The San Francisco call., 1910-08-12

of rubber or the price of any such
The Intercontinental rubber
company is not in any sense nor
of any kind-good or bad-a rub
Der trust 1t was never-and no
one connected with it was ever
in combination or agreement or
arrangement with anybody with
reference to the production, or
control or attempt TO control, the
price of crude rubber, or of any
manufactures of rubber The only
relations it ever has had with any
rubber manufacturing concern nave
been solely with reference TO the
sale and delivery OF Its cruue pro-
ducts. 1t had at one time serious
differences with subordlnate
company of the United States rub
Der company with reference 10
the quality of rubber deliVerea;
These were afterward reconciled
to mutual satisfaction; but the
arrangement of these differences
in a new contract involved no new
subjects and is the only arrange
ment of any kind that we have
ever had with this company or any
With reference to my personal
interest in the matter, / Will say
that for 10 years l have been
greatly interested, financially and
otherwise, in the development of
plans for extracting crude
rubber from shrubs, vines and
trees by scientific. chemical ana
mechanical processes instead OF
the old fashioned tapping method
now in general use.
The formation of the companies
to which l have alluded was Tor
the necessary organization OF TINS
business in various parts of the
world. There has never been any
attempt at concealment on my
part, or any reason for conceal
ment of my deep interest in this
development.
The measure of success Whlcn
has been achieved by the young
men who have had the manage
ment of the companies, has been
source of satisfaction and OF
pride to me.
Among other things accom-
plished is the yearly production in
Mexico by our company from the
Guayule shrub of about 100000
pounds of crude rubber; other com,
panies producing about an equal
amount To accomplish this an en-
tirely new industry was estao-s
lished. Fifteen years ago the Quay
ule shrub on the Mexican plains
and the lands on which 1t grew
were practically valueless. we eX-
pect in time to accomplish approx
mate results in other countries. L
have no apology to make for my
part (Which has been unlmportant)
in this work.
In the success attained the tariff
of the United States has played no
part whatever. The price of crude
rubber is fixed in the markets -of
the world by the ineXorable law OF
supply and demand It is governed
Antwerp. The great increase In
the price in recent years is un-
doubtedly owing to the enormous
increase in demand for automobile
industrial uses with no correspond
ing increase in the available sup
ply. The change in our tariff of
per cent on very limited num-
her of the manufactures of rubber;
in August, 1909. had as little to
do with it as had the movement of
the tides.
NEW SOURCE OF SUPPLY
In 1902 the price of fine Para
1910 the price had reached $5 d
pound, the present price being
about $240 a. pound. If the price
has been affected at all by the
rubber company and other kin
dred rubber producing companies,
it has been to impede the advance
by furnishing a new source of sup
ply.
has been no movement or sugges-
ton from any source to place it on
the dutiable list. If this important
raw material, which competes with
no domestic product, should be
dutiable list, the duty would clearly
be added to the cost of the rubber
to the manufactures or the con-
sumner and would not AFFECT the
producer, whose price would clear
ly still be controlled by the market
nrice of the world.
OF all the ridiculous statements
made by the Kansas senator none
is quite so ridiculous as that in
which he states that the Inter
Continental rubber company abso-
lutely controls the crude rubber
supply. The worlds production of
crude rubber in 1903 was about
175,0o0,000 pounds, of which the
United States took about 100000
pounds. The production of the
inter Continental rubber company
and its subordinate companies was
about 100000 pounds, or less
than 6 per cent of the whole.
AS l have already stated, the
Inter-Continental rubber company
has never had any relation with
the other producers and has never
or influence the production or the
price of crude rubber. Any one
who has ordinary intelligence must
understand how futile such an at
tempt WOUIQ nave DSSli lihduS'
"DEPTH OF IGNORANCE
To say that the advance which
took place from month to month in
the price of crude rubber through
out the world from 20 cents in 1902
to SO in 1910 was owing to an un-
important increase of from 80 to
35 per cent in August, 1909. on i'm
portations affecting less than 1 per
cent in value of the total product
of rubber, displays a depth of ig
norance which has rarely been
reached The claim that this same
change of from 80 to 35 per cent
enabled a party who never had any
interest whatever, or any connec
ton with any one engaged in the
manufacture of rubber, to advance
the price of all rubber products
and to make enormous profits out
of such advances discloses mar
velous aptitude for fiction in narra-
tives.
AS to the dividends paid by the
Intercontinental rubber company on
its preferred stock in the early
months of this present year. l will
say that these were deferred pay
ments of cumulative dividends; de-
ferred, as the earnings of the COM
pany had heretofore been used in
the development of its business.
Not one mill of the earnings from
which dividends were paid could be
attributed. as / have already stated.
to the tariff of the United States or
to any change in tariff rates.