealthy men from becoming 

 senators — and a man already wealthy might have acquired at 

 least part of his fortune from shares in a rubber company. How, 

 then, is the country to be saved from the "rubber trust?" 



Somebody is a prev.^ricator, we learn from the esteemed 

 Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, for asserting that certain rubber 

 companies formed before 1906 are "subsidiary companies" to 

 a corporation created in that year. If the editor of the last 

 edition of "Webster' had waited until seeing this in the Lowell 

 newspaper he might not have defined a "subsidiary com- 

 pany" as— 



a company of the shares of stock in which another company has 

 at least a majority, giving it control. 



In this sense, we believe that most of the large industrial 

 corporations to-day hold shares in companies of prior formation, 

 whether these may properly be called "subsidiary" or not. 



It is no credit to any man, according the able Des Moines 

 (lowa^ Register and Leader, to add to the consumption of crude 

 rubber in the United States. By so much as one adds to the 

 home market, "lie reduces the market outside of the United 



States" — on the idea that, there being only so much rubber in 

 the world, the more we take the less there will be for other 

 countries. Does the Iowa newspaper think that true statesman- 

 ship would lie along the lines of discouraging the American 

 rubber industry, in order to encourage that of Europe and .'Xsia 

 and .Australia? But the truth is that the world's production of 

 rubber has been increased enormously of late years, through the 

 efforts of the governments, scientists and capitalists of many 

 countries, but by .Vmerican influences more than any other. 



PROSPECTS OF OVERPRODUCTION. 



THE principal editorial article in London Eleclricul Review 

 tor .\ugust 26, on the possibility of overproduction of 

 rubber, is introduced as follows : 



"The July number of The India Rubber World has a leading 

 article on the above subject, and as a large number of the 

 readers of the Electrical Review must be interested in this 

 question, some as manufacturers and others as users of rubber 

 goods, and again others as shareholders in rubber plantation 

 companies, we propose to briefly indicate the views expressed 

 by our contemporary, which, we believe, are the views held by 

 well-informed people in the United States." [Here follows a 

 summary of The India Rubber World's article, after which the 

 London paper comments] : 



"When dealing with this subject on previous occasions, we 

 have expressed the opinion that it will take some years for 

 the production of rubber to so far overtake the demand as to 

 bring about anything like over production, so that we are in 

 general agreement with the conclusions of our contemporary; 

 but our opinions were based on the anticipation that there 

 would be hardly any appreciable increase in the output of wild 

 rubber, as we considered that with lower prices it would no 

 longer pay to collect many of the inferior qualities, or to collect 

 from those regions which were so far from the ports of ship- 

 ment as to make the cost of transport to the port a very heavy 

 item. It is undoubtedly a very difiicult matter to make any 

 estimate of what the production of plantation rubber will be 

 three or four years hence, but if it increases so rapidly as to 

 lower the price to a figure comparable with the prices of 20 

 years ago, we believe that the demand will grow in proportion 

 owing to the development of existing uses, and the introduction 

 of new uses, for rubber which will follow the fall of prices of 

 the raw material." 



PROGRESS IN THE PHILIPPINES. 



THE first annual edition of the Manila Times, designed es- 

 pecially for the interest of investors and settlers in the 

 Philippine islands, is a very comprehensive review of the recent 

 progress and present condition of the islands, and as such can 

 hardly fail to interest one who is concerned at all about that part 

 of the world, or the record made in colonization work by the 

 United States. The general progress of Philippine commerce is 

 indicated by the custom house figures at Manila, showing com- 

 bined exports and imports ten years ago of $27,756,729, whereas 

 for last year the total was $58,838,940. 



The last part of the Philippines is brought under control by the 

 LInited States authorities is what is now known as the Moro 

 province. The work of pacification was long delayed here, and 

 the province now has a greater number of troops in the Philip- 

 pine islands. It is shown in this publication, however, that the 

 native Moro rulers are loyal to the United States government, 

 and that English is being introduced in the Moro schools. Im- 

 proved methods of cultivation are being introduced, and there is 

 an increase in trade. This province is the principal home of rub- 

 ber in the Philippines, and some rubber has been planted. It is 

 mentioned that 10,000 planted rubber trees on the Island of Jolo. 



