May 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



367 



the same risks and hazards as any other foreign enter- 

 prise in that country. 



As President Madero owes his fortune and that of 

 his family to the guayule industry, it might be thought 

 that he would look with especial sympathy upon 

 rubber ventures in that country, and probably he does ; 

 but as Mexican lawlessness is in no way due to his 

 indisposition to suppress it, but rather to his inability, 

 it is obvious, that whatever fellow-feeling he may have 

 for those engaged in the enterprise in which he is per- 

 sonally interested, he is not in a position to render 

 them any material assistance. 



The rubber outlook in Mexico from the standpoint 

 of natural advantages has appeared very bright, and, 

 undoubtedly, some day it will be a noteworthy in- 

 dustry in that republic, but obviously it can hardly 

 be expected that further American investments will be 

 made in any line of rubber production in Mexico under 

 the conditions now prevailing. 



AN INTERESTING SITUATION IN THE TIRE TRADE 



T AST MONTH developed an interesting, not to say 

 •* — ' dramatic, situation in the tire trade. During the 

 first week of April there was a very general expectation 

 throughout the trade that tire prices would be immediately 

 advanced. There seemed so much basis for this expecta- 

 tion that dealers were in considerable haste to get in 

 their orders before this advance took place. In the midst 

 of this situation, and evidently without any fore-knowl- 

 edge on the part of competitors. The B. F. Goodrich 

 Co. made a country-wide announcement in the large city 

 dailies of April 7, that its published list of prices to the 

 consumer would be substantially reduced, the reduction, 

 as a matter of fact, amounting to nearly 17 per cent. As 

 soon as the trade had recovered its breatli, there was a 

 general movement, precipitate in some quarters and more 

 deliberate in others, to scale prices down to, or some- 

 where near, the new level. 



This unexpected move in materially reducing prices was 

 explained by its initiators on the ground that the trade 

 had practically ceased to regard seriously the old pub- 

 lished list, and that the prices as published were being cut 

 almost universally. It was deemed advisable, and as 

 making for conservatism under these circumstances, to 

 issue a new list of prices, which the dealers would have 

 far less temptation to ignore. 



While this downward price movement came unex- 

 pectedly to the trade, it could hardly occasion any sur- 



prise to the student of 'economics, as the whole tire situa- 

 tion may be said to have been rather abnormal for some 

 time past. The tremendous demand for tires had made 

 it possible to put the industry on a basis of exceptional 

 profits. This situation naturally invited extensive com- 

 petition and greatly increased the sources of supply. It 

 is simply the oft-repeated phenomenon of supply over- 

 taking demand, with the natural consequence of a 

 diminution of profits to a point more nearly in harmony 

 with the normal returns in other nwnufacturing lines. 



THOSE AUTO TIRES FROM THE SPINELESS 

 CACTUS. 



THE bane of every scientist is the unveracious re- 

 porter, who is simply after a "good story," quite 

 regardless of any consideration of facts. A short while 

 ago a great many of the daily papers contained a thrilling 

 recital to the effect that Mr. Luther Burbank, the famous 

 Californian who has achieved such wonders in the plant 

 world, had discovered a certain cactus, from the leaf of 

 which could be made automobile tires, print paper, un- 

 limited paint and other useful commodities. Here is a 

 sample paragraph taken from a most reliable Massa- 

 chusetts paper : 



"MAKE AUTO TIKES OF CACTUS LEAVES. 



"Santa Rosa, Cal. — Luther Burbank, addressing the 

 California State Fruit Growers' convention here, made 

 the startling aimouncement of a wonderful discovery in 

 the further use of his famous spineless cactus. He says 

 it will revolutionize the whitewash, paint and automobile 

 tire industries. Burbank said he had discovered that the 

 fiber of the plant was an excellent substitute for rubber 

 in the manufacture of automobile tires. He added that 

 this same fiber would also be an excellent substitute for 

 wood pulp in the manufacture of paper." 



Some accounts went into minute details in describing 

 the reception accorded Mr. Burbank's announcement of 

 his discovery. A leading Maine journal thus portrayed 

 the scene : 



"When Mr. Burbank had reached this point in his 

 talk before the congress he had every delegate crowding 

 forward toward the platform taking notes and firing 

 questions at him. But the excitement then was nothing 

 compared to the interest manifest when he announced 

 that after the mucilage had been taken from the cactus 

 leaves for the whitewash and paint the fiber could be 

 converted into print paper and into automobile tires. 



"The fiber of the spineless plant is excellent as a sub- 

 stitute for rubber used in the present tires, said the 



