140 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January i, 1904. 



PERSONAL MENTION. 



The many friends in the rubber trade of Dr. H. C. Corson, 

 formerly vice president of The B. F. Goodrich Co., will learn 

 with regret that news has reached Akron that he is in Paris 

 undergoing treatment for a serious affection of his eyes. 



= Mr. George M. Allerton, of the Seamless Rubber Co., had 

 a narrow escape from serious injury at the railroad depot at 

 Naugatuck, Conn., on the evening of December 18. He at- 

 tempted to alight while the train was still in motion, and lost 

 his footing but not his hold upon the car rail, and was dragged 

 along the platform for a considerable distance. 



= Mr. Andrew H. Brown, of the New York offices of the 

 United States Rubber Co., and Miss Bertha Robinson Shute, 

 of Maiden, Massachusetts, were married in the latter city on 

 December 22. 



=Dr. Carl Otto Weber, of Manchester, England, who is now 

 in the United States for a prolonged stay in the promotion of 

 his professional work, recently delivered by invitation, before 

 the American Chemical Society, an address on "The Applica- 

 tion of Scientific Data to India-Rubber Manufacturing." 



=One of the features of the thirty-sixth annual reunion of 

 the Fifty-first Massachusetts regiment of Volunteers in the civil 

 war, at Worcester, Massachusetts, on December 22, was the 

 reading by General A. B. R. Sprague. the old commander of the 

 regiment, of a tribute to Lieutenant Colonel John M. Studley 

 who served with that regiment. Colonel Studley died on April 

 10, 1903, at Providence, Rhode Island, where he has been en- 

 gaged for a number of years in the rubber business, his obituary 

 appearing in The India Rubber World of May i, 1903 (page 

 273). At the same meeting a life sized portrait of General 

 Sprague was presented to the Worcester Mechanics' Associa- 



tion, to hang with those of other celebrities in Mechanics' Hall. 

 One of the notable figures at the banquet was Governor Lucius 

 C. F. Garvin, of Rhode Island, who enlisted with the regiment 

 at the beginning and remained in its ranks until it was dis- 

 banded. The name of Colonel Studley, during the proceedings, 

 was constantly coupled with that of General Sprague, and 

 again and again was singled out for the warmest appreciation 

 by the different speakers. 



THE SITUATION ON THE ACRE. 



THE treaty between Brazil and Bolivia respecting the Acre 

 territory, the details of which have been reported in 

 previous issues of The India Rubber World, was signed at 

 Rio de Janeiro on November 21 by the representatives of the 

 two powers. The Bolivian commissioner at once set out for 

 his capital, La Paz, expecting to reach there by December 15, 

 when the treaty would at once and simultaneously be placed 

 before the Brazilian and Bolivian congresses for ratification. 

 A latter geport says the treaty has been ratified. 



The Para newspaper, A Folha do Norte, says that the occu- 

 pation of Acre since the beginning of the disturbance has cost 

 Brazil 9,000,000 milreis [=$2,189,925], of which more than 

 1,500,000 milrtis has been paid to the Amazon Steam Naviga- 

 tion Co. for transportation of troops and supplies. 



The Republic Development Co., contractors for the planta- 

 tion " San Silverio el Obispo," (Obispo Rubber Plantation Co.) 

 announce the earnings from that property for the year 1903 as 

 8 per cent., payable January 2, 1904, to share-contract holders 

 of record December 15, 1903. 



REVIEW OF THE CRUDE RUBBER MARKET. 



THE market has been without notable change since our 

 last report. Toward the end of the year, which is the 

 usual season for stock taking by rubber manufacturers, 

 and of repairs at the works, there is seldom any pressure 

 to buy, and the rule holds good at the present time. The mar- 

 ket has preserved a distinct firmness, however, in the face of 

 somewhat larger receiptsat Pard than last year, and larger than 

 in any preceding year, with one exception. There have been 

 larger receipts likewise at Antwerp — now the largest single 

 market for African sorts — but while visible supplies of rubber 

 are now larger than for some time past, the increase in stocks 

 has not been commensurate with the larger arrivals. 



Consumption has continued active throughout the year, and 

 all indications point to continued activity, at least for some 

 months to come. The consumption of rubber in the United 

 States has been phenomenal, in which connection may be in- 

 troduced the official import returns of imports of raw material 

 for the first eleven months of three years past, as follows : 



Pounds. Value. 



January- November, igot 50,096,203 $25,729,334 



January-November, 1902 46.007,428 22,568,786 



January-November, 1903 50,868,845 31,960,432 



Here it will be seen that not only have the imports for eleven 

 months of 1903 been larger than in any preceding year, but the 

 money value of the imports has been more than $6,000,000 

 greater than for the same period of 1901. Our imports, by the 

 way, are mainly for home consumption with the exception of 

 the amounts delivered to Canadian manufacturers. 



The following table shows the arrivals of rubber at Pari 

 from the beginning of the current crop season to the end of 



each month thus far, compared with the corresponding peri 

 ods of three years past. Only in one preceding year — 1901— 

 have the arrivals been greater at the end of December. The 

 figures follow : 



1900. 

 To July 31 tons 860 



" August 31 2,150 



" September 30 3.430 



" October 31 5.780 



" November 30 7, 980 



" December 31. 11,300 



[a — To December 29, 1903.] 



Following is a statement of prices of Para grades, one year 

 ago, one month ago, and on December 30 — the current date: 



PARA. Jan 1. '03. IDec. I, '03. Dec. 30. 



Islands, fine, new 88@8q 92® 93 qo@ 91 



Islands, fine, old qi@ij2 @ @ 



Upriver, fine, new 90@gi 95@ 96 93® 94 



Upriver, fine, old 95@96 97@ 98 96® 97 



Islands, coarse, new 6o@6i 55® 56 55® 56 



Islands, coarse, old @ @ ® 



Upriver, coarse, new 73@74 79@ 8° 7°@ 77 



Upriver, coarse, old @ @ @ 



Caucho (Peruvian) sheet 59@6o 6o@ 61 61® 6a 



Caucho (Peruvian) ball 6g@70 7i@ 7a 72® 73 



The market for other sorts in New York on which changes 



have been rather less marked, is as follows : 



Gaboon lump None here 



Niger paste None here 



SierraLeone, istquality84 ®8s Accra flake 34 @35 



Massai, red 84 (885 Accra buttons None here 



Benguella 68 @6g Accra strips None here 



Cameroon ball 62 ©63 Lopori ball, prime 82 ©83 



Gaboon flake None here Lopori strip, do 75 ©76 



AFRICAN. 



