R 1. 1"14 I 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



burden is laid, but indirect!) he, with all others acti 

 engaged in the transaction of business, will have to 

 a -lamp tax on various documents — for instance, 

 promissory note-, insurance policies, deeds and mort- 

 gages. 



It is the contention of the minority party thai the 

 Administration might better i omi e in sundry d 

 tions than to increase tax rates, but ■ is a virtue 



more generally preached b) the opposition part) than 

 practised bj the party in control. The subject of taxation 

 is one thai has received the best attention of the 

 economists for generations but there is one variel 

 tax that none of them has yel appeared to be able to 

 devise— a popular tax. 



NORTH AMERICAN BANKS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



MENTION was made in the AugUSl issue of this 

 publication of the purpose of the National City 

 Bank of New York to establish branch organiza- 

 tions m Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and probably other 



cities in the republics to the south. 



American banks are greatly needed in South America. 

 The European banking houses established there have 

 hitherto accommodated the ordinary routine of American 

 trade, bin they have naturally withheld the full measure 

 of interest and solicitous supporl accorded to enterprises 

 of their own nationality. The English and German 

 banker- have transacted the larger part of the business 

 pertaining to foreign commerce and have steadily ex- 

 tended a network of branch banking institutions and 

 exerted their influence to the advantage of European 

 trade. European banks not only finance trade between 

 their own countries and South America, but also between 

 the various Latin-American nations. They supply their 

 home offices with ratings and characteristics of South 

 American firms and individual-, lire German trade was 

 extended largely by aid of longer credit- than are granted 

 by other countries, and German banks haw been made 

 more minute in their service and organization. 



BRITISH WAR ON GERMAN TRADE. 



BRITISH merchants and manufacturer- have followed 

 their government in declaring war on everything 

 German. For the time being, i lermany, as a competitoi 

 in forei ;n trade, is down and out. Except for an insig- 

 nificanl amount of trade going to Holland. Switzerland 

 and Scandinavia, German exp rt can go onl) as far as 

 her armies may march. In a few month-, or years, peace 

 will be declared and Germany will go oul among the na- 



of the earth to pick up the trade she has drop] 

 Will she find it? The English are determined that she- 

 shall not. Newspaper organizations and private workers 

 are calling with all their energy upon the British business 

 men to deal a blow to the foe by going after the trade 

 of German) and Austria in every quarter of the globe. 

 It i- urged both as a patriotic duty and as sound business 

 polit It is held, looking from their own standpoint, of 

 course, thai the) are engaged in a righteous war and that 

 ,, which weakens the enemy is one which should be 

 delivered if possible; that the great losses brought to 

 them by the war they may honorably recoup in this way; 

 that a realizing sense of the trade going to irrevocable 

 loss will move the enemy to a desire for early peace, and 

 that, finally, the British want all the trade they can get. 

 With characteristic British thoroughness, the campai n 

 i- being organized and forces mobilized for the attack. 

 The Hoard of Trade has made special arrangements for 

 an exhibition of -ample- of g 1- of German and Aus- 

 trian make. Statistics of the trade of the hostile i 

 tries are furnished to the manufacturers, who thus 

 see the magnitude and location of each market and exacl 

 ly what goods have been going there. Short of having 

 the orders roundel up for them it is hard to imagine 

 what further the manufacturers could ask. At the same 

 time they are being warned that they have more to do 

 than merely to pick up derelict trade. The Germans have 

 been ver\ thorough in their methods. The offer of un- 

 satisfactor) substitutes would be only a stop-gap per- 

 formance, holding the customer for the German manu- 

 facturer until the latter was able to supply the customer's 

 wants. 



A heavy blow has been dealt to hostile foreign com- 

 petitors b) canceling, under certain conditions, "blocking" 

 patent- held by subjects of Austria and Germany. This 

 was at first reported in such a form as to create a mis- 

 apprehension. It i- not intended to interfere with any 

 patent under which active manufacture of the patented 

 article i- going on in Great Britain, but only with those 

 which under British laws forbid the manufacture oi 

 an article which is made in Germany. Upon the payment 

 of a fee of two pounds, any British subject can obtain 

 permission to manufacture any article covered by one 

 of these "blocking" patents. The applicant mu-i 



. his "bona fides" that he actually intend- to carry 

 ou1 in good faith the manufacture which the patent has 

 hitherto blocked. In the matter of drugs and chemicals 

 this is likely to have an important effect, many article? 

 essential to present-day arts being held as a close monop- 



