Arizona republican., 1904-12-12
RUBBER BUSINESS
Imports Greater This Year Than Ever
The United States Ia the Greatest User-There Is Required Fifty HiI- lion Pounds Annually.

Washington, D. C., December II The recent advance in prices of and demand for india rubber lends especial interest tos some figures just prepared by the department of commerce and labor through its bureau of statistics, which show the quantity and value Of rubber imported into the United States during the current year and in a term of earlier years. These figures show that in both quantity and value the imports of the year about to end will probably exceed those of any earlier year. The largest importation in any complete fiscal year is 55,250000 pounds in the fiscal year 1901, and the highest value in any earlier year is $31, ,707, ,630 in 1899. In the calendar year about to end, however, the indications are that the quantity imported will reach co., 00,00O pounds and the value more than $40.000,0OO- In the ten months ending with October the quantity of crude rubber imported is practically 5O,000,0o pounds, or, to be exact, 49,951, ,326 pounds, and the value was 4,315, ,1S0.
 In the latest month for which fig ures are available, October, the Quan- tity imported was 5.S979S1 pounds, and the value $3.45O.s4O; so that if the fig l1res of October are an index to the prospective figures for November and I-December, it seems likely that the to- i tai quantity of india rubber imported during the calendar year will reach GO, 0O0,0GO pounds, and the value exceed $40. 900. 600.
 In addition to this, sundry substi- tutes for crude rubber are, in very re- cent years, being brought in in large quantities. "Gutta joolatong," or East Indian gum a product of BOr- neo, which is used in conjunction with india rubber in certain lines of man. ufacture. has in recent years been inn ported in rapidly increasing quantities The rapid increase in it's use is indi- cated by the fact that the quantity imported into the country had been so small that the bureau of statistics made no separate record of it priog to 1899. when only 6,C0O.OOO pounds were recorded as having been imported. Ir 1900 the quantity was S.701,753 pounds; in 1903, 13,9S4,S17 pounds. and in tht ten months of the present calendar year for which figures, are available the quantity imported was 12,255,S ,S0l pounds.
 Under modern methods much of this india rubber used in shoes, garments and otherwise may now be recovered and by certain processes made fit fol further use, and the extent to whicf this is now being done is indicated h5 the fact that the irnportations of "ol( and scrap rubber fit only for remanu facture" which amounted in 1894 tC less than 2,600. 900 pounds, were in tn fiscal year 1904 over 2O. .OO0. 900 pounds.
 While Brazil furnishes a much lar1Z CT share of the rubber imported intt the United States than does any oth q country, the share that country con tributes of the grand total of our i'm ports of that article is probably not st large as generally supposed The fig ures of the bureau of statistics show that of the 49951. .326 pounds of crud india rubber imported into the United States during the ten months ending with October. 1904 2s.2S2, ,456 pound came from Brazil, while Africa. Cen tral America. certain other cf tn
 South American countries, and tn
 East Indies supplied the remainder Practically all the rubber which orig mated in Africa came by way of Flu rope, being accredited to various Euro pean countries, though of course fl no case produced in those countries.
 The reports of the bureau of statis . tics credit the United Kingdom wit