114 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1, 1^13- 



most minute inspection of the possibilities of the Malay Penin- 

 sula, and also iVIr. H. Ketncr, a native of Holland, who had 

 had twenty-two years' experience in rubber planting. These 



Monarch Sti-mp Puller in Operation. 



two men, familiar with the conditions necessary for successful 

 plantation enterprises, together with Mr. Davis, spent many 

 months in careful examination of the rubber possiliilities of the 

 Peninsula and of the various adjacent islands, and they finally 

 selected a spot on the northeastern shore of Sumatra as offer- 

 i lis. altogether the most favorable conditions. Their selection 

 was further investigated by a number of men (lualitied for the 

 task, and their choice approved; and in May, 1910, the lirst 

 purchase was made, when the company bought the Soengei 

 Sikassim estate, owned by the New Assahan Tol)acco Co. of 

 Amsterdam. Subsequently they purcnased nine more contiguous 

 estates, until they owned in one piece — tho irregular in shape — 

 a tract containing 133 square miles and measuring 30 miles 

 across its greatest length and 20 miles across its greatest width. 

 This tract is 17 miles back from the port of Tandjang Bale and 

 105 miles south from the city of Medan, a place of 27,000 popu- 

 l.'ition, where the General Rubber Co. has a branch house under 

 the management of J. W. Eicknell, a former resident of Maiden 

 and a graduate of Harvard. 



They selected this location for two reasons: It was proved 

 to them that ruliber plantations already started in that part of 

 Sumatra were giving wonderful promise of success. In addi- 

 tion to that fact, the estates which they purchased had been 

 used for tobacco and much of the land partially cleared. In fact 

 the entire tract contained over 175 miles of well-built roads and 

 was well drained. They could begin planting, therefore, im- 

 mediately, without the delay at the start of having to clear 

 every acre. 



The planting was begun in June, 1910, only one month 

 after the initial purchase ; and the speed wdth which it was 

 pushed may be infe.''ed from the fact that in one single month 

 5,000 acres were planted. 'I'he plantation managers assured the 

 directors of the home conii)an3' that they should have rubber 

 from their own plantation in five years' time, but the growth 

 has been so rapid and healthy that the company is now assured 

 of rubber from its own planted trees in less than four years' 

 time. Another estate, in the Sultanate of Langkat. a little to 

 the north of Medan, containing 2,500 acres, was acquired by the 

 company, and rubber will be received from this estate this fall. 



Mr. Davis, who is at present in Xew York but expecting soon 

 to return to Sumatra, is exceedingly enthusiastic over the out- 

 look. He believes that his company can compete with any rub- 

 ber producers in the w-orld, and he assigns various reasons. 

 In the first place, the soil is of a volcanic, alluvial character. 



perfectly adapted to rubber growing. The rainfall, which is 

 from 70 to 100 inches a year, is distributed through the whole 

 year, even the hot months of summer having many days of 

 r;iin, so that tapping can be carrie<l on continuously through 

 the year. 



Moreover, the labor situation is as favorable as anywhere 

 in the rubber grow'ing world. Labor is cheaper than in the 

 Federated Malay States and, while not quite so cheap as in 

 Ceylon, is said to be more efficient. There are 11,000 coolies 

 employed on the plantation, 3,500 of iheiii being Chinese and 

 7,500 Javanese ; and it is believed that by reason of the economy 

 of handling this great body of labor as a unit, under one man- 

 a,gcmcnt, it will be possible to produce rubber on this plantation 

 at a lower figure than is possible in almost any other spot. The 

 organization of this great army of laborers is perfect. The 

 head manager of the entire estate, Mr. Ketner, has under him 

 ten managers, one for each of the ten divisions of the plantation. 

 Each manager has five or six assistants, all Europeans but who 

 can talk in the language of the coolie, which is Malay. Each 

 assistant has under him eight or ten captains, or "mandors" as 

 tliey are called in Javanese, or "tandils" as they are called by the 

 Cliinese. These captains are placed over groups of from twenty 

 to fifty coolies. So that there is a continuous current of re- 

 sponsibility, from the humblest coolie getting 16 to 20 cents a 

 day, up to the managing head of the whole enterprise. 



One-Year-Old Trees. 



It may be a new thought to a good many people to learn 

 that the topography of this estate also adds considerably to the 

 efficiency of its management, but such, as a matter of fact, is 

 the case. In many estates where tlie land is of an undulating 

 nature, with little hills and small intervening valleys interspersed, 

 it is very difficult to get a general survey of any large section, 

 and for that reason it is not always possible for the manager 

 or his assistants to discover just how industriously the coolies 

 are keeping at their work; but in this estate the greater part 

 of the land is either flat or on a gentle slope, and thus it is 

 possiltle to get a view of vast tracts of the plantation, 

 so that many groups of coolies can be kept under inspection 

 liv a single observer. This is a distinct advantage, which will 

 contribute its share to low cost of production. 



The managers do not rely entirely upon constant surveillance, 

 however, to get the maximum of work out ol their employes. 

 They rely quite as much on getting and retaining the good will 

 of the laborer. And with this end in view they are constantly 

 looking after his welfare. They are building at the present 

 time a hospital with accommodations for 600 patients and 

 equipped with everything that makes for the quick recovery of 



