THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
345 
Nov.  2,  i8g6,j 
STRANGE  STATEMENTS  RESPECTING 
QUININE. 
It  must  1)3  confessed  tliat  the  ciurent  expla- 
nations of  tlie  motives  of  the  quinine  manu- 
facturers’ combination  in  reducing  their  official 
price,  by  two  sti'okes  delivered  in  quick  succes- 
sion, to  lljd  per  oz.  are  by  no  means  satis- 
factory. We  referred,  in  our  issue  of  last 
week,  to  the  talk  of  change  and  the  Commercial 
Sale  Rooms ; but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how 
anyone  could  be  so  foolha)dy  as  to  select  the 
present  moment  for  opening  a new  quinine 
works  on  the  Continent,  while  the  notion  that 
the  manufacturer.®’  action  was  inspired  by  fear 
of  coming  competition  from  the  new  quinine 
factory  in  Java  may  also  be  dismissed  as  im- 
probable. The  Java  quinine-works  will  be,  at 
best,  a very  small  factor  in  the  quinine-market 
for  some  years  to  come,  and  to  reduce  the  price 
in  Europe  by  nearly  20  per  cent  before  a single 
ounce  of  Java-made  quinine  has  yet  made  its 
appearance  in  the  open  market  would  be  as  pre- 
posterous as,  say,  the  raising  of  fortifications 
round  l^ondon  because  of  a dij)loinatic  rupture 
with  Venezuela.  Another  reason,  not  mentioned  by 
us  last  week,  which  has  been  put  forward  to  account 
for  the  .action  of  the  combined  makers  is  the 
competition  ot  the  Imperial  t^uinine-Avorks  in 
London,  Avhich  are  not  in  the  “ring.”  With  all 
respect  to  that  excellent  and  now  Avell-estab- 
lished  factory,  however,  we  cannot  affect  to  re- 
gard it,  at  present,  as  a sufficiently  serious 
competitor  to  the  older  makers  to  call  for  such 
drastic  action  on  their  part  as  a twopenny- 
halfpenny  reduction  on  a fourteenpeuny  arti- 
cle. Moreover,  though  the  Imperial  Quinine- 
Avorks  are  said,  by  their  selling-agents  to  have 
sufficient  quinine  orders  on  hand  to  keep  them 
going  for  several  months,  they  have  never 
adopted  an  aggressive  “cutting”  policy  to Avards 
the  older  makers.  In  fact,  they  have  not  even 
replied  to  the  tAvo  reductions  announced  by  the 
manufacturers’  “ring”  by  lowering  their  own  price. 
So  much  for  the  current  talk  concerning  the 
reasons  that  have  inspired  the  action  of  the 
quinine-makers.  Now  let  us  inquire  Avhether 
there  are  no  other  motives  that  may  have 
inspired  so  serious  a step  as  that  of  deliberate 
depreciation  of  their  own  stock  of  quinine  by 
nearly  20  per  cent.,  at  a time  when  nothing  hut 
the  inanufacturer.s’  oavu  initiative  could  have 
•caused  such  a depreciation. 
It  Avould  natur,ally  be  expected  that  the  London 
Agents  of  the  German  (piinine  makers  would 
be  the  persons  most  likely  to  be  al)le  to  airoi'd 
Information  on  the  policy  of  their  principals. 
Nothing  of  the  kind.  One  and  all  these  gentle- 
men profe.ss  to  knoAv  rather  less  about  that 
policy  than  the  merest  outsider.  Their  instruc- 
tions come  to  them  cut  and  dried,  “ made, 
in  Germany”  Avichout  a word  of  explanation. 
Thus,  child-like  and  bland,  they  face  their 
customers,  “ Story  ? bless  you.  Sir,  I have  none 
to  tell,”  is  the  burden  of  tlieir  song.  Yet  it  is 
an  open  secret  that  the  policy  Avhich  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  “ concert  of  quinine-makers” 
had  its  mainspring  in  Germany,  and  that  the 
directing  Avires  are  still  ))ulled  from  that  country. 
That  those  Avho  dictate  the  policy  of  the  “ rin"” 
know  Avhatthey  are  about  is  shoAvn  by  the  results 
of  the  combination.  During  its  existence  the 
stock  of  quinine  in  the  London  warehouses,  in 
other  words,  the  only  large  aggregation  of  second- 
hand supplies  in  the  Avorld,  has  been  reduced 
from  J,027,7]8  oz.  (on  August  :tl,  1894)  to  its 
present  small  compa-ssof  l,67o,()UL)  oz.  The  stock 
of  cinchona  bark  in  London  has  been  similarly 
reduced,  all  sources  of  supply,  except  Java,  have 
practically  run  dry,  and  the  quinine-makers  can 
buy  their  raAv  material  at  auction  in  Amsterdam 
and  London  at  a figure  out  of  all  proportion  Ioav 
comirared  with  the  recent  selling  price  of  quinine. 
