Arizona republican., 1903-10-19
Amount of Material Requir-
ed by the U. S.
Imports Last Year $4,000, 0,00O-Ways
in Which the First Source Of Supply
Is Being Supplemented.

Der. valued at more than so million
cellars, was imported into the
United States last year. In 1890 the
quantity was only SO million pounds, in
1880 16 milliors, in 1870 millions. and
in 1862, the earliest date at which it
was separately shown in the import
statements. was only 2,125,561 pounds.
This very rapid growth in the impor-
tation of crude India rubber is of
course due to the great Increase in its
use in manufacturing, both as to rub
ber garments, shoes, etc, and its use
in machinery and as tires for vehicles.
Over 100 million dollars worth of man
ufactureS from India rubber are now
turned out from the factories of the
cCurtry every year. and about half
CT this total is in the form of boots
and shoes. So great is the demand for
India rubber for use in manufacturing
that not only has the Importation
grown from , million pounds ir 1852
to over so million pounds annually at
the present period, but in addition to
this the forests of the East Indies are
called upon for several million pounds
arrually OF u new substitute for gutta-
percha, known as "gutta- jcolatong."
while at the same time the highways
and byways of Europe and other coun-
tries are ransacked fer cast off rubber
manufa ctures from which the rubber
is "reclaimed" ann reused in conjunc-
ton with the new rubber from the
forests of Brazil. Africa and the East
Indies.
Figures show the importations of
three classes Of material utilized as
India rubber in recent years. They
ch hat
the importa tions of crude rubber have
ranged from so to So million pounds:
of gutta- joola tong from to Is mil
lion pounds, and of "old and scrap rub
ber, fit only for remanufacture.' from
10 to 90 odd million pounds per annum,
and of gutta- percha a half million
pounds.
The industry of importing and re
claiming India rubber for use in man
ufacturing is comparatively a uew one.
and while it utilizes large quantities
of worn-out rubber boots and shoes
and ether articles OF this character
from the scrap heaps of the United
States, it has only extended to other
parts of the world in recent years.
In 1893. for example, the total impor-
tation of "old and scrap India rubber.
fit only for manufacture" was less
than million pounds. In 1896 it was
over 3 millions, in 1898 more than 9
millions, in 1900 10 millions. in 1902 %
millions. and in 1908 "A ,659, 1874 pounds,
valued a s1,516,137.
Gutta- jOOlatOng is another cCmpara-
lively new material which may be util-
lied as a substitute for or in conjunc-
ton with India rubber. 1t is a product
of the East indies, chiefly the island
of BorneO. located not far from the
Philippines. and in the form in which
1t is imported is described as "whitish
in color. looking something ike marsh
mallow candy. smelling strongly of pc
troleum. and cXidizing on exposure to
the air. becoming hard" The same
description says: 1T is not a substitute
for Gutta percha or India rubber, but
is used chiefly as a filler in manufact-
ures of India rubber gum. and gutta
percha." The importation of this new
ly developed aid in the manufa cture of
India rubber has increased from IL
million pounds III 1899 to IA million
pounds in 1903.
"A very large proportion OF India rub
Der imported into the United States is
produced in Brazil. Over one half of
the total is imported direct from Bra
zil. while considerable quantities come
from the United Kingdom presumably
the product of her colonies. and from
Belgium, chiefly the product of the
Congo Free State. which is under con-
troll of the Belgian government and
its industries Of this character control
led by the people of that country Re-
cent reports received by the division of
circular reports OF the bureau of sta
tstics show that experiments in the
East Indies have shown the entire
practicability of producing the best
Para rubber in the territory imme-
diateiy adjacent TO the Philippines
from trees transDlanted from South
America and suggesting the possibility
that the Philippine Islands may in
time supply at least ya1t of the
growing rubber consumption ,,f the
United States.