566 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1914. 



THE AKERS MISSION [Kcquicsait in I'acf.) 

 Front an Ocaisionnl Corrcsfondent. 

 "T^IIE readers of The India Rubber World will recall the pre- 

 ■•■ dictions voiced by this correspondent as to the fate that 

 awaited the Akers Mission to the Amazons. Unfortunately for 

 those responsible for its creation, the so-called .\kers Mission 

 is dead, as dead as can be. 



But the many curious incidents which occurred during the 

 ■development of the said mission ; the extravagant ideas which 

 brought it into being; the mystery which surrounded its 

 economic backing, and other issues, arc occurrences which, in 

 my opinion, greatly interest the rubber community, and I fee\ 

 it my duty to place them before your readers. 



It is said that Mr. I'ercival h'arquhar, in liis endeavors to 

 find the practical salvation of tlic large capital invested in the 

 Madeira-Mamore railway and the Para Port Works, conceived 

 the idea of introducing into the Amazons the Eastern methods 

 of tapping and prejjaring rubber, so as to increase tlie output 

 of rubber fivefold without e.xtra cost of production. 



No sooner did he do this than it was communicated to the 

 Booths — the concern which has exploited the transatlantic mer- 

 ■cantile marine portion of the Amazon's trade for the last three 

 scores of years. Suarez Hermanos — also interested in the river 

 traffic of the Amazons, by virtue of having acquired a portion 

 of the capital of the .Amazon River Navigation Co. — were also 

 approached on the subject, and the pact was formed. Mr. 

 Far(|uhar was to furnish the genius and leading spirit of the 

 undertaking; the Messrs. Booth were to furnish an expert on 

 East Indian rubber planting, whilst the Suarez were to furnish 

 experts on Amazon rubber exploitation. 



Having settled the matter on tliis basis, the ([uestion arose 

 as to who should put up the money. Well, for a time these 

 several entcrpr'sirg iir:i s posed ,is the great benefactors who 

 were genercusly (cing all of this for the Amazons; until it 

 turned out very publicly that the Brazilian treasury had sup- 

 plied the funds to carry out the would-be philanthropic inten- 

 tions of the group. Not that the Brazilian Government was at 

 all confident of the results of the said mission ; quite the contrary. 

 But because the Minister of .Agriculture of Brazil had made up 

 his mind not to allow his department to be unjustly accused of 

 short-sightedness or meanness of any sort in any project for 

 benefiting the rubber industry of the .Amazons. 



According to this arrangement, therefore, the Messrs. Booth 

 selected Mr. C. E. Akers to fill the post of expert in the Eastern 

 rubber plantation industry. Right here it should be said that 

 Mr. Akers has been favorably known to the literary world as 

 the writer of the "History of South .America." and as cor- 

 respondent of "The Times," in Chili and Peru. Next in order 

 came Mr. V. Lugcmes. who had also successfully managed rub- 

 ber scrins^acs in P>olivia belonging to the firm of Suarez Her- 

 manos. Then came a Mr. Ufenast, whose rubber knowledge is 

 about equal to that of Mr. Lugones. 



The Government of the State of Para was also invited to 

 participate in the works of the mission, and the late Dr. J. 

 Huber was commissioned to go as far as the East — wherever 

 the Akers Mission went. But Dr. Huber only accepted the 

 commission on the condition that he should report his views 

 entirely l)y himself and to his Government alone. Hence the 

 very able and comprehensive rejiort rendered by bim to the 

 Governor of Para on his return from the East. 



Those who know the .Amazons and read Mr. Akers' report 

 could not but feel sceptical as to his knowledge of rubber even 

 to a slight degree, for here was a so-called expert who came 

 forward as a champion of the overhead system of tapping when 

 practical experience has shown to us in the Amazons the dis- 

 astrous results of such practice. Then here was the same 

 champion trying to convince the .Amazonian contingent that a 

 mmch greater quantity of rublier could be produced, for the 



same cost for labor, if the Eastern method — the herringbone 

 system — were adopted, and if a gouge were used instead of the 

 classic Para chisel or machadinha. 



Fortunately for the Amazons, there were people in the Madeira 

 River country who volunteered to place some of their seringaes 

 at the disposal of Mr. Akers and his Mahometan assistants. And, 

 as good care was taken to work with native tappers, and by native 

 methods, one cslrada for each one handed over to Mr. Akers, 

 under perfectly equal conditions, it was soon proven, beyond the 

 doubt of even Mr. .Akers, that by his method the trees yielded 

 larger t|uantities at lirst but very soon began to show signs of 

 exli.-iustion ; and in less than three months it was proven that, 

 whilst the latex gathered by tapping after the East Indian method 

 was greater in quantity, the dry rubber was considerably less 

 than that obtained per tree by the native tappers after the native 

 method of extraction and smoking over burnt nuts and palms. 



It was enough. Mr. .\kcrs made himself quite scarce. It is re- 

 ported he had a row with Mr. Earquhar, and the latter requested 

 the i'ederal (iovernment to rescind the contract to carry out 

 lurtber experiments in the Upper .Amazons. But the Federal 

 Government had already paid the sum of 1,000 contos — $333,- 

 33300, and is the loser by that much. But what a lot of ex- 

 perience it has gained. And how many columns of abuse it has 

 escaped just for allowing itself to be duped into one of the most 

 disastrous attempts ever made to prove that cheese can be made 

 of chalk-' 



But let us stop here and not trample upon the fallen. The 

 .\kers Mission is dead — may it rest in peace! And may Brazil 

 be delivered from another such philanthropic outburst on the 

 pan of historical wTiters. aided and abetted by company pro- 

 moters. 



\'erily, Mr. .Akers should now write the history of the whole 

 occurrence and acknowledge that the Amazon has nothing to 

 learn from the East whilst the East could take many leaves 

 out of its books and be the happier and safer for the extra 

 knowledge. 



Par.a. Brazil, May 25, 1914. X. C. J. 



WHAT SICILY WANTS IN RUBBER. 



Sicily offers a fair field to manufacturers of rubber goods, 

 especially in hose suitable for use by wine distillers, fhe pre- 

 ferred type is that having a flexible, spiral metal cover, and of 

 this variety 60 per cent, of the quantity in use is of Italian 

 manufacture, and 40 per cent, foreign. The American spiral 

 nickel-armored hose is considered superior to the Italian hose 

 of the same type, which rusts easily. Hose J^-inch to 2 inches 

 in diameter is sold in 50-foot coils though dealers would prefer 

 lengths of 100 feet, which involve less waste when retailed in 

 pieces of 2 to 5 feet. .American hose is purchased through 

 London supply houses, the government duty being 80 lire per 

 100 kilos ($7 per 100 pounds). There being no difference in 

 price between Italian and foreign makes, and .American goods 

 being preferred, there seems no reason why .American manu- 

 facturers sliould not secure a large pro])ortion of the Sicilian 

 trade. 



Rubber tubing for conducting gas. etc.. is supplied in part by 

 Italian manufacturers and in part by Germany. It is delivered, 

 including duty, for 5 to 20 lire per kilo (44c. to $1.75 per pound), 

 according to (piality and size. 



The most popular tires in this market are of I'rench. German 

 and Italian makes, and Russian and .Austrian rubber shoes 

 have the preference, on account of their weight and durability, 

 though American shoes jre quite popular because of their light- 

 ness and superior finish. The duty on rubber shoes is 1.25 lire 

 (24c.) per pair, and cardboard boxes should not be used in 

 packing as this increases the duty about 2c. per pair, an additional 

 assessment being levied on posters or other advertising matter 

 of .75 lire per kilo (6.57c. per pound). 



