62 RUBBER 



The Boom provided a fine opportunity for cheating, 

 of which some people took advantage. The public 

 were invited to buy so-called rubber plantations, that 

 were mere tracts of jungle. And genuine plantations 

 were offered to them for a sum much above their value. 

 No one made any inquiries as to what he was buying — 

 all that anyone wanted at the moment was a piece of 

 paper which set forth that he was the owner of some 

 rubber shares, so that he could sell his rights to some- 

 one else at a profit. But on the whole, seeing how big 

 was the chance for cheating, the public were not made 

 victims by many unscrupulous folk. They were their 

 own worst enemies during the boom, for by their mad 

 eagerness to gamble in rubber shares, they forced up 

 the price of shares in the many thoroughly genuine 

 plantations to a value that was out of proportion to 

 the profits which could be made on the rubber produced 

 ■ — at any rate, for some time to come. 



Of course, the day came at last when the public 

 began to feel they were playing a reckless game. News- 

 papers were warning them of the risks they were run- 

 ning ; rumours were abroad that certain shares were 

 not worth a penny, since they represented partnership 

 rights in land which had not been cleared of jungle, 

 let alone planted up with a single rubber-tree ; hints 

 were going round that the rubber-trees on some of 

 the genuine plantations were being overtapped in order 

 that for the moment big profits should be made at 

 any cost, to compare well with the present high price 

 of shares. People saw themselves losing heavily, 

 sooner or later, if their shares were left on their hands. 

 Now everyone was feverishly anxious to sell, and 

 hardly anyone wanted to buy. Prices which had risen 



