Atrii 1. l')H I 



rilK INDIA KUHKliU WOULD 



.U5 



"'I he govcrnmcm spciil luillioiis of dollars iii Wmld's fairs ami 

 nililiiT exhibition-,, K>Kamio polios of I'aia iiiIiIkt, iiyiainiils ol 

 Toaiso, hoaps of Caiicho. To what oml ? Just lo show thai wo 

 uoio proijiicers of criulo rubber, whioh the whole world knew. 

 A few thousand poiuuls of ouhivalod rublior would liavo boon 

 iulinitely more to oiu' orodil. Thai money would have oipiippod 

 us with the linost oxporimout stations, with exports in rubber 

 eulluro, and iniKbl liavo saved the day. Llut iio I It was spout 

 fnr ilio sbiiw," ' 



HOW i:rUl\KK I'l.AN I \ I liiNS WOfl.D UK IIAMMi U'l'lU, 



The foroKoinn was from ihio u bo was oduoalod in I'.urope 

 and who had traveled extensively. Shortly after ho b h ini 

 Now Vork. I was fortunate in moeliuK a man whom I li.ul 

 known in Manaos. His interests lay in the boats ho owned 

 lor I'p-river trading aiul, of course, his prinoip.il (reiKliI was 

 iidibor. lie was not a llra/ilian but a I'ortUKUosi' and roiuiiidi il 

 Olio of the pictured typos of the old PortURUoso navinalors, who, 

 liofnrc the I'lnnlish, Spanish oi I'ronoli, sailed unohartod seas 

 and expliu'od luiknovvn lauds. 



Said lie- "I have boon rubber nalboror, aviadoi. slii|i ovvnor. 

 I have seen rubber selling at lifty oonis a pound ami Iru ibn-o 

 dollars a pouml. 'rhoro have boon llio obb ami llow ol ihr liilo 

 [•f prioo. but I have always fell that the averago would bo 

 ouounb to w.irranl the ooiuimianoc' of n.illioriuH. 



"I ho planliu).; of rublur ii|> ibo luor docs iioi scriu In im lo 

 be praolioal. If it is to bo done anywiioro on llie river il slioiiM 

 bo iioar I'ara, Tlioro is, of course, the possibility tliat hi lln 

 I'oruvian or lioliviaii Montana a better grailo oould be ciillivalid 

 llian oil the lower levels. Itul tlio lack of labor lliore, llio oosi 

 \ii freights in carrying provisions up to the camps ami the msi 

 of bringing the rubber down all militate .igaiiisl il. I. von if 

 lluro were laborers that would work for twenty conis a day, 

 what with the cost of golfing ihom ihore, liuusiiig, fooding and 

 caring for them, ami willi the freight cost on ihc rubber and 

 the export lax, 1 do not see liow we could coiii|iolc- willi i c\loii 

 and the Malay States. 



"I uudiMSt.and the cost of rubber from llie Mlildle last is 

 say a shilling a pound. Our prodiui lor ilir- le.isous ii.imed 

 would be certainly doublo lli.if. Of course, oiir Up-river lino is 

 the best rubber proiliiced and il lias an<l will long have a 

 iiiarkef. I do not believe, however, as some do, fli.il il ■ aiiiiof 

 ever bo oi|ua!e(l. Scientibc luclhods ill lime always lininiiili over 

 the non-scicntilic. For that reason I am eonli<li nf flial imi 

 ■only will the great plantations in Asia for a time disfam r all 

 "othe'r means of supply, biif they in turn will bo dislamed by 

 iho cheap and abiuxlant production of rubber made Hyntholiealb 



"The Amazon will not stop flowing whatever the price of 

 rubber." ho continued whimsically, "'riiere need be no famine 

 Our laborers will drift in from flie retnoto soringals when it 

 docs not pay lo lap trees. We have catth', I'razil nuts, and a 

 host of yet undeveloped resources. Instead of buying our food 

 stuflfs we shall be able to raise them. It may he thai ibe big 

 steamers will come less frequently up the Amazon, thai fbe 

 Solimoes will be only navigated by v.mall I'.razilian boats as of 

 yore, but new industries will in time develop. The out side 

 world is too big, too aggressive, too rich to long neglect the 

 valley of the Amazon, which is destined one day lo be the 

 garden spot of the earth. Some day, perhaps nol in my time, 

 its cane fields will be the greatest; its cocoanut groves the largest 

 and most prolific, and perhaps its rubber plantations second 

 to none. 



"1 bad hoped much lor the Drfe.tn da Horrdclta. It seemed 

 well organized and the reports from its various commissioners 

 should certainly be of great value. Hut that has now been 

 abolished and we are where we were before, only poorer, and 

 facing the likelihood of greater rather than lower taxation," 

 One who has been a resident of T'arA for many years, who 

 has journeyed up the Amazon, the Madeira and their affluents, 



aifl to mf : "Notwithstanding the fart that in the last thirty 



years Ndrtlioru llra/il has p.ud Soulhorn llra.il .ISlI lUillioiiK of 

 dollars in tasos, the South now |irnctieiilly refuses lo do «ny- 

 thing to alleviate the sulTcriug in the Ama/on region, Sn 

 sink wo mnst. 



"b'rom being the great shippers of rubber wi' shall bo small 

 Olios. Some of the bosi 'lino' will alwavs lind a niarkot 1 hen 

 llioro is Manii;oba which can bo laiil down in New ^'ork lor 

 thirty cents a pound. I'lial will iml bo wiped out. llut the 

 great imbisli\ of file Ama/on is doomed" 



Till'; IIU.V/II.IAN ST1I,I,1N llil'; KlNli. 



rile loregoiug piciiu'os the llrariliau of the past, lo whom 



iiionoy came with liltle elTorl. Those who observe, how 



ev<r. are nol slow lo see in the present crisis a new type ol 



business man on the Ama/on ,\| last the true character of the 



Itl 



1'ACKINO RUIIMICU I'OK .SlIlI'MUN I, I'aha. 



Iliaziliaii has been bronghf out by his ilislrens, The errors ol 

 flic fiasl have been willingly aoktiowledgerl, and a remeily has 

 already boon prescribed and applied by fbe biisini'ss men, who 

 are standing llieir ground and lirliilm' in di. tielief lb ii I'.o.'i 



KiiMiiKH HoxKii Vim Smu'mknt, )'^u^. 



riibbeV will regain its former preitige It i= a brave liKhl, arifl 

 is worthy a world's admiration for the pluck of il all liueiiteeo 

 is now oil a cash basis, and the tnan who formerly asked (or 

 credit now presents cash or good collateral. The people are ris- 



j,„. I,, i|,„ „,,,,„,,...•- ..( il,. :, n. ;i)i<l .■.■..! vu/beK- llii-re i' 



