644 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September 1, 1914. 



near to Porto Vellio on the Madeira, the starting point of said 

 railroad, at a price of about $5 per acre. 



We close this article by reproducing an intercsling prognostica- 

 tion recently published (in "The World's Work" of February, 

 1914) by Mr. Henry C. Pearson: 



THK 1-UTUKIC Ol' UUCBER. 



"As to the future, if tlie ratio of increase in production and 

 planting remains the same, the production of plantation rubber 

 in the ne.Kt live years should reach 500,000,000 pounds. Such an 

 output would probably mean a drop in price to at least SO cents 

 a pound. It would also mean a wonderful expansion of the 

 rubber manufacturing industry in new and unguessed lines, as 

 well as in the old. lUit will Nature allow such areas of one 

 growth to supplant all others? Will not rubber have its Imll 

 weevil, its scale, its bud rot? The planters have from the be- 

 ginning fought white ants, canker, caterpillars ; and the en- 

 tomologists and mycologists of the world are on the alert to 

 defend these new plantations. Will it not happen that these 

 closely planted areas will suffer and perhaps be wiped out as 

 coffee was wiped out of Ceylon? And will it therefore not come 

 about that a wider distribution of planted areas will be neces- 

 sary — one that will include tropical Central and South America, 

 Africa, and our own Philippines, and thus assure the perma- 

 nence of this most valuable product?" 



In favorable contrast with the Oriental lands, which only pro- 

 duce some tea during the si.\ to ten years required for the 

 maturing of the rubber trees, the Bolivian lands will yield suf- 

 ficient rubber from the wild trees to cover all expenses and 

 leave a gratifying surplus." 



From the "Pan-.'\merican Bulletin" of July, we insert the fol- 

 lowing: 



"The British minister to Bolivia (Hon. Cecil Gosling) recently 

 made a report on Bolivian trade apd conditions, in which the 

 rubber industry was extensively discussed, and a tribute paid to 

 its excellent qualities. The report deals with the four varieties 

 of rubber trees which abound in Bolivia, the localities where 

 each are found, the condition and price of laborers for gather- 

 ing the rubber, the export tax — which is likely to be reduced 

 from 12 to 2 per cent, ad valorem — etc. Bolivia stands next to 

 Brazil in amount of rubber production." 



SENHOE TERENCIO PORTA. 



Much sympathy has been expressed with the family of Senhor 

 Terencio Porta, an esteemed member of the editorial staff of the 

 Para "Folha do Norte," who died early in June of grip and 

 pleuro-pneumonia. The funeral services were largely attended 

 and the body was followed to the grave by many members of 

 societies to which the deceased belonged. He was 26 years of 

 age, and a native of Pernanibuco. 



BR. CASPAR VIANNA. 



The death at Rio de Janeiro on June 15 of Dr. Caspar Vianna, 

 the talented young scientist, was a great shock to his many friends 

 in Para, of which city he was a native. Funeral services were 

 held at the cathedral, a meeting of condolence being also held, 

 under the presidency of Dr. Eneas Martins, president of the 

 State of Para, which was attended by a large number of leading 

 Para officials and citizens. 



THE BRAZILIAN RUBBER CRISIS. 



The Brazilian population, which gave up agriculture for rubber 

 in the halcyon days of the latter, now that the tide has turned, 

 is returning to its old agricultural pursuits. In fact, the woods 

 are losing their denizens, while the towns and villages are get- 

 ting back their old inhabitants. In particular, the zone of the 

 Braganga railway is displaying the tendency of "going back to 

 the land." 



In a recent month 6,502 persons arrived at the port of Para ; 

 departures in that time numbered 3,537. 



BOUNDARY DISPUTE BETWEEN PARA AND AMAZONAS, 



.•\ suit is pending in the Brazilian courts in which the State 

 of Amazonas is protesting against certain acts of usurpation Ijy 

 Para. These acts include the passing of laws by the latter State 

 for execution in the former, thus exercising an unlawful juris- 

 diction and violating the federal constitution. 



COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT ASSOCIATION, FABA. 



.\t the special meeting lately held for the election of officials, 

 Henrique Tancrcdo Leite was chosen as president, and Floberto 

 Martins as first secretary of the deliberative council; the fiscal 

 and administrative councils being respectively under the presi- 

 dency of Jose Pinto Simones and .\ntonio Alendes Fernandes. 



EXPERIMENTAL RUBBER STATION AT MANAOS. 



.\dvice has been received by The In[)I-\ Rubber World from 

 the Experimental Station for Rubber Cultivation at Manaos 

 that official permission has been granted by the Federal Govern- 

 ment for the director of the experimental rubber station and 

 the chief of the agricultural section to enter upon their duties 

 in accordance with the federal decree of May 14 last. 



A BRAZILIAN EXPCuIlATION COMPANY SUSPENDS. 



The directors of the Brazilian Commercial, Industrial and 

 Rural Co. met in their New York office on August 14 and passed 

 resolutions to the effect that owing to the present conflict in 

 Europe and the financial conditions on the Continent it would 

 be impossible for the company to raise capital at this time for 

 the exploitation of its properties in the State of Para, Brazil, 

 as it was solely dependent upon its European branches for finan- 

 cial aid, and that in consequence the company after August 22 

 would suspend all business until further notice. 



SENOR MENDES ON THE AMAZON SITUATION. 



At a luncheon given to tlie delegates to the recent rubber ex- 

 hibition in London, Senor J. A. Mendes, delegate of the Com- 

 mercial Association of Para, spoke on the situation in the Amazon 

 at the present time. He expressed himself as very sanguine that 

 the Amazon country after it emerged from its present trying 

 situation would be on a sounder and more favorable basis than 

 ever before. He continued : 



"As regards the severe fall in prices that has affected the 

 Amazonian Valley, those ignorant not only of conditions there 

 but of the enormous capability of recuperation that such a fertile 

 l;;nd has think that our days as a rubber-producing center are 

 past. This is not the case. It was natural that in two States like 

 Para and Amazonas, coimting only on india rubber as their 

 source of revenue, the financial conditions should be disorganized 

 by the large decrease in the value of this article, still so heavily 

 ta.xed to face the keen competition from the Far East. Never- 

 theless, the physical properties of our rubber will always be ap- 

 preciated by the manufacturing world, and that industry of ours 

 has shown stupendous resistance by coming to the primary mar- 

 kets in large quantities. Everything points to the fact that as 

 soon as the effects of the present crisis are past the prevailing 

 low prices will not only change the obnoxious methods of trading 

 there but will necessarily result in larger crops. As soon as we 

 adapt ourselves to these new conditions — and this is now being 

 done in Amazonas — I do not see how w-e shall fail to produce 

 rubber cheaply enough to remunerate its extraction." 



NO CRIMINAl PROSECUTION OF MEXICAN CRUDE RUBBER CO. 



The Mexican Crude Ruliber Co., of Detroit. Michigan, whose 

 plant was wrecked on May 15 last by an explosion which killed 

 ten men, is not to be prosecuted criminally, although the cor- 

 oner's jury rendered a verdict that the explosion was due to 

 "negligence and ignorance on the part of the officials of the 

 Mexican Crude Rubber Co." A careful review of the evidence 

 offered at the inquest showed, however, the impossibility of pin- 

 ning the matter down to any one of the six different causes out 

 ni which the accident might have occurred. 



