350 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April 1, 1914. 



GOLD COAST RUBBER AND WATER. 



A BUYER of Gold Coast Rubber in ;i city some hundreds of 

 miles from New York, recently brought to our attention so 

 interesting a tale of Free water in casks of that sort of rubber 

 that it is well worth attention. The rubber came to New York 

 and was promptly re-shipped to the buyer. Then, according to 

 custom it was sent to the factory, tared and an affidavit being 

 made, the difference was allowed as the amount of rubber re- 

 ceived. The story of the manufacturer is related simply to 

 point out the lack of uniform system in nearly all crude rubber 

 transactions and in the hope that the publication of the facts 

 will lead up to a more modern method. He relates his experi- 

 ence as follows : 



"When my attention was called to some huge shrinkages in 

 Gold Coast, some of them running over 60 per cent., I found 

 that the man in charge was drawing the water out of the casks 

 without any report, no matter how much of it was present. 



"We had more of the same rubber due us, and I took up the 

 question immediately with each of the sellers, insisting that the 

 rubber should be grossed and tared at the same time and same 

 place, the same as Para. Three agreed to my suggestion and the 

 rubber was delivered accordingly. After much difficulty the 

 other seller agreed that the lots that were on the dock ready 

 to be delivered should be weighed in the way specilied. but de- 

 murred from accepting affidavits on previous deliveries. 



"I enclose a list of the weights, without names, of some of the 

 deliveries, because I want to make this absolutely impersonal. 

 .•\s 1 told you in New York. I visited some of the warehouses in 

 Liverpool and noted in every one of them that there was a hose 

 and a faucet. 



WKICIITS OF 10 C.^SKS OF GOLD COAST LUMPS. 

 Free Water 9 to 27 Pounds. 



. — liilled Weights. — ., f Received Weights. -^ 



Rub- Proper 



Cask Xo. (iross. Tare. Net. Gross. Tare. her. Water. Gross. 



1 1,202 155 1,047 1,195 160 1.024 11 1,184 



2 1.216 154 1,062 1.215 157 1.050 8 1,207 



3 1,195 148 1,047 1.180 152 1.024 4 1,176 



4 420 75 345 418 82 336 .. 418 



5 1,428 263 1,165 1.428 268 1.134 16 1,412 



6 1,347 261 1.086 1.348 266 1,073 9 1,339 



7 1,424 247 1,177 1.402 252 1.150 .. 1,402 



,-; 1,471 266 1.205 1,470 272 1.171 27 1.443 



9 1,370 267 1,103 1,348 272 1,064 12 1,236 



10 1,205 275 930 1.203 275 938 .. 1,203 



12,278 2,111 10.167 12,207 2.156 9.964 87 12,120 



WEIGHTS OF 9 C.\SKS OF GOLD CO.VST LUMPS. 

 Free W.\ter 22 to 130 Pounds. 



/-^-Billed Weights. — .^ , Received Weights. ^ 



Ruh- Proper 



Cask No. Gross. Tare. Net. Gross. Tare. her. Water. Gross. 



1 1,518 284 1,234 1.511 286 1. 121 104 1.407 



2 1,566 262 1.304 1.566 254 1,203 99 1,467 



3 1,315 251 1.264 1.501 256 1.183 62 1,439 



4 1,462 283 1.179 1.442 286 1,121 35 1,407 



5 1,361 241 1,320 1,552 244 1,294 14 1,538 



6 1,608 272 1.336 1.605 274 1,211 120 1,485 



7 1,481 273 1,208 1,475 275 1,164 36 1,439 



8 1,794 257 1.537 1.789 260 1,399 130 1,659 



9 1.445 264 1.181 1,427 267 1,138 22 1,405 



13,950 2,387 11.563 13,868 2.412 10.834 622 13.246 



"I liad an amusing correspondence with this last seller, who 

 insisted that the old method of weighing was correct; that is, 

 that we should gross the casks on the wharf, and then they 

 should allow us for whatever tares we found ; so I put this ex- 

 ample up to him : 



"Supposing that he should ship to us from Liverpool a tight 

 oil barrel in which should be placed one lump of Gold Coast 

 weighing ten pounds, and there should be two hundred pounds 

 of water, how much rubber should I pay for? The only answer 

 he would make was the same old answer — that we should pay 

 for two hundred pounds of water and ten pounds of Gold Coast, 

 and because I kept putting it up to him stronger and stronger, 

 he finally got peevish, and so I dropped the matter. However, I 

 have noticed since that the\' have credited the water. 



