New-York tribune., 1906-11-21
CONGO LEASES LONG.
no Run FOR 50 YEARS
Belgian King Probably to Share IN
Big American Venture.

r,a rubber. mining and railway concessions
g. IN. Congo Free State granted recently to
.us-tcsn interests. among whom are included
e.. Cugrenheir1s Thomas F. Ryan and John
T, Eocxefeller, jr. are 20 run Tor ntAety-nine
x.,1 II was learned yesterday. William II.
psr. .r who is one of Mr. Ryan's counsel. is
,ov on his way home from Brussels, where he
h.s .or SOME :inls been engaged in the working
,u. ~ the details of the concessions. All of
tte necessary papers have been drawn UP. and
VII, so sir-e6 ss soon as the Belgian Parlia-
rant Tsri,s. tia agreements. probably within
& fs~ oRys
4 number OF Belgian capitalists viii be inter
est.e IA the corporations already formed or TO
s.. formed s9r working under the three conces-
s,ous snd as the King OF the Belefans mas in
An. ras; associated with himself in the exploita-
ton os the Congo Free States resources many OF
his subjects 10 his and their great profit It is
ASSUMED that he also will have 4 substantial
interest in the new companies.
The rgbbe- concession. was noted In yes
,eriay's Tribune will be controlled by the
.GuerloSn Congo Company, incorporated in this
srgts about S month ago The mining concession
.s 20 De controlled b. q company TO be ganized
e!ths: n England or on the Continent, and il is
understood that English and French capitalists
viii lie among the important shareholders in
this corporation.
As lar as can be aBcertained. no definite plans
have -: been made for organizing the com
psay which Will undertake the construction of
railway lines In the Congo Free State. under
the last OF the three concessions. Native labor
vii. os course. be employed, but the concession
B:res wiz be able 10 make effective OF it,
TO- John Hays Hammond, who brought the min
iag possibilities Of the Congo Free State TO their
attention has had long experience in South
Africa and understands thoroughly the man
Esenent Of African Negroes. Under American
control too the lot of the Congo Free State la
bo1ers viii he vastly improved and end will
be made Of the inhumanity with which they are
now treated. cruelty against which the Eng
lsh people are now protesting.
With ;he rapidly increasing use OF rubber
Cue 70 tne development Of new industries. such
as electric Lighting and power and the manu-
tactuTe o. automobiles, the price of the crude
product has kept pace. About five years ago al
the time Of the Crude Rubber Company's fall
ure, "up-rlver crude rubber sold at S5ih cents
q pound To-day il is worth 81 221a The
worlds production Of crude rubber for the crop
year ended June so. 1906 was 6sOOO tons OF
which the Congo State supplied less than : 600
It's output, however, is expected 10 be largely in
creased after the American Congo Company be-
gins active operations.
Crude rubber may be found all around the
world, between ATTITUDES Is north and Is south
90 that control OF the worlds supply is by no
means held by the organizations now erga ged
II gathering the product. New York has never
been rubber market, but probably will be
within tne next rev years. The leading rubber
markets are Havre. which handles the product
Of the French Congo; Hamburg. getting its sup
plies from the German possessions IN Africa.
London and Liverpool. whittier rubber is SEM
nom Sierra Leone and Senegambia. as well as
from Brazil; Antwerp, the market for the output
Of the Congo Free State and Lisbon. which gets
The rubber from Portuguese East Africa
The United States Rubber Company through
tts control Of the General Rubber Company and
rs recent acquisition Of the great London crude
rubheT concern Of Alden, Symngton & Co. has
nearly solved the problem OF controlling the
sources ot its raw material: but these sources
ar not fully adequate TO supply its needs for
manufacturing. Much interest IS expressed In
Wall Street as TO the probable future relations
between the United States Rubber Company and