Ai'Rii. 1. 191-t.l 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



343 



net of 19J^ per cent, as above, ^ of 1 per cent, as above, I per 

 cent, as above. 



Federal district tax : 18 jht cent, on llic ofticial value of all 

 grades. 



ItOLn'I.VS SHREWD .MOVE. 



As against this there is the very shrewd move on the part 

 of Bolivia, as shown in the following law passed early in Decem- 

 ber. This edict was the result of a law passed by the Brazilian 

 Government putting a heavy tax on all Bolivian rublier. Bolivia 

 in turn passed a law that put the export ta.x at from two to 

 six per cent, ad valorem. This naturally increased the ship- 

 ments of Bolivian rubber and incidentally caused much Brazilian 

 rubber to be sent into Bolivian territory to appear later a?; 

 Bolivian rubber. 



Sessions Hall of the National Congress, 

 La Paz, November 13, 1913. 



Juan M. Saracro, 



Atiliano Afaricio, 

 J. V. Zaconeta. S. S. 



Juan .-Mva'-ado, D. S., 

 Rene Ren j el, D. S. 

 I. therefore, pnimulsate the decree in order that it may be 

 executed as a law of the Republic. 

 Given in the City of La Paz, the IXih day of November, 1913. 

 IsM.xFi. Months. 



Casto Rojas, 

 .Minister of .Xgriculture. 

 Certified : 



Manuel A. Elias, 



L'nder Secretary of Agriculfi.e. 



E.M'KRIMKNT St.\ TIU.N — I h'l'CU Pl.^NTINC StATE OF P.^R.\. 



REPUP.I.IC Ol- BOLI\"I.\. 



Official Registry of Laws, Decrees, Resolutions, Supreme Or- 

 dinances and Other Documents. 



La Paz, December 5, 1913. 

 Ismael Alontes, Constitutional President of the Republic : 



Inasmuch as the National Congress has sanctioned the fol- 

 lowing law, the National Congress decrees; 



Article L The export tax on india rubber will be collected 

 by all the custom houses of the Republic, in accordance with 

 the following scale : 



(a) When the quotation of rubber is from 25 to 36 pence, 

 the tax shall be 2 per cent, ad valorem. 



(b) The tax shall be 4 per cent, when the price ranges be- 

 tween 37 and 48 pence. 



(c") The tax shall be 6 per cent, when the price exceeds 49 

 pence. 



Article 2. The same scale of percentage shall apply to the 

 export of the ordinary classes, Sernaniby, Mollendo and 

 Caucho, with the rebate of 30 per cent, on the value lixed for 

 fine rubber. 



.Article 3. In case the tax imposed by neighboring foreign cus- 

 tom houses shall be less than that of Bolivia, the Executive 

 Power can make a jiroportionate reduction in the rubber export 

 duties. 



Article 4. In fixing the official value, there shall be taken 70 

 per cent, of the London market quotations, which are trans- 

 mitted every fortnight by the Bolivian consulate in London. 



Communicated to the Executive Power for official action. 



\\n.\T PRO.MINE.XT UK.\Z1 1-I.\.\S S.W .MiOUT THE SITUA'I IO.\. 



There is a beautiful island in the Caribbean, not so very far 

 from the mainland, where those who live on the Great River 

 have been accustomed to spend a few months each year. They 

 have built themselves tiny bungalows, and they resort to a little 

 hotel where Portuguese is spoken, and where they are disposed 

 to talk much more freely on home matters than they would 

 either in Para or New York. 



One of the first men I inet there was one who formerly sent 

 his own boats for trade far up the river, who, with his asso- 

 ciates, worked great stretches of forest for rubber, but who 

 sold all of his interests during the rubber boom. Since that 

 lime instead of departing to Paris as is customary, he had 

 quietly tried to bring his compatriots to a realizing sense of 

 the disaster foreshadowed by such high prices, together with the 

 coming flood of plantation rubber from the East. He was far 

 from optimistic. Indeed, he was distinctly gloomy. 



"Individually," said he, "I care not. But my heart bleeds for 

 my country. Are we to see the grass growing in the streets of 

 Para? Is Manaos, that wonderful young giant of a city, that 

 oasis of civilization in the midst of the jungle, to be a heap of 

 ruins? Will these two cities, like Tyre and Sidon of old, 

 be but places where fishermen do spread their nets? The 

 fault is ours? Perhaps. Yes! we should have foreseen this 



