September 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



729 



Interesting Letters from Our Readers. 



MALAYAN PLANTERS FEAR AMERICAN 

 COMPETITION. 



To THE Editor of The India Rubber World: 

 r^EAR SIR — The restrictions upon the export of rubber from 

 ^-^ the Malay Peninsula chiefly through the rigid control of 

 the Tin & Rubber Committee of London, still is a subject of 

 much interest and concern to American buyers and importers 

 as well as to the Malayan planter and shareholder. It would 

 appear that the latter, however, are impressed that their terri- 

 tory and the plantations they control are necessary to the world's 

 supply of rubber and, therefore, are to an essential degree 

 monopolistic. 



The results of this erroneous view are being suspicioned and 

 will soon, no doubt, be realized by these planters and share- 

 holders as they see their present profitable (45 cents a pound 

 net) American customor forced to abandon them. 



The planters and shareholders of Malaya have great fears of 

 .\mericans forcing down the prices — the abnormal prices — they 

 have enjoyed from the world and especially from America, of 

 fully 45 cents a pound net profit. I quote from a recent inter- 

 view of the well known firm of Baker, Morgan & Co., Limited, 

 in the "Straits Times," of Singapore : 



Our greatest fear would seem to be American buyers 

 forcing down the price out here (Malaya) greater than the 

 fear of overproduction. With regard to this we fancy the 

 government may be relied upon to step in . . . and fix a 

 minimum price per pound ... 



This expressed opinion is but one that is prevalent there show- 

 ing the local erroneous view that Malaya has the only rubber 

 favored portion of the earth, and because of the monopoly their 

 government can by law — by a printed statute — fix the minimum 

 price which the outside world will have to pay, if they want the 

 product. The ancient established principle of "supply and de- 

 mand" as governing prices appears to have been entirely lost 

 sight of as an equilibrium and safety valve. It is this erroneous, 

 if not fallacious conception of things as they exist that the plant- 

 ers and shareholders are deceiving themselves thereby. 



The restrictions by law recently enacted in amendments to 

 the "Land Rules, 1904, Section 13," governing the alienation of 

 lands in the F. M. S. Malay Peninsula, limit the title to not 

 more than 50 acres to any except to British subjects. This has 

 successfully barred out any planting by Americans. I quote 

 from an editorial in the "Malayan Rubber Journal," entitled, 

 "The American Invasion" : 



.... and we are inclined to think that the F. M. S. 

 Government's present policy of refusing to give any one ex- 

 cept a British subject more than 50 acres of state land is 

 intended primarily to delay an "American Invasion" until 

 such time as a decisive policy is agreed upon. 

 The planters there are apparently disturbed by a bogy and are 

 imagining ghosts and hobgoblins along the line as to the so- 

 called "American Invasion," as is evidenced further from edi- 

 torials from the same journal, which express in part the pre- 

 vailing sentiment there : 



. . . we dislike their (Americans) way of seeking to turn 

 everything into a monopoly or trust, and for this latter reason 

 have opposed their entry into Malay as rubber planters, . . . 



The Standing Committee of the Planters Association of Malay 

 at its recent meeting reported under the head of "Rubber's Chief 

 Menace" amongst other things, as to the alienation of land: 



The matter was discussed . . . and resulted in a request 

 to the Federal Government to stop the alienation of land to 

 aliens at a time when neither British capital nor British 

 superintendence was available for opening up land. 



The same report also states that the Rubber Growers' Asso- 

 ciation of London simultaneously approached the Secretary of 



State for the colonies and as a consequence the High Commis- 

 sioner has notified that no land exceeding 50 acres in the Feder- 

 ated Malay States will be alienated to any one except a Brit- 

 ish subject. 



The Creator of the earth did not make Malaya and Ceylon the 

 only spots on the globe suitable for the growth and production 

 of Hevea rubber. The soil and climate of some of the islands 

 of our own Philippines are equally as suitable by nature. I in- 

 stance Basilan island of the department of Mindanao and Sulu 

 Also Sumatra, the third largest island on the globe, whose rub- 

 ber producing domains have scarcely been explored or pene- 

 trated. Java is producing by leaps and bounds. W. H. Rick- 

 inson, the world-renowned rubber statistician and authority, 

 states the exports from Java the first three months of 1916, 

 were 2,531 tons; for the same period of 1917 they were 5,042 

 tons — approximately double or, to be exact, an increase of 99 1-10 

 per cent. 



The Secretary of the Rubber Growers' Association of the 

 Netherlands East Indies told me while I was in Batavia the 

 fore part of the year, that the ratio of natural increase in the 

 Dutch Indies based upon acreage planted and tree-age, would 

 yield 120,000 tons or thereabouts in the year 1919. That is about 

 the estimated requirement for America this year. 



Jesse E. La Dow. i 

 Secretary of the Mansfield Tire & Rubber Co. 

 Mansfield. Ohio, August 8, 1917. 



EXTRA DURABILITY IN TIRE TREADS. 



To THE Editor of The India Rubber World: 

 p\EAR SIR — Believing some results obtained with a special 

 '-^ composition of rubber, invented by me, are sufficiently 

 novel and show points of advantage over regular mixings such 

 that the material is worthy of note in The India Rubber World, 

 I am mailing you data in reference to the material as used in 

 treads of pneumatic tires. 



First comparative results showed the specific gravity of fac-i 

 tory regular white tread stock 1.80— of Textile, white tread 

 stock 1.12. Comparison of weights of complete tires in size 32 

 by 3V2— factory tire with regular stock throughout 14 pounds, 

 10 ounces, same but with Textile composition in tread only, 12 

 pounds, 6 ounces. Placed on rims and both inflated with same 

 pressure, Textile tread measured .>g inch less in circumference 

 from edge of rim to edge of rim than the regular tire. 



This inflated measurement test brings out some points in tire 

 construction that cannot be ignored. In the regular tire, it 

 shows the carcass is stretched (weakened), the tread is also 

 stretched and as stretched rubber is much easier to surface cut 

 and puncture, the tire is weakened in every particular by the 

 stretch. In comparison, the Textile tread, by resistance to 

 stretch, not only retains, but adds to. the full strength of the 

 carcass. Also this tread is not stretched and so retains all of 

 the superior wear and resistance to cuts and punctures that are 

 marked characteristics of Textile rubber. 



To show the resiliency of Textile rubber a test that was made 

 with a view to its use in solid truck tires is given. A section 

 4 by 3 by m, inches was placed under hydraulic pressure; the 

 3-inch measurement was compressed to ^ inch by an amount 

 of pressure registering 90 tons. When released, the section re- 

 turned to all original measurements without a break. 



The tires in actual service on cars are showing that the nap 

 of the incorporated textile at the surface afTords superior trac- 

 tion and resistance to slipping on wet pavements. The wearing 

 service is proving more than equal to expectations, but as they 