"I am emphasizing this because it illustrates so clearly the 

 fact that there is no uniform method, that there arc no uniform 

 cor.tracts, that there are no standards of nomenclature, and that 

 each case is settled with an importer by the manufacturer, ac- 

 cording to the particular force put into the matter l)y the manu- 

 facturer. 



"My belief regarding all of such shipments of (iold Coast 

 Rubber is that every one of the New York people is innocent, 

 that it is purely false packing. It is the Liverpool representatives 

 in these New York houses who do not look after the manufac- 

 turers' interests and see to it that false packing of water does not 

 exist. For such neglect they and they alone are responsible. 

 Of course we can only look to the people that sell and deliver 

 rubber, but there certainly should be some regular incthod of 

 weighing. 



"It seems to me that the most primitive safeguards in the con- 

 tract are not specified, and it is just as much in the interest of 

 the dealer to have these standards recognized as it is for the 

 manufacturer. 



"Consider the amount of business that is done between dealers 

 and manufacturers with no uniform contract, no standards of 

 nomenclature, no standards of weighing, no standard of what 

 constitutes delivery within a specified time. The integrity of the 

 industry demands that steps shall be taken to clarify all these 

 dealings.'' 



LEWIS & PEAT'S CHABT, 



The chart covering the variations in London rubber prices 

 since 1909 is a graphic record of the movements of the market. 

 It is --upidcmcntcd liy the following table of the world's produc- 

 tion : 



World's Production of Rubber, in Toxs. 



Plantation Wild Other Total 

 I'ar.-'i. Para. sorts. tons. 



1910 S.OOO 38.250 33,750 80,000 



1911 14,000 38,000 33,000 85,000 



1912 28.500 42,000 25,500 96,000 



1913 47,000 39,500 22,000 108,500 



English deliveries of plantation Par.'t are shown as follows : 



1910, 6.094 tons; 1911, 9,650 tons; 1912. 19,373 tons; 1913, 31,260 

 tons England has thus absorbed a large proportion of the 

 increased production of plantation Para. 



The chart contains a photograph of a seven-year-old Ilevea 

 being tapped in Mabtya. 



RAW PRODUCTS CO. 



The usual chart of this company has been received and is 

 full of valuable statistical information, showing the move- 

 ment of prices during the last three years, as well as the 

 monthly fluctuations in quotations of 32 grades of crude rub- 

 ber. United States imports and stocks for each month of 

 1913 are also given, in addition to Para monthly arrivals and 

 stocks. 



English imports are shown as well as stocks, like informa- 

 tion being furnished as to .Antwerp and Bordeaux. Being 

 prepared for hanging up, this chart will be found useful for 

 frequent reference and consultation. 



ESTIMATED PLANTATION RUBBER SUPPLIES FOR 1914. 



After a plantation crop of 47,000 tons for 1913 an English 

 estimate places the supply for 1914 at 63.800 tons. But as this is 

 all pure rubber the increase of some 17,000 tons would be the 

 equivalent of about 25,000 tons of wild rubber, which loses from 

 IS to 40 per cent, in washing. 



Supposing that the decline from Africa, Brazil and Mexico will 

 be 15,000 tons in the current year, a net increase of 10,000 is in 

 prospect. Even with a normal increase of 10 per cent, on last 

 year's consumption of aliout 105,000 tons there would seem a 

 prospect of a shortage. Such is an English view of the situation. 



