THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



(October 1, 1920. 



lii>ii IS given, llie ad valorem duty being assessed on invoice 

 value, as automobiles, for instance, the increase does not apply. 

 Nor would it apply in the case of goods subject to specific duty. 

 The following table shows the articles for which changes ni 

 rate of duty, as well as in official valuation, are provided for by 

 the new law. The previous rates and valuations arc given for 

 purposes of comparison, .\ttciition should be invited to the fact 

 that while the rates are ad valorem in form, they are really 

 specific, in view of the fi.xed character of the valuations, which 

 are not affected by market fluctuations. 



r.qtiit 



alenis.—Ftso, $0,965; kilo, 2.20A6 

 quart! 



poiinds; liter, 1.05668 U. S. liquid 



Old Tariff 



New Tariff 

 ^ 



Tariff 

 No. 



933. 



934. 



935. 



1121. 

 1122. 



1123 

 1124. 



1125. 

 2536. 



2940 



2941. 



2942. 

 2943. 



2944. 



2945. 

 2946 

 2947. 



Valua- 

 tion 



.\rticle in Pesos 



Per Kiln. 

 Pipes, tubes, hose, elbow.c, and jcints: 

 Of rubber, not combined with cloth, 

 except those of English sheets and 



the like l.OU 



The same, combined with clotli. 



with or witliout wire ... 60 



Of rubber, in pieces. esi)ecially for 



the manufacture of match bo.\es. . 1.50 

 Rubber: 



Cushions for billiard tables 1.50 



Soft, in sheets, valves, belting, cords. 



and mats 1 .00 



The same, combined with cloth or 



metal 60 



Horseshoes. rings. carriage and 



wagon tires, saw bands, and others 1..^0 



Tires for automobiles 2.00 



Toys, of soft or vujcanized rubber. . 1.20 

 Rubber : 



Refined or soft ; 1.20 



Vulcanized (English sheets and the 

 like, black or red) in the frrm of 

 bags, belts, cloth, bandages, nip- 

 ples, trusses, pumps, single or 

 double bulbs for atomizers, sponges, 

 tubes less than 5 millimeters in 

 diameter, and all other unspecified 

 articles used for medicinal use.. 5.00 



Each. 



Urethralsounds 0. 10 



Tubes, 5 millimeters and upward in Per kilo, 

 diameter, stoppers, teething rings. 



syringes, etc 3.00 



Lined or combined with cotton, linen, 

 or wool, in the form of belts, hosiery, 

 bandages, and other articles for sur- 

 gical use 5.00 



Lined or combined with silk or mixed 



silk fabric $7.00 



Rubberised cloth, such as raincoat silk, 



etc 2.00 



Hard febonite and the like) ill the 

 shape of surgical tubes, syringes, 

 pessaries, or any other article for 

 surgical use 3.50 



GREECE 



Rate 



of 



Duty 



P. Ct. 



25 

 25 



\'alua- 



tion 



in Pesos 



Per Kilo. 



1.30 



25 



25 



2.00 



1.30 



Rate 



of 

 I>uty 

 P.Ct. 



30 

 30 



30 



25 



6.50 



Each. 



0.20 



'er kilo. 



4.00 



30 



25 



4.00 



30 



A bill to modify certain headings in the Greek customs tariff has been 

 introduced. According to the new law, No. 2152, the duties on rubber 

 goods will be as follows: 



Equiraleittx. — Drachma, 19.2 cents (nominal value); oke, 2.8 pound? 

 avoirdupois; dramion, 0.111 ounce. 



Conven- 

 General tional 

 Tariff, Tariff. 

 Drachmas Drachmas 



Tariff 

 No. 

 72b. Metal 



wires covered with rubber or gutta 



percha per 100 okcs 10.00 5.00 



325f. Pieces, sheets, bands, bars, pipes, etc., of rubber 

 and gutta percha, mixed or not with other 

 materials, and hat riin of cotton steeped in 



gum per 100 ohes 280.00 140.00 



In addition to the above amendments, the law provides for a municipal 

 tax to be levied and collected on imported goods at the same time as the 

 customs import duty. Imported goods, having once paid municipal (octroi) 

 tax, are not again subject to such tax when transported to other munici- 

 palities. 



The municipal tax on goods subiecl to import duty (the above, therefore, 

 too) is fixed at 25 per cent of the State import duty. 



