January 1. 1915.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



187 



rubber cements, others for hard rubber, still others for in- 

 sulation, and so on. is hardly likely The general qualities 

 called for are resilience, impermeability and toughness. For 

 example: In motor tires impermeability and toughness are 

 necessary; in clothing, impermeability and plasticity: in wire 

 covering, the same: hut in rubber thread, elastic bands and 

 goods of that type, elasticity is also required. An extremely 



resilient crude rubber is just a- adaptable toi g Is that call 



for only plasticity and impermeability, and some time in the 

 future such a standard high grade will be evolved and used 

 for all of the varied lines that now comprise rubber manu- 

 facture. 



Efforts to corner rubber, such as thai attempted by Vianna 

 in 1882 and others a feu years later, are not viewed by rubber 

 manufacturers with the slightest di ■" of tolerance. They 

 have in the past, fortunately, resulted in failure on the part 

 of the speculators and, as a whole, meant loss to the rubber 

 tr.ulr. So, too. fluctuations in price, whether from speculative 

 or natural cause, have proved a distinct handicap. If crude 

 rubber be very high manufacturers find it difficult to get in 



creased prices for their g Is. Many articles in rubber if too 



high priced are displaced by others that contain no rubber. 

 For example, leather belting takes the place of rubber licit 

 ing, twine is used instead of elastic bands, etc.. etc. In the 

 event of a sudden drop in price of crude rubber, orders placed 

 by wholesale dealers are cancelled and new orders placed at 

 a lower price with other manufacturers. Hence, corners and 

 fluctuations in price are feared by the rubber manufacturing 

 I rack- at large, and are a serious drawback to a regular and 

 healthy growth. 



That rubber manufacturers will view possible efforts of 

 rubber planters to curtail production and thus maintain high 

 prices with favor can be denied. Such action may keep prices 

 up for a time, but it will inevitably stimulate outside planting 

 in all parts of the tropical world It will also be a distinct 

 advantage to those who have partially established planta- 

 tions in localities not blessed with cheap labor. Further 

 than this, it will be a constant incentive to those distinguished 

 and scholarly German chemists who are step b\ step advanc- 

 ing toward the commercial production of synthetic rubber. 



The rubber manufacturer produces his quota of goods 

 whether the price of Fine Para be $1 or $3 a pound. Really 

 what most concerns him is that the price be the same to all 

 and that violent fluctuations in price be done away with. 



For a product so valuable, india rubber has suffered from 

 careless and inadequate packing more than any other com- 

 modity. In the past, rubber worth anywhere from $1 to $2 

 a pound, and even more, has been sent thousands of miles m 

 rough boxes, in fragile crates, in burlap bags. It has been stored 

 where it came in contact with water, oil. heated air and dirt 

 in infinite variety. So loosely packed was it and so carelessly 

 guarded that its theft was of daily occurrence. An urgent 

 necessity, therefore, is some form of packing that shall at 

 once be secure, cleanly and economical. 



In considering this, however, there comes the important 

 question of the physical shape of the rubber to be packed. 

 Shall it he in the form of balls or pelles. sheets, slabs, sausages 

 or what? Wild rubber has come in all of these shapes, and 

 more. Is there any reason for accepting any one of these 

 forms as embodying the best ideas? They all have their 

 advocates, but they are without exception those who gather it 

 in the jungle and who find it most convenient to make the 

 shapes in which they send their rubber. 



The pelle is not capable of being packed without waste. 

 It holds moisture a long time and it must be soaked in hot 

 water and cut open before the machines can handle it. Small 

 balls and sausages gather much dirt, leave much of their sur- 

 face open to oxidization and are easily stolen. Sheets like 

 the crepe of commerce have all to be pulled apart before 



use, and a pound or two torn from one end is not missed. 

 It would seem, therefore, that some form having always 

 standard dimensions, and branded witli the name of the plan- 

 tation, would be a step in advance. Rubber m such form 

 would be hard to steal, or hard to dispose of when Stolen, 

 would pack without waste of space and would be exceedingly 

 easy to handle in weighing. As for the wooden boxes, planed 

 boards should be always used. Of course the ideal shipping 

 package would be one built of material produced near the 

 plantation, something that could be used or sold after it was 

 emptied. That, however, is yet to be evolved. 



The theft of rubber is common. In the past, rubber gather- 

 ers, importers and manufacturers have all been sufferers. On 

 the part of manufacturers many attempts have been made 

 to bring the thieves to justice, hut the difficulty in establish- 

 ing title to pelles and chunks that are hardly distinguishable 

 one from tin other lias usually resulted in failure. With 

 uniform shape, plantation brands, adequate packing and direct 

 shipment from plantation to factory, most of this thieving 



would be impossible, or at least easily detected. < hue in the 

 factory, the manufacturer is aide to guard his rubber pretty 

 safely. There is a movement, inaugurated by the Rubber 

 Club of America, to destroy the market for stolen rubber l»> 

 invoking the assistance of manufacturers and the wholesale 

 handlers of rubber waste. These firms not onlj refuse to 

 handle lots of rubber offered by those win. cannot show a 

 clear title to the goods, but they also report any such offer- 

 ings to the Rubber Club. Such procedure will in time, no 

 doubt, reduce rubber stealing to a minimum. Perhaps it is 

 the rubber planter wdio will in the next decade suffer most 

 from rubber thieves. Certain it is that if once the thrifty 

 peasants of the Middle East ever establish every man his 

 own little plantation of Hevea, some of his richei neighbors' 

 rubber will be likely to swell the product of his own trees. 



The middle man, the importer, has in the past played a 

 very important part in crude rubber. He has provided cap- 

 ital for many factories and financed aviadors and producers 

 the world over. His operations have been large and his 

 profits commensurate. As in other lines, it is probable that 

 he will always have a place. With the growth of the planta- 

 tion industry, the standardization of grades and the closi 

 relations between producer and user, his activities, however, 

 are likely to be lessened. Rubber importing as a definite 

 commission business will take the place of speculative im- 

 porting, juggling of grades and creation of new types from 

 ingenious rearrangement of old. Nor is it likely that ru 

 manufacturers will long continue to pay commissions to those 

 who receive rubber simply to re-pack and re-ship it to them. 

 Still further they will view with distinct relief the abandon- 

 ment of the ancient storage vaults that reek with moisture. 



A simple form of contract that will be universal and fair 

 to both buyer and seller is something that the majority of 

 rubber manufacturers most earnestly desire. In the past there 

 have been a variety of contracts that were sometimes bind- 

 ing and sometimes not. There have not been wanting in 

 stances when importers sold for forward delivery at a price, 

 and if the market went down rushed deliveries ahead of time 

 and in increased amounts, or when it went up delayed de- 

 liveries for months, substituted poorer sorts to gain time or 

 refused to fill orders at all. On the other hand, there have 

 been times when manufacturers buying at high prices, and 

 experiencing a falling of prices, refused to take the rubber 

 contracted for. Of course, a steady market price, which 

 plantation rubber will in time effect, will do away with such 

 temptation to a degree; and a uniform, clear contract will do 

 the rest. 



Speaking of the attitude of American rubber manufacturers 

 toward plantation rubber, they are very friendly, hut at the 

 same time are constantly provoked by the mixed shipments 



