January 1, 1912.; 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



183 



houses being charged at $1 or $1.25 per pound. The quantity 

 of pneumatic tires sold is limited, as already mentioned. 



Most of the solid rubber tires used (both Japanese and for- 

 eign) are J4 '"ch in width, while a few ^-inch tires are used by 

 rich men; none by the jinrikisha men. 



Tires made by foreign manufacturers are used in Japan, not- 

 withstanding their higher price, caused by the heavy duty, be- 

 cause they are three times as durable as those of Japanese 

 makers. The Japanese roads have many pebbles on the surface 

 and are very muddy in rainy weather, so the durability of the 

 tires is an important matter. 



NOTES FROM BRITISH GUIANA. 



Jinrikisha for One Person. 



As to why Japanese tires rank below foreign ones, it is gen- 

 erally considered that the Japanese manufacturers are deficient 

 in skill, but on this point, M. A. Staines Manders writes about 

 the exhibit in London of bicycle tires by the Nippon Gomu Co. : 



"It was stated by several manufacturers that the tires were 

 not made in Japan, but probably on the continent. I advised 

 many that I had the assurance that the goods were of Japanese 

 make. One important manufacturer said, if it was so, the tires 

 were of splendid manufacture, equal to European." 



INDIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES. 



OFFICIAL Statement of the values of exports of manufac- 

 tures of india-rubber and gutta-percha for the month of 

 October, 19n, and for the first ten months of five calendar years: 

 Belting, Boots .^11 

 Months : Packing and Other Total. 

 and Hose. Shoes. Rubber. 



October, 1911 $207,713 $138,183 $532,129 $878,025 



January-September .. 1,701,441 1,349,380 5,402.984 8,453,805 



Total, 1911 $1,909,150 $1,487,563 $5,935,113 $9,331,830 



Total, 1910 1,759,590 1,906,961 4,687.399 8.353,950 



Total, 19C9 1,469,272 1,288,705 3,478,438 6,236,415 



Total, 1908 1,049,641 1.157.1.% 2,940,309 5.147,086 



Total, 1907 1,168,648 1.401,890 3,345,209 5,915,747 



The above heading, "All Other Rubber," for the month of 



October, 1911, and for the first nine months of the current years, 



includes the following details relating to tires : 



For All 



Months. Automobile. Other. Total. 



October, 1911 z'alues $138,744 $43,714 $182,458 



January-September ,... 1,941,773 437,201 2,378,974 



Total, 1911 $2,080,517 $480,915 $2,561,432 



(By Our Special Correspondent.) 

 A GOVERNMENT BALATA COMMITTEE— SOLUTION OF PRESS- 

 ING DIFFICULTIES. 



MUCH interest is being manifested in the proceedings of 

 the Balata Committee which has been appointed by the 

 government to inquire into the troubles of the industry. In- 

 cluded in the terms of reference are the labor difficulties, the 

 question of communication, and the proposal to cut down balata 

 trees, mentioned in the November issue of The India Rubber 

 World. It is admitted, that if the committee solves all these 

 problems satisfactorily, it will have accomplished a large and 

 difficult task, and it will do much to plant the industry on a 

 firmer footing than it occupies at the present time. Labor diffi- 

 culties are accentuated by the need of different means of com- 

 munication ; the easy journeys into the interior by way of the 

 rivers, which, owing to the number of waterfalls and cataracts, 

 are only navigable for the smallest boats, rendering it possible 

 for the labor forces to take liberties that would not be possible 

 where more rapid communications are available. A meeting of 

 the British Guiana Balata Association was held at the offices of 

 the Essequibo Rubber and Tobacco Estates, Limited, George- 

 town, to consider the association's attitude with regard to the 

 government committee. There were present representatives of 

 Ed. Maurer, The Consolidated Rubber and Balata Estates, Lim- 

 ited, The Amsterdam Balata Co., The Britsh Guiana Balata Co., 

 The Essequibo Rubber and Tobacco Estates, Limited, The 

 British Guiana Bank, Messrs. Sprostons, Limited, and of 

 other concerns. It was stated that the government com- 

 mittee would have the power to summon witnesses and take 

 their evidence on oath. It was decided that the government 

 should be informed that the association was prepared to give 

 all the assistance possible. In the :ourse of the discussion the 

 chairman, J. A. King, crown solicitor, remarked that the com- 

 mittee had been appointed by the government not merely upon 

 the recommendation of the British Guiana Balata Association, 

 but, he had reason to believe, upon representations from the 

 L'nited States and British governments. 



COMMUNICATION WITH THE INTERIOR— TELEPHONES AND 

 WIRELESS. 



The question of communication with the interior was also 

 discussed at this meeting. The chairman referred to the report 

 of Mr. Daley, manager of the Essequibo Rubber and Tobacco 

 Estates, Limited, upon the establishment of wireless telegraphy, 

 and stated that it appeared that a certain firm had said that it 

 was prepared to establish five wireless stations in the interior. 

 He proposed that the firm be asked to make a definite offer. 

 It was also decided to write to certain firms inquiring the cost 

 of an ordinary telegraphic and telephonic system. Mr. Seldon, 

 a director of the Consolidated Rubber and Balata Estates, Lim- 

 ited, who is at present visiting the colony, was present at the 

 meeting, and said that he had personally superintended the put- 

 ting up of 250 miles of wires for telephones in the east, under 

 conditions very similar to those obtaining in this colony, and that 

 the total cost was only $4,500, 



A SURVEY OF THE INTERIOR— A ROAD SUGGESTED. 



The government is at the present time engaged upon a sur- 

 vey of the colony from Rockstone to the Potaro for the purpose 

 of railway construction, and it was resolved at this meeting of 

 the association to ask that the survey be continued as far as 

 the Rupununi, which would include some of the richest balata 

 areas. It was pointed out that if the government would under- 

 take such an extension of its task it would be laying the founda- 

 tion for a permanent road later on. 



The first need of the colony at the present time, if the in- 

 dustries of the interior are to be satisfactorily conducted, is a 



