54 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November i, 1907. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON PRICES. 



A T tlie meeting of the Sea Island Cotton Association, at White 

 **• Sulphur Springs, Florida, on September 12, President 

 Harvie Jordan, in his annual address stated that in 1893 the Sea 

 Island crop of 75,000 bales, selling at about 15 cents a pound, 

 yielded the growers, say, $5,000,000, while last year's crop of 

 only 60,000 bales, selling at higher prices, brought over $g,ooo,ooo. 

 He said: "To-day every county in the [Sea Island cotton] belt 

 is organized, and you are getting 35 cents for your better grades. 

 This is the result of cooperation." He advised his hearers to 

 study the manufactured products and trade conditions — to "put 

 in more brain work along this line." The association's com- 

 mittee on prices reported in favor of the following minimum 

 prices for Sea Island grades, and the report was adopted : Fancy 

 grades, 35 cents ; No. I, 33 cents ; No. 2, 32 cents ; No. 3, 31 

 cents ; No. 4, 30 cents. No prices were fixed for lower grades. 

 The Cotton Journat says that the Sea Island cotton growers are 

 well supplied with good warehouses which have been con- 

 structed in the various counties during the past two years by 

 members of the above named association. The growers are be- 

 ginning to pool their cotton for sale in large blocks and abandon- 

 ing the old fashioned method of retailing a bale at a time on 

 the streets. 



An important firm of cotton factors in the South making a 

 specialty of Sea Island grades, in response to the request for an 

 opinion on the price situation, write : 



To THE Editor of The India Rubber World : It is difficult to 

 say anything regarding the prospects of the producers of cotton 

 being able to control prices this season. If the crop is materially 

 greater than last year's, and we believe it is, we do not see how 

 in view of the general tightness of money it will be possible to 

 hold it. The only man who can really hold cotton is the farmer, 

 and his ability to do so depends on whether he owes his local 

 storekeeper or not. In ordinary years a country merchant can 

 probably get an extension of time from his wholesale corres- 

 pondent in the city, but we do not believe he will be able to ob- 

 tain that this year and so he may bring more pressure than usual 

 to bear upon the farmer to make him sell. In addition to this, 

 present prices are_ undoubtedly profitable to the farmer. 



It looks as if there was going to be a good deal of low grade 

 cotton in this crop. This comes into competition with the best 

 growth of Egyptian, and as these are likely to be in full supply 

 this year it appears to us that low grade Sea Island will have to 

 appro .ximate these Egj-ption qualities in price. This may be 

 brought about the more speedily because we do not think that 

 factors are willing to tie up their money in advance on S'ea 

 Island cotton on the present basis of values. Yours truly, 



Savannah, Georgia, OctoVer 4, 1907. 



RUBBER FROM DISPUTED TERRITORY. 



■ I ' I I E Peruvian Amazon Rubber Co.. Liuiited, was registered in 

 *■ London on September 26, with £1.000,000 [=$4,866,500] 

 capital, of which £300,000 is in preference shares, to acquire cer- 

 tain rubber properties in the upper Amazon region, beyond 

 Iquitos, owned by Julio C. Arana y Plermanos, and called 

 "Colonia Indiana." "El Encanto Angelia Pevas," and "Nanay." 

 There is no initial public issue of shares. The list of signatures 

 is headed by Julio C. Arana, whose address is given as War- 

 riston. North-end road, Ilampstead, N. W., London. The rubber 

 properties above referred to lie, at least in part, within the region 

 embraced by the concession granted by the government of Co- 

 lombia to Caiio, Cuello & Co., of Bogota, which concession is the 

 basis of an American company recently formed to exploit rub- 

 ber. This concession has been the subject of not a little cor- 

 respondence between representatives of the governments of Peru 

 and Colombia, between which countries a dispute exists over 



the ownership of part of the territory. Some of this corre- 

 spondence was reprinted in The INDI.^ Rubber World October i, 

 1907 (page 24), after its appearance in leading newspapers in 

 New York, London and elsewhere. 



Messrs. Arana Brothers have been established for something 

 more than two years in shipping rubber from the region in dis- 

 pute, via Iquitos to Liverpool and Nevi' York, claiming to be 

 within Peruvian territory, and paying export cities to Peru at 

 Iquitos port. The India Rubber World is m possession of the 

 following figures regarding the Arana shipments from Iquitos : 



D.VTE. Liverpool. New York. 



December 29, 1904 kilos 91,433 5,265 



January 10, 1905 I44C 



April 14, 1905 73.253 4.515 



May 10, 1905 45.480 



June 14. 1905 5,767 



July 13, 1905 75,835 



August 25, 1905 63,833 



October 15, 1905 90,192 



Total first year 447,232 9,780 



December 30, 1905 "6,698 27,607 



January 24, 1906 25,245 



February 23, 1906 13.270 20,000 



May 23, 1906 77.609 



September 23, 1906 84,493 



October 24, 1906 23,053 



November 25. 1906 21,271 



Total, second year 321.639 47,607 



Total, two years 76S.871 57.397 



Grand total, Liverpool and New York. 826.258 kilos. 

 It is stated that, in addition to the above figures, a small ship- 

 ment remained to complete the output for 1906, owing to obstruc- 

 tions to navigation toward the end of the latter year. 



RUBBER PROFITS ON THE KASAI. 



npilE trading profits for igo6 of the Compagnie des Kasai — the 

 ■'■ rubber monopoly in the Kasai region of the Congo State — 

 were larger than in any former year, amounting to 11,268,029.65 

 francs [=$2,174,929.72]. The net profit, after providing for the 

 cost of planting rubber as required by law, interest on bonds, 

 etc., was 8,033,657.22 francs [=$1,550,495.85]. After paying 6 per 

 cent, on the capital shares, directors' fees, agents' commissions, 

 and adding to the reserves, there remained for the holders of the 

 beneficiary shares (common stock) 7,035,000 francs [=$i.357,- 

 755]. oi" 1750 francs per share. 



The capital of the company is in 4020 sliares of 250 francs each, 

 totaling 1,005,000 francs [=$r93.965]. and an equal number of 

 beneficiary shares "without designation of value." It is the 

 latter which participate in the large profits above referred to. 

 One half the beneficiary shares are held by the 14 companies 

 participating in the Kasai syndicate, one half by the Congo Free 

 State. If the beneficiary shares be given the same par value as 

 the capital stock (250 francs), as is the custom in issuing "com- 

 mon stock" in America, the Kasai dividend of 1750 francs per 

 share would w-ork out at 700 per cent, for the year. Of the 

 dividend, 1000 francs per share w^ere paid in April 15 last and 

 750 francs on October 15. A recent Brussels bourse quotation 

 for these shares "without designation of value" was 16,000 francs 

 [=$308.80] ; the highest quotation for the year (on January 28), 

 20,575 francs. 



The net profits of tlie Kasai syndicate since the beginning, 

 derived chiefly from its rubber trading, have been: 



In 1902 1.210.706.23 francs [=$233,666.26] 



In 1903 3.497..19.3-OI francs [= 677,996-85] 



In 1904 5,334,707.06 francs [=1,029,615.82] 



In 1905 7.543.084.98 francs [=1,455,885.40] 



In 1906 8.033,657.22 francs [=i,550.495-85] 



l'"(iR rubl)i.T planters: Mr. Pearson's book. "Wliat I Saw in the 

 Tropics." 



