Evening journal., 1910-04-15

Although the late c. p. Huntington,
the real creator Of the Southern Pa
cific Railroad and the maker Of one
of the greatest American fortunes,
could not rival James J. Hill or An
drew Carnegie as a public speaker
or at least never tried to do that. ney-
ertheless he was one OF the most en-
tertaining and instructive of men
when engaged in private conversation.
He had a fund of anecdotes, he was
intensely interested i'm all the greater
undertakings of American capital, and
he had made study Of the personals
ties of many of the great leaders %
his time in railway and industrial de-
velopment
II was my good fortune TO meet Mr..
Huntington some years before his
DEATH when he was in a very chatty
and communicative mood. AS ne talk
ed he stood leaning over the marble
counter of a financial institution with
whose officers he was on friendly
terms. Finally, somebody mentioned the
word rubber" and at once Mr.. Hunt
ington's manner took on the ear marks
of the enthusiast.
Il have heard il stated that this is
the iron age, the railroad ape the cleo
iiAtdl dkis llt Nulhs luN AltAht oVAAiN-
times thought that it might properly
be called the rubber era. l regar6
rubber as standing in equal rank, al
most, with wool and cotton as a factor
ina modern Industrial development. OF
course. it does not rank with grain.
for grain is converted into food and
food is of first necessity. But as our
Industrial development goes on. there
are bound to be larger and larger uses
for rubber, and / am sure that there
will come a time when for years the
worlds supply will not be equal to the
demand.
Nevertheless, am satisfied that
rightly handled there is a practically
! inexhaustble supply OF rubber pro-
ducing trees throughout the entire
equatorial belts of South America ard
Africa. / am satisfied that the pres
ent methods of rubber production arc
wasteful; ! am told that there is an
unnecessary destruction of trees. But
am also satisfied that if set of
earnest and capable young men would
organize an adequate corporation,
penetrate the equatorial regions with
a satisfactory and reasonably swift
/ system OF communication. and go
about systematically and scientifically
cultivating rubber trees, that there is
no other industry which would begin
to yield the profits these rubber men
would obtain.
ITO my mind. the scientific care -
rubber trees and production of rubber
offers extraordinary opportunities. Ii
should appeal to the ablest and the
most ambitious OF the young men vino
desire to make great careers and great
fortunes. Were ] a young man l
would be tempted to so into the rub
ber industry myself. But-oh, well.
don't suppose that I shall live to sec
the day. for / am getting along in
years now; but I am willing to pre-
dict that many men now Of middle
life will realize before they become
old that perhaps the greatest indus
trial staple in the world. excepting
cotton, and, OF course, the food grains,
is rubber"
This conversation with Mr.. Hunt
ington took place in the middle nine
ties. For the last month or So all
England has been greatly excited over
the speculation in the rubber stocks
due, it Is said. to the worlds demand
for rubber practically being greater
than the visible supply.
Copyright, 1910, by L. j. Edwards.l
A. I'm III -