Fh n.T \u\ i. igio. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



169 



The Improved Outlet for Bolivian Rubber. 



IF any region can be described as "the heart of South 

 America" it doubtless will be admitted to be included in 

 the republic of Bolivia. This without doubt is the most 

 landlocked country of importance in the world. Larger than 

 most of the kingdoms of Europe. Bolivia has no direct natural 

 outlet to the sea. Having no longer a port on the Pacific it 

 has no access at all to that ocean except through the terri- 

 tory of other and not always friendly nations, besides which 

 land travel to the Pacific must be over the Andes mountains, 

 which rise to a height almost prohibitive of travel and 

 commerce. 



rubber, and it was within the power of Brazil to prevent such 

 access. With the Acre gone the principal rubber fields of 

 Bolivia must depend for an outlet upon the obstructed 

 Madeira. 



It has been the dream of Bolivia for a half century to 

 overcome the interruptions to shipping on this great river by 

 means of improved roads around the falls, and latterly to 

 build a railway paralleling the river. But the financial devel- 

 opment of the republic long made it impracticable for the 

 government to undertake such a gigantic enterprise, and 

 conditions of trade had not developed to a point where the 

 proposition was inviting to foreign capitalists. 



It is true that, through the great foresight and 

 the inimitable energy of the late Colonel George 

 Earl Church, a company was organized at one 

 time to build a railway along the Madeira, and it 

 is possible that if the project had been carried 

 out the same success would have resulted that 

 later attended the construction of the Congo rail- 

 way around the falls in the river of that name, 

 which a few years later opened to the world the 

 rubber realm of King Leopold. 



The undertaking, however, by American con- 

 tractors and engineers, based upon the recom- 

 mendation of Colonel Church, was handicapped 

 not only by the underestimated obstacle of in- 

 salubrious conditions, but by unforeseen political, 

 financial and legal complications, so that after 

 much material had been placed on the ground, and 

 a section of the road was in operation, the whole 

 scheme collapsed. Thereafter for years it was 

 almost impossible to interest the outside world 

 again in another undertaking of the kind. 



Meanwhile the world's demand for rubber was 

 AROUND THE RAPIDS OF THE MADEIRA RIVER-OLD REGIME. growing more pressing, and the extent of Bo- 



livia's supplies was better understood. Not only 

 It is true that Bolivia is plentifully supplied with water- this, but there are other forms of forest wealth. Bolivia is one 

 ways which converge gradually until the great Amazon is of the richest countries in the world for minerals, and soil 

 reached, and through it the Atlantic. But the Amazon flows and climate are favorable to agriculture and grazing, 

 entirely through foreign countries, and even the mouths of . By the latest treaty between Bolivia and Brazil the latter 

 the tributaries through which Bolivian traffic must 

 reach that great river are open only by consent of 

 neighbors. Added to these handicaps is the series 

 of cataracts and rapids which for 200 miles inter- 

 rupt the navigation of the Madeira, toward which 

 most of the Bolivian rivers flow. The cost of 

 transportation up and down the Madeira seems 

 almost incredible in other countries having navi- 

 gable rivers, and limits commerce to the more 

 valuable exports — having relation to weight and 

 price — and in the matter of imports to absolute 

 necessities. 



Bolivia is of interest to the trade represented 

 by this journal through its unparalleled richness 

 in rubber. Not only do vast areas abound in rub- 

 ber trees but they yield generously the highest 

 grade of rubber known in the world's market. 

 Bolivia claimed until recently the rich Acre dis- 

 trict, important for its production of rubber, and 

 the loss of this territory to Brazil was due largely 

 no doubt to the weakness of the nation caused by 

 its isolated situation. The Acre, without access 

 to the Amazon for export purposes, would have 

 been of little value to Bolivia, however rich in an American locomotive in the heart of south \mfhha 



