The Colfax chronicle., 1902-05-24
THE USES OF RUBBER.
Are Increased NJ Ciyilixation Goes
Forward-Facts About the SUPP
ply and Demand.

Are Increased ns ,Ciyilixation Goes
Forward-Facts About the SUPP
ply and Demand.
When it SHOWS in New England the
natives up the Amazon and the Congo
rivers get more rum for pulling gum
from the rubber trees in the forests
there.
They neither know nor care what
the rubber is good for, nor where it
goes or why, but by some means they
learn that the demand for 1t is good.
They straightwayss require more
money or drink, states the New York
Mail and Express. ,H iie ~ss
The rubber trade is one of the ups
and downs with the seasons and the
weather. 1t is literally. true that 2
snowstorm in New York, Philadelphia
or Boston or in any. thickly populated
territory puts hundreds of thou
sands of dollars into the pockets of
the rubber footwear manufacturers.
1t consequently affects the heather
of two continents who have never
seen and who never will see a snow
flake. hf - fa -
Authorities in the rubber trade say
that their business generally is in
better condition to-day than 1T ever
has been; that it is growing con-
stantly in all lines, and that con-
sumption is increasing beyond all
precedents. The factories are max
ing good profits ON the finishing OF
standard grades, which are selling at
from SO to 50 cents a pound in the
crude form as shipped here from
South America and Africa.
Para rubber from upper Brazil Is
the best in the world. A thousand
miles up the Amazon are villages OF
as high as 10000 inhabitants, where
ten years ago all was a wilderness.
Cables run down the river and con-
meet with those Of the world. Towns
are lighted, by electric, plants sent
from the, United States and every
thing is as modern as one OF our
western towns. The forests are. be-
ing worked like the maple groves Of
Vermont or New Hampshire, and
preserved for their future value,
though tree can be stripped OF
more gum by being cut down than by
being tapped. sso p -
There are over 1900 known botan-
ical species from which rubber gum
may be taken. When consumption Is
great the wilds of unexploreds sconti-
nents are penetrated for their gum
possibilities. Crude rubber fiuctuates
as wheat does or copper. The prices
Of the stock of rubber trust do not
affect it, but the demand OF the FAC
tories which are capitalized in the
trust does. Crude rabber is some.
| times. as now, higher in Brazif than IN
New York. leaving out the cost Of
ocean freights. Merchants there Otter
/ hold their stocks, and, while no rub
| Der exchange exists, they buy up ths
product and store it until they believe
prices will soon be higher in New Yorl
or Liverpool. Cargoes of rubber are
often sent from New York to Liver
pool, or the other way, on account OF
a small difference in the price here and
there.
Crude rubber is shipped in huge ball,
of about 500 pounds each, packed II
pine boxes. The boards for making
these boxes are taken from New Yorl
on the ships that bring the rubber
gum back here again, and nailed to
gether somewhere up the Amazon OF
| the, Congo. And when the gum reache.
here It goes into warehouses in al
its various grades, to be taken by man
ufacturers according to their needs.
The automobile and wagon rubbel
tire has already become a greatel
source Of profit annually to the man
ufacturer than the bicycle tire evel
was. Most bicycle tire manufacturer
lost money A few made immens'
sums, but were glad to quit befor'
they lost them again. The end of |
fad, which the bicycle in its craze was
| is not to be feared with the wagoI
tire or the automobile, it is believed
1 and either of these takes many times
as much rubber as the light bicycle
| tire.
Then. too, the compulsory equip
ment of cars with air brakes to pro
| tect passengers and railroad employs
! against accident has made a marke
for miles upon miles of rubber hos
for this purpose. Every small tow
| that puts in waterworks require
n - g. - a. - 4 IL <.<<