AucL-ST I, 1920] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



767 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN THE NETHERLAND 

 EAST INDIES. 



By Our Regular Corrcsl>o„dcnl. 



IN CONSIDERING the prospccts for Netherland East Indian agri- 

 cultural products in 1920, a local authority declares that the 

 impoverished condition of Europe will not affect trade to such 

 an extent as might be expected, because the United States and 

 several Asiatic countries have proved to be large consumers of 

 colonial products. 



He concludes by pointing out that the labor unrest all over 

 the world has also invaded these parts and should not be lightly 

 considered. 



LABOR TROUBLES AND THE CURE. 



The labor problem is more complex here than it is in America. 

 Here we have not only the European employes on the estates 

 to consider but also coolie labor. That employers and the Gov- 

 ernment, both, are alive to the need of some action is abundantly 

 evident. The local government has just published a draft of 

 regulations intended to benefit the European assistants of the 

 cast coast of Sumatra, and it is supposed that similar regula- 

 tions will be drawn up for Java and Madura. 



The regulations lay down terms concerning the working con- 

 tract of an employe, stipulating that he shall have leave of ab- 

 sence of at least one month each year for the first six years, 

 and foreign leave of eight months if he has been with an em- 

 ployer for over six years. One clause provides that any condi- 

 tion made by the employer to prevent directly or indirectly the 

 marriage of an employe shall be void. 



One of the foremost companies active in improving the con- 

 dition of its employes is the Holland-American Plantation Co., 

 a subsidiary^ of the United States Rubber Plantations, Inc., that 

 has recently fixed salaries for field assistants as follows : begin- : 



Produi 



1914. 1915. 1916. 



Java l.OOOi-f/oj 3,812 7,510 13,952 



East Coast Sumatra and Atjeh 5.586 10.135 16,374 



West Coast Sumatra 89 134 



TapanuU 365 519 198 



Benkulen 10 155 156 



Lampoiig Districts 51 41 6S 



Palembang 99 141 218 



Djambi 132 506 I.ISS 



Riouw 299 492 792 



Banka 30 13 57 



West Borneo 147 402 921 



South East Borneo 250 479 872 



Totals 11,781 20.482 34,930 



ner's salary, fl. 300 (one florin equals 40 cents) per month; 

 after the first year this is increased by fl. SO a month each year, 

 until the employe has been with the concern 14 years, when he 

 will receive a salary of fl. 800 per month. On January 1, 1920, 

 a new ruling went into effect which provides for pensions. The 

 maximum pension after 20 years' service and at the age of 45 

 years, or in case of illness making the employe an invalid, is 

 fl. 2,400 per annum, minus 2 per cent of the bonus earned since 

 January 1, 1918. At death the widow receives 60 per cent of 

 the maximum pension, plus l2'/i per cent for each child; this 

 pension is also subject to subtraction of 2 per cent of the bonus 

 earned since January 1, 1918. 



Other rubber planting companies that have provided pensions 

 for their employes are the Deli-Batavia Rubber Co., — fl. 1,000 

 per annum after 18 years' service; the Amsterdam Rubber Culti- 

 vating Co. and the Netherlands Rubber Co.— each fl. 1,200 after 

 18 years' service; Tjinta Radja — a lump sum of fl. 10,000 after 

 15 years; Societe Financicrc — a lump sum of fl. 12,000 after 15 

 years' service. 



As for the coolies, efl^orts are being made to abolish the 

 recruiting system and contract labor as it now exists and to 

 substitute so-called free labor. It is proposed to bring this 

 about gradually, each year reducing the amount of contract 

 labor and correspondingly increasing the amount of free labor, 

 until all labor will be free. 



TAXES. 



A good deal of excitement has been caused here in export 

 circles where "time business" is the custom, by the proposed 

 export taxes with a sliding scale. Government officials had pro- 

 posed a means of protecting time business, which would other- 

 wise receive unfair treatment under a sliding tax scale. It ap- 

 pears, however, that the remedy is worse than the disease, for 

 the proposed protection — an export permit subject to innumer- 

 able conditions — is so bound up in red tape that instead of being 

 protected, time business would be seriously hampered. 



Therefore, at a recent gathering at Djacja, where delegates 

 from the chief commercial associations of the island convened 

 to discuss the matter, it was decided to cable to the Minister 

 of Colonies in Holland protesting against the proposed measure, 

 and suggesting a stamp tax instead of the much debated duty. 



The following table shows how the tax would be regulated 

 on rubber : 



If the market price per half-kilo of rubber is : 



fl. 0.75 or less .\ihil. 



fl. 0.76 to fl. 1.50 2^i% of value. 



fl. 1.51 to fl. 2.25 37o of valu=. 



fl. 2.26 and over 4% of value. 



In addition to this tax, the rubber shipper will have another 

 item to deal with in making up his cost account, namely, a IS 

 per cent increase in freight charges, announced by the Nether- 

 lands-Indies Railways; this is to go into effect on August 1, 

 1920. 



PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS OF RUBBER. 



The International Association for the Rubber Planting Industry 

 in the Netherland East Indies publishes the following table of 

 the production and export of rubber for the entire Netherland 

 East Indies during the period 1914-1918. The quantities are given 

 in tons of 1,000 kilo (2,204 pounds). 



ction. Exports. 



1917. 1918. 1914. 1915. 1916. 1917. 1918. 



18.933 23,558 3,773 7,466 13,941 18,843 17,311 



2,219 23,901 5,279 9,583 15.404 20,789 19,538 



328 

 2,577 

 1,548 



48,C 



55,685 10,029 18,604 32,391 45,193 43,989 



LATEX PRODUCTION AND ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE OF HEVEA. 



At a recent meeting of the Rubber Planters' Association, 

 Bobiliofif discussed the formation of latex and the connection 

 between the anatomical structure and latex production of Hevea. 

 From experiments with isolated pieces of bark, he came to the 

 conclusion that after tapping, a new formation of latex takes 

 place, which he believes may be influenced by the presence of 

 amylum. He further found that on the whole the best latex 

 producers had the greatest immber of layers of latex canals. 

 In making experiments on bark, age was a great factor. 



Other investigators found that while it was not always true 

 of a group of good producers that the amount of latex pro- 

 duced runs parallel with the number of latex rings, this cor- 

 respondence was noted when a mixed group of good, bad, and 

 medium producers was tested. It has been pointed out that 

 where a plantation has fared so badly that the usual method of 

 finding good producers does not work, investigation of the bark 

 might become a trustworthy aid in thinning. 

 NOTES. 



During the last quarter of 1919, Djambi exported 2,057,650 

 kilos of rubber and 109,196 kilos of gutta jelutong. Reports 

 about the condition of the crops were satisfactory, expansion 

 of plantings taking place regularly. 



It is reported that the Green Star Steamship Co., of New- 

 York, will commence regular service between the Nelherland's 

 Indies and New York and San Francisco. 



