54 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November 1, 191!. 



Since its formation in 1892 the United States Rubber 

 Co. has paid in dividends on its various shares close to 

 $34,000,000. It has paid !-'_' per cent, nii its preferred 

 stock. It began in 1893 with 4 per cent., raised this to 

 9yj per cent, in 1894, and has paid 8 per cent, every 

 year since except in 1897, when it paid 6 per cent. ; in 

 1901, when it dropped to 1 per cent.; the two following 

 years, when it passed altogether ; 1904, when it resumed 

 by paying 41/2 per cent., and 1905, when it paid 9 per 

 cent. Its average for the past 18 years is 7 per cent. 



It began paying on the second preferred stock in 

 October, 1905, and has maintained a 6 per cent, rate 

 ever since. But its common stock has had a leaner 

 career. On this stock the company started off with the 

 payment of 2^/2 per cent, in 1895, followed by 2 per cent. 

 in 1897, which was repeated in 1899 and 1900, from 

 which time there was a hiatus until the payment just 

 made. This stock has received in 18 years a total of 

 9j/2 per cent., or an average of J^ per cent, a year. 



The preferred stock, with an average dividend of 7 

 per cent., is certainly not selling inordinately high at its 

 present figure of about 108. The second preferred, 

 selling close to 75, which puts it on an 8 per cent, basis, 

 holds about the proper logical relation to the first pre- 

 ferred, but the common selling at over 40 on a pay- 

 ment of 9Vl per cent, in 18 years shows that its holders 

 are following that admirable motto, "Look forward, not 

 back," as evidently their eyes are on the future rather 

 than on the past. 



A BIG SNAKE STORY EXPLAINED. 

 A LGOT LANGE is not only a writer and lecturer 

 ■** on rubber, but a narrator of thrilling adventure. 

 He had an account in the New York Sunday "Herald" 

 of October 8, of his encounter with a boa constrictor 

 in the Amazon country. "The snake," he writes, "was 

 coiled up, forming an enormous mass of round, scaly 

 monstrosity, large enough to crush us all to death at 

 once. We stopped at a distance of about fifteen feet 

 and looked at each other and, strange to say, I felt 

 as if I was spellbound, unable to move any further 

 or even to think or act." However, he managed to 

 bring his automatic Luger pistol into play, and his 

 six Indian guides blazed away with their .44 Win- 

 chesters, and the reptile was slowly and painfully 

 devitalized. Then he was smoothed out and duly 

 measured. "I proceeded to take my measurements 

 and used the span between my thumb and my little 

 finger as a unit, knowing that this was exactly eight 



inches. Ueginning at the mouth of the snake I con- 

 tinued to the end of the tail, and found a total length 

 of fifty-eight feet four inches." In order to silence 

 forever any shallow carjier he verified his calculations. 

 "I took this measure from the tail to the nose over 

 again, so as to eliminate any errors, whereupon I 

 asked the men who were with me to take the measure- 

 ments in their manner, onlv confirming the above 

 mentioned figures." 



W. T. Hornaday, director of the New York Zo- 

 ological Museum, commenting on this reptile remarks : 

 "Thus far I ha\-e not been able to obtain the definite 

 record for either anaconda or python, measured by 

 careful and competent hands, that exceeded 25 feet," 

 but he thinks one possibly might attain to 30 feet. 



But Mr. Lange's 58-feet-4-inch boa is easily ac- 

 counted for. He was in the heart of the rubber coun- 

 try ; the day was hot and the snake was dry. Coming 

 upon a fine specimen of Hevea Brasiliensis with the 

 rich, fresh milk pouring out from a- recent tapping he 

 imbibed freely and joyously. The heat of the tropical 

 sun and the sulphur of his natural disposition com- 

 bined to vulcanize the latex as it entered his system. 

 The result — an elasticity like that of the rubber band 

 in a boy's bean-shooter ! Mr. Lange and his six In- 

 dians easily stretched him out to 58 feet 4 inches. If 

 there had been twelve Indians they could undoubtedly 

 have stretched him out to 116 feet 8 inches. 



DR, IRA REMSEN, president of Johns-Hopkins Uni- 

 versity, has an exceedingly interesting article in the 

 "Scientific American" of September 16, 1911, on syn- 

 thetic rubber — that is, it is interesting the moment he 

 begins to touch on the chemical side of it. His "few 

 words concerning rubber," however, show a lack of 

 broad information. He gives South and Central 

 America the credit for most of the crude rubber pro- 

 duced, mentioning to be sure, plantations in the Mid- 

 dle East, but ignores the great African production. 

 His description of coagulation, as long as he is re- 

 ferring to the South American product, is also inac- 

 curate, the reader gathering the impression that the 

 rubber is heated, which to the popular thought will 

 mean boiled, when he should have made it definite 

 that it is smoked. 



These are minor points, however, which make no 

 particular difference either way, while the fact that 

 a scientist as distinguished as he is acknowledges that 

 synthetic rubber is here, is however, of vital interest. 



