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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September 1, 1912. 



But Mr. Gustave Van Den Kerckhove, the Belgian rub- 

 ber expert, views the matter from a different stand- 

 point. He says that he has examined hundreds of sam- 

 ples of synthetic rubber, during the last twenty years, 

 and never has found one that could compare with the 

 brown biscuits from the Amazon. He concedes that 

 synthesis has played a successful role in indigo, cam- 

 phor and sundry other commodities, but he contends 

 that the rubber problem is absolutely diflferent — that 

 in rubber the essential quality is elasticity, and that iS 

 something, in his opinion, chemistry cannot produce. 

 He does not assert that the labors of the rubber build- 

 ers have been in vain. He admits that many of these 

 synthetic productions are good for compounding, that 

 they make valuable adulterants ; but as for synthetic 

 rubber taking the place of natural rubber, he pro- 

 nounces that a pure "mirage." 



So there are the two sides of the synthetic problem 

 as it stands today. Probably somewhere between the 

 two lies the truth. Up to the present time synthetic 

 rubber, commercially speaking, has been a mirage, no 

 doubt ; but it must be remembered that the rapid pace 

 at which civilized life has progressed, during the past 

 hundred years, is due largely to the fact that so many 

 mirages have been lassoed and put to work. Natural 

 rubber was a mirage up to the time Goodyear struck 

 a handful of it mixed with sulphur, against a hot stove. 



A MEMORABLE DAY IN THE RUBBER COUNTRY. 



"\ TEXT Saturday, the seventh of September, will be 

 ■*■ ' a memorable day in the history of South Amer- 

 ican rubber development, for on that date will occur 

 the formal opening of the Aladeira-Mamore railway. 

 The richest rubber territory in the world will be 

 opened up to commerce, and the dream of the Boliv- 

 ians for the last fifty years will be realized. 



This railway in point of extent is not impressive, as 

 it is less than 250 miles long, but in its enormous cost 

 in money and time, its exceptional demand on en- 

 gineering skill, and in its great importance — not only 

 to the Republic of Bolivia, but to the entire rubber 

 industry, and thus to civilization in general, it is of 

 larger significance than many railroads that extend 

 across a continent. 



It hks been known for half a century that the terri- 

 tory drained by the tributaries of the Madeira river — 

 itself the most important tributary of the Amazon — 

 was Wonderfully rich in rubber. Thousands of tons of 



rubber have been taken from this territory, but at ,i 

 terrific cost in labor and human lives, and under dif- 

 ficulties almost insurmountable. The Madeira river 

 is navigable to large steamers for 800 miles above the 

 point of its confluence with the Amazon. Then comes 

 a stretch of river about 220 miles in extent, containing 

 19 cataracts and rapids. Beyond this turbulent reach 

 of water the Madeira and its tributaries are again 

 navigable for nearly 1,000 miles. To make the passage 

 through that succession of rapids and around the falls 

 required 20 days of laborious and exceedingly danger- 

 ous work when coming down stream, and 30 days 

 when returning. Hundreds of tons of rubber, and 

 thousands of lives have been lost in making this peril- 

 ous passage. By the opening of this railroad this 

 distance can be accomplished without loss of property or 

 life in a few hours. 



Americans may feel a special pride in the success 

 of this great undertaking, because it was an American, 

 Lieutenant Gibbon, of the United States Navy, who, 

 in 1852, first thoroughly explored this region ; and it 

 was also an American, the gallant and picturesque 

 Colonel George E. Church, who nearly 40 years ago 

 made the first attempt to build this road. He surveyed 

 the distance, and built a few miles of the road, but 

 was unable to proceed, because the financial support- 

 ers of the enterprise became alarmed at the great ex- 

 pense involved. And finally, it is owing entirelv to 

 American engineering skill and American sanitary 

 science that the road has at last been completed. 



ARE RUBBER GOODS DETERIORATING? 



VV/HEN the able expounders who daily fill the 

 editorial columns of our metropolitan press run 

 dry of material, they are quite likely to resort to that 

 always safe and interesting theme — the general dete- 

 rioration of all things modern. An editorial writer in 

 one of the New York dailies — and one usually char- 

 acterized by sanity and moderation — in illustrating the 

 reasons for the higher cost of living, spoke of the in- 

 ferior quality of present day manufactures, and cited 

 rubber as a case in point. 



"For example," he observes, "there is rubberless 

 rubber — the highly adulterated product of an inter- 

 national trust. With a minimum of the elastic gum 

 and a maximum of non-fibrous substance, articles sup- 

 posed to be chiefly rubber are so weakened in durabil- 

 ity and elasticity as to serve their purposes scarcely 



