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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September i, 1904. 



ness has been remarkable, and it would seem almost as if 

 it had outpaced the needs of the market. The specific 

 changes in this line have been the general substitution of 

 the wool boot, with rubber over, for the rubber boot, in 

 the northwestern United States, and the general introduc- 

 tion of the tennis shoes throughout the American market. 

 Appertaining to footwear, there may also be noted the 

 rubber heel, which was long looked upon as a fad, but is 

 now considered a staple product. 



In the line of rubber clothing the trade has witnessed 

 the remarkable growth in America of the gossamer rubber 

 garment and its subsequent extinction. This was followed 

 by the mackintosh, which, together with the shower proof 

 garment of the cravenette order, may be reckoned upon as 

 having a large and steady market. 



In druggists' sundries the general business has increased 

 notably, and the tendency has been to make goods of finer 

 finish, with more artistic lines, and packed with an eye to 

 artistic effect. Close to this line is the manufacture of 

 dipped goods, in which there has been a remarkable 

 growth in the United States, and lines of goods produced 

 which have captured the markets of the world. 



Fifteen years ago there were not a few who believed that 

 celluloid products would soon displace hard rubber. That 

 prophecy, however, has had no fulfilment, nor has any sub- 

 stitute been found for the better grades of hard rubber. 

 The business has shown a steady normal growth, and par- 

 ticularly in electrical lines has it had many interesting de- 

 velopments. 



In the production of insulated wire and cables the growth 

 has been much larger, though the United States has not 

 thus far become an important factor in deep sea cable 

 work. This country has never paid the attention to Gutta- 

 percha that the rest of the world has, except, during the 

 last few years, in the line of golf balls. Here have been 

 surpassed the expectations of those interested in the pro- 

 duction of sporting goods, the American ball leading the 

 world. 



While this rather cursory review relates more directly to 

 the industry in the United States, with which The India 

 Rubber World is most closely concerned, it is more or 

 less applicable to the rubber industry as a whole. Else- 

 where, the most marked development in the volume of 

 trade has been in Germany, which has attained within re- 

 cent years a much more important relative rank among 

 rubber manufacturing countries. The benefits to the in- 

 dustry there which have resulted from the close relation of 

 the trained chemist to the factory have not been without 

 an influence upon the industry in all other countries. 



The India Rubber World desires again to express its 

 appreciation of the support which it has received from the 

 trade, not only at home but to a measurable extent in every 

 other country in which any interest in rubber exists. It 

 promises, likewise, to endeavor to continue to merit this 

 support, by keeping its readers promptly and accurately 

 informed of progress in the industry, of changing trade 

 conditions, and the development of sources of raw mate- 

 rials, in such manner as shall render it of real value in 

 every branch of the rubber interest. 



THE ALLEGED "CORNER" IN RUBBER. 



\XrE do not doubt that holders of crude rubber, like 

 merchants in other lines of business, sell their wares 

 for all that can be got for them. Why shouldn't they ? 

 Probably there are times when a sudden rise enables an 

 importer to dispose of a stock of rubber at an exceptional 

 profit. But prices are liable to decline quite as suddenly, 

 involving loss to the dealer. 



The merchant who buys crude rubber to sell again must 

 depend not a little upon guesswork — as to what volume of 

 rubber is forthcoming in any season, whether it will arrive 

 promptly or otherwise, and what is to be the demand for 

 consumption. These are the elements that determine 

 prices, and a merchant able to forecast them unerringly 

 for a few seasons would have the whole trade at his mercy. 

 As the business is conducted, however, the rubber mer- 

 chant is more apt to avoid buying largely on his own ac- 

 count, preferring to make purchases for the account of con- 

 sumers, in which event he is sure of a commission on every 

 order, whether prices are high or low. 



Yet one continually hears remarks on the "corner" in 

 rubber, as if all the sources of supply were under a single 

 control, and that dominated by interests intent upon the 

 oppression of the manufacturer. If such controlling in- 

 terest can be located we shall regard it as a most import- 

 ant piece of news, and give it prominence accordingly. 



From our own standpoint, we have not been able to dis- 

 cover any such agreement among all the rubber trading 

 houses of the world as would be necessary to control 

 prices permanently. And if a company should be organ- 

 ized for any such purpose, we should regard its share cer- 

 tificates on a par with the " gold bricks " which are 

 reputed to find a market among exceptionally gullible 

 rustics. 



Any manufacturer who will, is free to-day to go to Ma- 

 naos or Para or Antwerp — not to name other ports — and 

 buy rubber in the same markets with the importers who 

 now supply him nearer his factory. And if all the rubber 

 importing houses in Europe and America were to combine 

 to force consumers to pay exorbitant prices for rubber, 

 there would not fail to come into existence new trading 

 houses ready and willing to handle the raw material at a 

 fair profit, and who would find an opportunity to pick up 

 stocks from the daily arrivals, at some market or another, 

 from scores and hundreds of prime bases of supply. 



Our German contemporary has lately made some perti- 

 nent remarks, which we are pleased to reproduce on an- 

 other page, in refutation of the idea that the high prices 

 of rubber are due to an alleged "ring" of importers in 

 Liverpool. We will only supplement these with the sug- 

 gestion that rubber is higher in price now than formerly 

 for the same reason that ivory and whalebone are higher 

 — the supplies are smaller in proportion to the demand. 



It is stated that in seventy years the price of whalebone 

 has risen from 13 cents to nearly $7 a pound, but not as a 

 result of a " corner " at any time. One important differ- 

 ence between whalebone and rubber, however, is that the 

 latter is capable of being made more plentiful by means of 



