Evening star., 1898-12-03
INDIA RI BE5ER.
High Price Due to the Scarcity or tha
Material

Material
From Engineering
Inc high price of india rubber is nm
doubtedly due to the shortness of s,nnI,.
oat what is this decreased SUNNY dua n .
III 1t IS due to scarcity of the material bor,
is 1t that after previous periods Of higb
prices. notably IN 1854 a fall of 40 nor cent
ana more took place in the Immediately s1,c-
ceedlng years, seeing that no rubber from,
the attempted plantations of that date ba (
come INTO the market? No, We must look
around Tor other causes, and we think they
VIII be found under two main heads. These
are are shortness of native labor in the forests
anu speculation, though the former NAV he
considered as the more important Tho
ntflhsos, or natives, by whom the rubber
IN the Amazon districts of South America
entIieiF coiiected, are, comparatively
speaking, limited body Of men. the total
hufnber of whom has been roundlv stated
at 1900, though We do not youch for This
Iis uTe. NOW, these men, like most others
rnt on ttie .dce OF the globe. being free agents
prefer TO sell their labor to the highest
oiuuti ana oWlrg to the fact that the cof-
Zee planters have been shorthanded there
mas mas peen spirited contest between the rub
per ana coffee merchants for the ayaiIa BILE
iaD1r. hi Inc consequence has been that the
nlshef terms offered by the latter have So
uuced the natives from their former adher-
ehee TO the rubber collecting business.
nH-
CURED more than once in West Africa
Where there is competition for labor be.
.Weeh the rubber and palm oil merchants.
MARKER reports from this area have de-
scIined the scarcity of either of these COM
modlties at certain times to be due to the
lack OF labor This condition of things in
eltner continent Is not one that can be
e'f,s oanis temedled' as, owing 10 climatic
causes, IL Is only certain constitutions that
can successfully ward off the dangers to
oe appfehended. So much in a few words
LOT What appears to us to be the cause of
the present high price, and it will he. seen
at once that any amount of planta tions will
not prove a palliative. Of course it is a
question for consideration as to how long
tne rubber forests of South America will
stand the increasing drain upon their re-
sources, not only by ourselves hut also NV
the United States. Russia and Germany.
a. present there seems no reason for alarm
as there are large areas Of ground compara-
INely untouched, and there is ample scoDe
Tor their expectation under correct condi-
lions. 1t is a pity that the law which was
passed against the telling of trees in MANY
parts OF the watershed of the Amazon and
Orlnoco seems to he honored in the breach
ratner than in the observance and this
theme suggests itself as one upon which
energeuc and concerted action might profit
ably be taken.
AT one time the best rubber came princi-
paliy from the lower reaches of the ANA
Zon, 1or the main reason that as it was
nearest to the shipping port there was no
cultleS to be experienced in tapping the
trees of the more inaccessible regions To-
day, however, the area is being rapidly ex-
tended, and Bolivian rubber is quoted a
fraction higher than Para. As the quality
or the rubber may be stated to depend
largely, If not entirely, on climatic condi-
tions, there seems no reason to suppose
that as good rubber as that produced in
the watershed of the Amazon may not be
found wherever the climatic conditions are
similar. This question OF climatic condi-
lions is an important-a very important
one, and 1t does not seem to have received
proper recognition at the hands of pro-
moters of rubber plantations.
With an enthusiasm untempered by an
intimate knowledge of the subject, propos-
ais have been advanced to plant the Para
rubber trees in divers countries and in all |
sorts of climates. Now, though We do not |
Wish to say that no success whatever has |
followed the planting of the Para tree
(Hevea BraZiliensis) out of South America,
yet In no case has the yield of the tree been
found equal to what is obtained in Brazil. |
Or up to the expectations of the planter The |
venture has not been success. and the |
sooner the fast is honestly recognized the |
better. 1t is not only damp atmosphere,
but the amount of damp that Is of primary |
Importance: in other words the problem is |
a quantitattve as Well as a qualitative cne. |
and as there Is an obvious difficulty In reg
llattng such q matter as the rainfall Of q