April 1, 1911.] 



VHE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



219 



planted some 12,000,000 trees, and planned to monop- 

 olize the business of camphor extraction. Incidentally, 

 they advanced the price of the product to about double 

 its former cost. 



Attracted by the possible profit in camphor growing, 

 the alert scientists at the head of the English, German 

 and Italian agricultural developments began to experi- 

 ment. They found that the trees would flourish in the 

 Far East, in German Africa, in the W^est Indies and in 

 Italy. They further learned that camphor could be ex- 

 tracted from the leaves without in any way injuring 

 the tree. 



Another set of scientists, however, had been at work 

 on the synthesis of the gum, and some six years ago the 

 feat was accomplished. Two years later there appeared 

 upon the market synthetic camphor just as good in 

 every respect as the natural product. 



The synthetic gum, however, did only one thing. It 

 brought the high monopolistic price down to its nor- 

 mal level, and will forever keep it there. 



The wild camphor in Formosa will still be gathered, 

 and will pay. The 12,000,00(3 trees planted there will 

 in time produce profitably, and the plantations in the 

 Far East, in Africa and in Italy will show good divi- 

 dends. So it would be with synthetic rubber. It would 

 sound the death-knell of any possible crude ru1)ber 

 monopoly and wonderfully steady prices. Rubber 

 would still come from the Amazon, from the Congo ; 

 the great plantations in the Far East, in Africa and 

 the rest of the tropical world, would still produce abun- 

 dantly and profitably. Instead of dreading its advent, 

 the world should desire it. 



HIGH-PRICED RUBBER AND SOME OF ITS 

 RESULTS. 



WHEN rubber was fifty cents a pound, that is fine 

 I'ara rubber, and the valuable sorts were a drug 

 on the market, it was used in many places where it was 

 far from being a necessity. When, however, its price 

 steadilv climbed, manufacturers were obliged to use it 

 where it was necessary and only in such proportions as 

 were absolutely demanded. For certain goods, where a 

 high degree of elasticity was demanded, the regular 

 amount of rubber, no matter what the price, appeared. 

 But where the qualities demanded were not a high de- 

 gree of elasticity, but were simply plasticity, insulation, 

 waterproofing, et cetera, it was found that many other 

 plastics in conjunction with rubber could be used. They 

 not only saved to the manufacturer thousands of pounds 

 of high-priced gum, but gave to the consumer an equally 

 good or better product at an appreciably lessened cost. 

 It came about, too, that the great quantities of un- 

 vulcanized cloth scrap, often burned up to get it out of 

 the way or only used in a half-hearted sort of way, for 

 something like anti-rattlers or rubber cuspidors were 

 suddenly looked upon as valuable and reclaimed and used 

 to advantage. 



The story of the reclaiming of vulcanized scrap has 

 been told so many times that its mention here is simply 

 to point to one of the greatest economies brought about 

 through the high price of crude rubber. 



Take for example : the foot-wear trade. When rubber 

 was low the goods were heavy and the compounds ex- 

 travagantly rich. Driven to economy in the use of rub- 

 ber lighter weights were produced, compounds revised 

 and goods turned out that not only looked better, but 

 gave longer service. Here, too, other rubbers besides 

 fine Para were found available and other plastics em- 

 ployed that notablv increased both durability and water- 

 proof quality. 



In the line of mechanical rubber goods a book could 

 be written covering applications of bastard gums of low- 

 grade rubbers and of amalgamation of rubbers, that re- 

 sulted in the long run in better goods. 



Not only in the two great lines named, but in every 

 part of the world's great industry the same necessity 

 forced a like action on the part of manufacturers. This 

 stress of circumstance obliged the maker of rubber goods 

 to call to his assistance able chemists. It spurred tropical 

 pioneers to send to the market scores of hitherto unused 

 gums. It educated manufacturers so that the least of 

 them today knows infinitely more about the rubber busi- 

 ness than did the greatest thirty years ago. 



It has often been remarked that Charles Goodyear 

 forecasted nearlv everything that would be made in rub- 

 ber, and it is true. Were he alive today, his knowledge 

 of crude rubber and of compounding would not be suffi- 

 cient to secure him a position as superintendent of the 

 smallest factory in existence making the simplest line of 

 goods. 



It is not intended to convey here the thought that high- 

 priced rubber is a blessing. It has resulted in good, be- 

 cause of the versatilitv and capability of the men en- 

 gaged in the trade, together with the numberless "as- 

 sistants" that nature supplies to the compounder. It 

 would seem, however, as if the end of nature's resources 

 and of man's ingenuity has been very nearly reached. 

 If such is ever the case the result of abnormally high rub- 

 ber would be a disappearance from the market of rub- 

 ber goods in the direct ratio of their necessity to hu- 

 manity. 



TRAVEL AND EXPORT TRADE. 



THOSE who in the past claimed to have the best interests of 

 the United States at heart were forever lamenting the 

 failure to open up foreign markets for our products. Nothing 

 was left unsaid that could be said. Tons of export sermons, 

 good and bad, were scattered broadcast, but the great mass of 

 -A.merican manufacturers hustled right along supplying the home 

 market and doing well at that. The English, German and Bel- 

 gians, however, built up big businesses in countries other than 

 their own. It is interesting to note that the beginnings of the 

 foreign trade of the three peoples, named were when the busi- 

 ness men thereof began to travel. Not from mass meetings, 

 associations nor tracts came the impulse, but because they went 

 in person, saw the needs and instantly wished to supply them. 



