August i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



365 



A QUESTION OF LABOR. 



'C$Mr* 



Published on the 1st of each Month by 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING CO. 



Subscriptions: $3.00 per year, $1.75 for six months, postpaid, for the United 

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 be sent by International I'ost order, payable as above. 



COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING CO. 



Entered at New York Post Office as mall matter of the second-class. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 



Editorial: 



A Question of Labor 365 



The Future of African Rubber 366 



The Consuls ard Rubber .. 366 



The Cotton Crop Outlook 367 



Bounty on Mexican Rubber 367 



Obituary- James Pierce 368 



[With Poi trait.] 



Rubber Planting in Ceylon and the Malay States— V The Editor 369 



[Departure dom Columbo for the Federaied Malay Stales. Christmas 

 En route. Arrival at Singapore The Botanic Gardens and Director 

 Ridley. Successful Growth of tlcvta. Gathering Gutta-jelutong 

 in the Jungle. Reboiling Gutta-percha by the Chinese. A Visit to 

 Johore. Starting for the Malay States.] 



[With to Illustrations.] 

 The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain . Our Regular Correspond* nt 374 



[Prices of Rubber Chemicals. A Plea for Caution. Chemical Patents 

 Weather and the Trade. The Austrian Ivarlel. Miners' Phthisis. 

 Rubber Scrap. Dangerous Goods. Jelutong. New Tire Company. 

 Obituary. New Premises ] 



Manufacture of Fruit Jar Rings — J.W.C. 376 



Future Production of Rubber in Africa. Uuslavt von den Kerclshove 377 



Rubber Gathering in Rhodesia James Ilia lift eld 378 



Recent Rubber Patents ... 380 



[American. British. German. French.] 



New Goods and Specialties in Rubber ... 3E3 



[Hollow Backed Hard Rubber Combs. "Elliott Get There" Golf 

 Ball. A Rubber Saw Handle. "Scalp Sprayer" Fountain Comb. 

 A Pen with a Soft Rubber Tip— Made in Japan. A New Faucet 

 Connection. Rubber Legging. Rubber Covered Belt Conveyor 

 Pulleys. Brief Notes of Novelties J 



[With 8 Illustrations.] 



British Rubber Machinery 385 



[With 3 Illustrations ] 



Diagram of Rubber Prices for Eighteen Years 386 



Rubber Factory Exhibits at St. Louis : 



Exhibit of The B. F. Goodrich Co 387 



Exhibit of the Banner Rubber Co 38!) 



[With 2 Illustration.] 



Rubber Planting Interests 388 



[Mexico, Brazil. Africa. Malay Slates.] 



Rubber Interests in Europe 3g0 



New Trade Publications 390 



Outing of the New England Rubber Club 391 



Miscellaneous : 



investigation of Rubber. 36g 



Analysis of Caoutchouc Molecules .'....' 398 



State of the Guttapercha Trade 379 



"Cameta" Rubber of Brazil Louis H.'Aymi 379 



Amazon Cable Interruptions 380 



Little Danger of a Rubber Famine 380 



Russian Tax on Rubber Scrnp ...".. 393 



Akron as a Rubber Center ' ' [[[' 392 



Artificial Limbs Made In Japan ....'..'. 39 > 



What "Sernamby" Means , .. . " 396 



Rubber Dam for Reducing Flesh ...!...''. 396 



More Colorado Rubber News 396 



Hose on New York Harbor Boats ... — .. .......""] 398 



Criticismof the Conley Report 397 



News of the American Rubber Trade 393 



Review of the Crude Rubber Market 398 



A S will be seen from a diagram on another page, the 

 ■**• price of crude rubber, taking fine Para as the stand- 

 ard, has reached a higher level than at any time in the 

 past — if we except the spasmodic approach to $1.20 caused 

 by Vianna twenty years ago. Doubtless a decline from 

 the present figures will be seen within a few months, just 

 as fluctuations occur every year, but with all its changes, 

 the general tendency of rubber is upward. 



Referring to the rubber market review printed in the 

 first issue of The India Rubber World, it appears that in 

 August, 1899 — just fifteen years ago — fine Pari was 

 quoted in New York at 60 cents. Our diagram, in this 

 issue, shows that 60 cents has never been touched again ; 

 not for ten years has the price fallen below 70 cents ; only 

 during one year since 1896 has it gone below 80 cents; 

 during five years out of the past seven the price has 

 ranged for the most part over $1. 



It is a common thing to hear this advancing tendency 

 attributed to the increasing demand for rubber, but this 

 tells only half the story. More steel and copper and paper 

 are consumed than formerly, and yet these materials have 

 declined greatly in cost. Indeed, about the only raw 

 material of importance that constantly becomes more ex- 

 pensive is rubber. 



It would appear natural that, in view of the increasing 

 consumption of a material so certain as rubber to continue 

 permanently in demand, and of its constantly enhanced 

 prices, a larger rate of production would result. Within 

 recent years the principal rubber areas have been much 

 more fully explored than had been done when the best 

 rubber could be bought for 60 cents : there are better and 

 more extensive shipping facilities ; and we fancy that bet- 

 ter arrangements exist for financing the movement of rub- 

 ber. Yet the annual increase in output from the Amazon 

 region — the most important single rubber producing area — 

 is never great. Here are the figures for five years past : 



Year ending June 30, 1900 tans 26,670 



Year ending June 30, 1901 27,610 



Year ending June 30, 1902 30,000 



Year ending June 30, 1903 29,850 



Year ending June 30, 1904 30,580 



Surely larger figures would have been shown for some 

 of these years — larger visible supplies would have come 

 into existence — if it had been possible for more rubber to 

 be brought out. Without doubt there are yet consider- 

 able areas in South America, as well supplied as any other 

 with rubber, which have not been exploited. A wide- 

 spread belief that this is the case has appealed to enter- 

 prising persons in many countries, inspiring an ambition to 

 revolutionize the business of rubber gathering by the in- 

 vestment of capital and the introduction of new business 

 ideas. Up to date, however, there are no successes in this 

 direction to be recounted, and it appears that the consum- 

 ers of rubber must depend for their supplies upon the old 

 system — at least until the business of planting has devel- 

 oped enough to supply a great deal of rubber. 



As for the Amazon region, the production of rubber is a 

 question of labor. The sparse native population appears 



