20 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October i, 1903. 



riches of this property are something immense. The company 

 was organized by level headed men of means and its stock is 

 fully paid and now assessable. It paid last March its first semi- 

 annual dividend of 6 per cent." 



" How did it pay it a dividend if it has never yet gathered 

 and sold any rubber ? " 



" It paid it out of the profits that accrued on the rubber it 

 took over with the holdings of the Italian syndicate. A con- 

 siderable amount was then secured and on this the profit was 

 made. It has now declared its second 6 per cent, dividend, 

 which will be paid on September 20, to stockholders of record 

 on September 16. The money for this dividend was advanced 

 by three of the directors, one of them being Mr. Cudahy, and 

 came about in this way. We have the 300,000 pounds of rub- 

 ber ready for sale, but we failed to get it down the river in 

 time. At a meeting of the directors in Chicago four weeks ago 

 the question of passing our dividend until our product got out 

 was discussed. Mr. Cudahy was very emphatic in his opposi- 

 tion to such a course, saying that many of his employes and 

 friends had invested on the belief that they would receive a 

 dividend this fall, and they ought to get it. He then proposed 

 with two other directors to advance the necessary cash, taking 

 the rubber of the company on consignment as payment for the 

 loan. The checks for the second dividend will therefore be 

 sent out on the date mentioned." 



"If an investor buys stock now will he receive his dividend 

 at once? " 



" Certainly ; any purchaser before September 16, will par- 

 ticipate in the dividend. A man who buys on the 15th and has 

 the stock transferred that day will receive a check for his divi- 

 dend on the 20th." 



" Do you mean that Mr. Cudahy and the other two directors 

 advanced $240,000 on 300,000 pounds of rubber, or enough to 

 pay a 6 per cent, dividend on the $4,000,000 worth of stock 

 upon which the company operates ? " 



"Oh no! The dividends are only paid on the stock held by 

 the public, something like $700,000 worth. The $2,000,000 of 

 treasury stock draws no dividends of course, and the organ- 

 izers, who hold $1,250,000 worth of stock received no dividends 

 in March nor will they be paid dividends now. The dividend 

 paid in March amounted to only about $12,000, the public 

 holdings of stock not then being large." 



THE SILENCE OF MR. JOHN CUDAHY. 



On September 12 The India Rubber World addressed a 

 letter to Mr. John Cudahy, in Chicago, advertised as the presi- 



dent of the Para Rubber Plantation Co., advising him of the 

 statements made at the New York office of his company, and 

 asking for their confirmation. No reply being received, our 

 Chicago correspondent was asked to interview Mr. Cudahy, 

 and on September 23 a telegram was received from Chicago 

 stating: " Cudahy left to-day for New York on Para matter. 

 Refused to talk. May when returns." Mr. Cudahy's presence 

 in New York on September 25 was ascertained, when an at- 

 tempt was made to see him. The only result was an interview 

 with Mr. Cudahy's counsel, Mr. Samuel N. Gardenhire — in 

 which it was explicitly denied that Mr. Cudahy had advanced 

 any funds for dividends — and the following letter: 



LAW OFFICES OF 

 GARDENHIRE & JETMORE. 



Samuel M. Gardenhire. 

 Aaron R. Jetmore. 



Atlantic Building, 

 49 Wall Street. 

 New York, September 29, 1903. 



To the Editor of The India Rubber World : 



American Tract Society Building, New York City. 



Dear Sir : With reference to the article which appeared in your Sep- 

 tember issue relating to the Para Rubber Plantation Company, and the 

 conference had with your Mr. Hill by our Mr. Gardenhire, we have to 

 say as follows : 



We must reiterate the statement that the article is misleading in its 

 essential details and in consequence, calculated to do the company 

 great damage. Any further publication by you along similar lines must 

 necessarily tend to enhance this injury. We feel that it is due to you 

 to say that the standing of Mr. Cudahy, its President, is such that it 

 should be a personal guaranty to every stockholder of this Company, as 

 well as to yourself, that it will carry out every obligation that it lias 

 made, or shall make. It is in possession of a large and valuable tract 

 of rubber land comprising about one million acres, and has made ar- 

 rangements to purchase an additional tract of one million, two hundred 

 and fifty thousand acres more. It has three agents, two upon the prop- 

 erty and one at Caracus, prosecuting the work of the Company, owes no 

 debts, is preparing to broaden its character and enlarge its facilities tor 

 useful labor. 



It has withdrawn its stock from the market because of negotiations 

 with foreign capitalists who have become interested in the enterprise, 

 and Mr. Cudahy has assured them and us that he will give the manage- 

 ment of this company his personal attention. This assures it the direct 

 benefit of his wide experience and great executive ability. He has in- 

 structed us to take such necessary legal steps as are necessary, looking 

 to the accomplishment of this result and we trust you will see your way 

 clear to refrain from any further comments that can do no one any good 

 and our clients an incalculable business injury. Very truly yours, 



GARDENHIRE & JETMORE. 



THE INACCESSIBLE CASIQUIARE. 



By Lyonel Gamier {Maitdos.) 



THE Casiquiare is a narrow (for South America), swift 

 flowing, and little known river which, rising near 

 Mount Lesseps, receives from the north the Cunuahii, 

 an affluent of the Orinoco, and joins the rio Negro a 

 little above the Venezuelan town of San Carlos. The Cunuahii 

 rises somewhere in the Surra dt San Carlos and divides, one 



Note— Our correspondent's reference to the means whereby the Casiquiare 

 connects the Orinoco and Negro rivers involves the mention of a river (the Cunu- 

 ahii) not shown on any map in The India Rudder World office. But the 

 whole region of the upper Orinoco has been imperfectly mapped as yet. The 

 specially made map shown in connection with this article is based upon several 

 accepted authorities, but is not offered as an absolutely correct delineation of the 

 couise of the Casiquiare. What is very much more to the point is whether the 

 Casiquiare region can be reached readily from the outside— ia the manner, for in- 

 stance, claimed by the Para Rubber Plantation Co.— and in regard to this all au- 

 thorities are agreed that the rivers leading to that region are not now commer- 

 cially navigable.— The Editor. 



branch flowing into the Casiquiare and the other into the Ori- 

 noco. Thanks to this, the Casiquiare serves as a natural canal, 

 joining the two great rivers, Orinoco and Negro. 



Only one fall and three rapids exist on the Casiquiare; the 

 fall, a few hours' journey above the confluence with the rio 

 Negro, and the rapids all three close to the mouth of the 

 Cunuahu. The falls are passable at high water, and have been 

 traversed by a steam launch the Leas, belonging to an Italo- 

 Venezuelan expedition which ascended this river and the Ori- 

 noco as far as San Fernando de Atabapa. 



The great difficulty which any one attempting to do business 

 on the Casiquiare would encounter is the navigation of the rio 

 Negro, only feasible with stern wheelers or other very light 

 draft boats as far as Trinidad, and from thence only to be done 

 in native craft, paddled and carried or poled up the fifteen or 