Only  one  thing  has  been  Avanting  to  render 
the  market-supremacy  of  the  “ ring  ” com- 
plete, viz. — regulation  of  the  supply  of  bark.  That 
has  failed  them  hitherto.  There  are  reasons  for 
believing  that,  although  at  first  sight  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  cheap  raAv  material  must  be  to 
the  manufacturers’  advantage,  they  Avould  have 
been  quite  as  Avell  pleased  if  Java  had  lived  up 
to  the  expectations  generally  entertained  of  her, 
by  gradually  diminisliing  her  output.  The  makers 
have  been  confronted  month  after  month  with 
unmanageably  large  supplies  offered,  practically 
Avithout  reserve,  at  the  Amsterdam  auctions. 
There  are  only  some  half-dozen  customers  for  these 
supplies,  and  they  have  been  gorged  to  their 
throats.  Said  one  of  the  largest  German  quinine- 
makers  last  summer  to  the  |)resent  Avriter,  whom 
he  showed  over  his  factory,  which  was  then  shut 
down  in  order  not  to  heap  up  unnecessary 
quinine  supplies:  “We  have  told  the  Java 
gentlemen  that  aa'C  cannot  SAvalloAV  their  stnff 
at  the  ])resent  rate,  and  still  they  keep  sending 
more.  We  have  uoav  threatened  them  that  if 
they  do  tint  bring  their  output  in  harmony  Avith 
the  requirements,  Ave  shall  let  the  unit  at  the 
Amsterdam  auctions  drop  to  a figure  that  Avill 
bring  them  to  their  senses.”  Rut  the  Java  plan- 
ters are  a promiscuous  mob.  They  have  shoA\  n 
themselves  incapable  of  intelligent  co-operation, 
ainl  they  now  suffer  for  their  .short-comings. 
Which  biings  us  to  our  next  point — viz.,  the 
question  Avhy  other,  and  more  business-like  per- 
sons, should  not  accomplish  Avhat  the  planters 
have  failed  to  do?  The  cinchona  exports  from 
Java  still  keep  increasing  month  by  month.  For 
the  year  ending  the  30th  June,  1896,  the  total 
Avas  9,108,385  half-kilos,  as  compared  Avith 
8,705,057  and  7,428,336  in  the  two  preceding 
seasons.  Moreover,  we  hear  today,  from  our 
Amsterdam  corres])ondent,  that  the  August  .ship- 
ments, of  Avhich  the  results  Avas  made  known  in 
Amsterdam  on  Wednesday,  show  a still  greater 
rcl.ative  increase,  the  figures  being  as  folloAvs  : 
Aug.  Half-  1896  1895  1894  1893 
kilos  ...  979,300  697,000  853,000  636,000 
January  1 to 
Aug.  30th  6,029,0t)0  5,013,000  5,554,000  5,376,000 
All  expectations  of  an  improvement  in  the  pidce 
of  bark  based  uj)on  the  (liminished  exports  are 
therefore  at  an  einl  for  the  present.  It  is  said 
that  the  heavy  shipments  of  the  last  feAV  months 
are  due  to  the  unusual  character  of  the  mon- 
sooD,  and  that  there  Avill  be  such  a falling  off 
during  the  remainder  of  the  year  .b.it  1895  Avill 
ultimately  take  rank  as  the  highest  season  on 
record.  This,  however,  is  a statement  that  has 
been  made  many  times  before,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  credit  it  now. 
On  the  other  hand,  aa'c  hear  from  a well-in- 
formed source  that  the  recent  reduction  in  the 
quinine-price  Avas  a deliberate  move  in  tire 
policy  of  the  combined  quinine-makers.  It  is 
known  that  sometime  ago  an  expert,  on  behalf 
of  the  Syndicate  of  quinine-makers  and  a few 
others  clos»_ly  connected  Avith  the  trade,  visited 
all  the  Java  plantations,  and  prepared  an  ex- 
haustive report  of  their  capacity.  It  is  su[)posed 
that  a .scheme  Avas  subsequently  drawn  up, 
ami  discussed  betAveen  the  ((iiinine  Syndicate 
and  the  proprietors  of  the  principal  plantations 
in  Java,  under  which  the  Syndicate  undertook 
