60 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



I November 1, 1914. 



or six times what it was before the beginning of the United State-. It makes no daWetpbice whether the 



war. ( ibviously, this will hardly be the case, for while articles sold are exclusively for war purposes, such as 



the demands made bj the British and allied armies for firearms, explosives, etc., or are BSodstuffs, clothing, 



rubber goods will be large, the genera] consumption by horses, etc., for the use of the army or navy of the bel- 



the people of England, France and Belgium will assuredly ligerent. 



be materially decreased. 



The probability is that the British Government does 

 not expect to need the entire plantation product for the 

 next six months, but purposes to he in a position to let 

 none of this rubber go through any channels where il 



"Neither the 1 'resident nor any executive depart- 

 ment of the Government possesses the legal authority 

 to interfere in any way with trade between the people 

 of tin- country and the territory of a belligerent." 



Accordingly, any American rubber manufacturer can 



may ultimately help the enemy. It is quite likelj that take all the orders he can get for anything -he produces 

 plantation rubber will be permitted to leave London for that may be wanted by any of the belligerent countries, 

 New York where it is accompanied by satisfactory guar- whether tires, boots, shoes, coats, hospital accessories 

 antees that it will not later find its way. in the form of or any Other kinds of rubber manufacture. The only- 

 tires or other military equipment, to the armies of the question he need ask himself, to borrow a current 

 two Kaisers. Americanism, is this, — Can he put them across? It 



If London should absolutely retain every ton of plan- is obvious that if his exports are going to the Allies, 

 tation rubber during the next six months, compelling he runs no very great hazard. If they are intended 

 the United States to depend entirely upon shipments from for Germany or Austria, under present conditions 

 l'ara, the supply would certainly be scant, for during the that's another matter. 

 six months beginning with November, 1913, the receipts 

 of South American rubber in the United States amounted 

 to less than twelve thousand tons. There is no reason 

 to believe that the receipts for the next six months will 

 be any greater than they were a year ago. But the situa- 

 tion even without plantation rubber would not be so 

 desperate as it may appear, for there is reclaimed rubber 

 — an ever present help in time of trouble. 



THE COTTON CRISIS. 



SELLING TO BELLIGERENTS VIOLATES NO LAW. 



IT may be stated at the start that the cotton crisis, while 

 by no means past, is not as acute as it was a short 

 lime ago. The assurance given a few days ago by the 

 British Government that there will be no interference 

 with cotton shipments from American ports to Germany 

 or Austria had the instant effect of stimulating exports 

 of this staple from this country. On the receipt of this 

 assurance cotton exports, which had languished ever since 

 the beginning of the war. immediately jumped from a 

 few thousand bales a day up to forty thousand bales, with 

 a probability that equally large shipments will continue. 

 For the first time since the outbreak of the war, orders 



r T _l HERE has been so much misunderstanding among 



* American exporters and manufacturers regard- 

 ing the sale of our merchandise to the belligerent na- 

 tions, and so many appeals have been made to the 



State Department for information as to whether such were received last week from Germany, and shipments 



sales were in violation of our neutrality, that the De- began immediately to be made to that country. Sinutl- 



partment has felt it necessary to issue a statement taneously with this welcome change in the situation there 



ring the situation. This has been done by Assist appeared excellent promise of the success of the Bankers 



ant Secretary Lansing, and done so clearly and ex- Pool, which expects to make one hundred and thirty-five 



Illicitly that there would seem to be no further excuse million dollars available for the assistance of the planters. 



for any misconception. It is only necessary to cite So, while the cotton burden has not been lifted, it as- 



two short paragraphs from his statement, which fairly Miredly has been materially lightened, 



well cover the wdnde ground. They are as follows: The war, which brought injury to business in this coun- 



"In the first place, it should be understood that, try generally, played particular havoc with the cotton 



generally speaking, a citizen of the United States can industry. The present crop amounts to fifteen million 



sell to a belligerent Government or its agent anv ar- bales. Normally, ten million bales would have been 



tide of commerce which he pleases. He is not pro- shipped abroad, but during the first ten weeks after the 



hibited from doing this by any rule of international beginning of hostilities it looked as if barely a million 



law. by any treaty provision or by any statute of the bales would find foreign purchasers, leaving the planters 