Below is a I'st of rubber goods exempt from import duty, but liable to 

 municipal taxes at the specified rates: 



Municipal 

 Tax, 

 Tariff Drachmas, 



No. P" 100 okes 



221<f. Packing of asbestos mixed with other substances 20.00 



325o. Rubber and gutta percha. raw and refined 50.00 



h. Threads of rubber and gutta percha 75.00 



(/. Diving suits 1000 



POLAND 



Among the articles classed as "luxury" goods, of which importation is 

 prohibited, are mentioned waterproof and rubbered garments, caps, over- 

 coats, mantles, etc. 



GERMANY 



.\ German law of July 21 authorizes the German Government 

 to apply the conventional tariff rates to goods of any origin. A 

 government proclamation issued under the above law, dated July 

 28, and ctTective .Kugust 6, provides that where the customs 

 treatment of imported goods is established by a treaty or 

 convention, this conventional treatment is to be applied to simi- 

 lar goods from whatever country they may be imported. 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN THE NETHERLAND 

 EAST INDIES 



liy i; S/'ccuil Con-cspoiHlcnl 

 nPHE Archiff z-oor ile Kubbcniiltunr of December, 1919, pub- 

 ■*• lishes a comparison of production costs in West Java and 

 the Federated Malay States. .Although the figures in the first 

 case are for 1917 and in the latter for the first half of 1918, they 

 may prove interesting particularly as the conclusions give food 

 for thought at a time when Malayan planters are fighting for 

 higher prices for their rubber. 



Data for the Federated Malay States cover 193 estates : the 

 average cost price lor 107 was about fl. 1.06 ( rtorin=$0.-40 

 United States currency), ami for 86, fl. 1.61 per kilo of rubber. 



Placed side by side the average costs for West Java and the 

 Federated Malay States are as follows (one bouw equals 1.75 

 acres ; one kilo equals 2.2 pounds) : 



West Java F. M. S. 



(1) Average yield per bouw per annum kiloi 302 225 



(2) .\verage costs |ier kilo of rubber for upkeep of 



bearing area fl. 0.1388 fl. 0.2942 



(3) Tapping, preparation, packing, transportation per 



kilo of rubber 0.5477 0.5902 



(4) C'cneral expenses 0.2537 0.4222 



.'^ver.age cost per kilo of rubber fl. 0.940^ fl. 1.3066 



Special taxes due to circumstances have not been included in 

 the above figures. The cost given above is the f. o. b. price to the 

 nearest port and does not include insurance, freight and office 

 overhead. 



In the above costs, the points to be noted are : general estate 

 labor is cheaper in Java; tappers in Java will tap only and not 

 do e.xtra work as the contract workers in the Federated Malay 

 States do. On the other hand, the planter in Java has no 

 recruiting costs, while salaries for the European staflf arc higher 

 in the Federated Malay States and, last but not least, the yields 

 in Java appear to be higher than in Malaya. 



Now the number of West Java estates considered was only 26. 

 and then there was about a year's difference in time. .\s, pro- 

 duction increases each year, the figures for West Java would 

 have been still more favorable if they had been given for 1918 as 

 was the case in the Federated Malay States. 



The writer ot the article concludes with the significant remark 

 that since costs are much lower in Java, the rubber industry 

 is on a firmer economic basis than is the case in Malaya ; conse- 

 quently if prices should decline, Java estates would still have a 

 martiin of profit, whereas the Malayan estates would not. 



PLANTERS' DEMANDS 



The Planters' Union here has asked for a general increase in 

 salaries amo.unting to 100 per cent. The employers have sug- 

 gested that since a good many estates have already raised salaries, 

 and as it is difficult to lump estates varying greatly in situation, 

 climate, etc., where conditions consequently difTer .greatly, tniiii- 

 mum salaries should be fixed. 



RUBBER TREE SELECTION 



Of late, much attention has been given to selection in order to 

 increase the production. Highest producers have been selected as 

 sources of seed or budded stock for new plantings. However, it 

 has been found that a good many of the best yielding trees de- 

 velop brown bast, and their offspring would naturally inherit the 

 saine tendency. In this connection Dr. R. D. Rands read a pajer 

 before the annual meeting of the Union of Experiment Station 

 Personnel, held at P.uitenzorg, Java. 



