Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-29
Continental Company Secures
Plantations in Malay States,
Oriental Magnate Says
BELGIAN CAPITAL IN DANGER
Peter Grimes, a Large Owner in
Corporations, Plans Fight
Against Combine
Especial to The Herald)

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 2S.-The
Continental Rubber company, which Is
controlled by Senator Nelson w. AID
rich of Rhode Island and which is Il
part of the United States Rubber COM
pany, the rubber trust" has gained
control of four of the largest rubber
plantations in the federated Malay
states and has plans laid to "break'
the rubber market of Europe, aided by
the tariff wall of the United States,
which Aldrich helped build.
This is the information which Peter
Archibald Gordon Grimes, a rubber
magnate of India and the Straits Set
tlements, received here from Singapore
today.
Grimes owns stock in all four of the
companies concerned and declares that
he intends to return to Singapore at
once and demand that the merger be
dissolved. He says he will bring ac-
tion in the British courts and that the
concessions granted the rubber plant
ers by the government forbid mergers
and that it is impossible to get
monopoly of any of the products of the
protectorate.
GREAT COMPANIES IN MERGER
"There are some 200 ordered rub
ber companies in the Malay states"
said Grimes today las to how many
Of these companies are in the merger,
] do not know, but the information is
that the Salingore company, the Serm-
ban company, the Singapore and Jo-
hore company and the LinGgi planta-
tions company. limited. the four big
gest ones, which produce II per cent of
the worlds supply of crude rubber,
have been taken over by the Continen-
tai.
IF this company, which is a part
of the trust, gets control of the rub
Der of the Malay states, which pro-
duces nearly half of the worlds supply.
the trust will be ready to break the
European market and cripple the Bel
gian companies which get their rubber
from the Congo.
Control of tho price will be possible
on account of the high American
tariff The trust will get high price
In the United states and will be able
to sell SO cheap in Europe that the
European companies will not be able
TO compete with it. Rubber goods are
high in the United States, as watches
and agricultural machinery, and are
sent to Europe and sold 20 per cent
cheaper in spite of the cost of ship
mcnt.
ALDRICH IN RUBBER COMPANY
THE Continental is not manufac-
turing company. 1t gets the rubber
for the United States Rubber com
pany. The rubber planters OF tho
Malay states know that the United
States company and the Continental
company have the power to Tx the
tariff, and in this connection Aldrich's
name is as we'll known as his company.
1t is known to the planters that AL
drich and members of his family are
the controlling powers in the Cont
mental
THE British government will not
allow any combination to take over
the rubber industry. The tin trust or
merger was broken up. There are
many native stockholders in these
rubber companies, they having been
persuaded to give up their lands for
the planting of rubber trees. They are
getting their dividends now and the
government always protects the ma
tives against exploiting companies.
Il expect that the information l have
received today will result. in my re-
turn at once to Singapore, although |
only arrived here on the Asia on my
way east on the nth of this month, l
will bring action in the courts to have
this merger broken up by the govern
ment, and they will have to produce
their books and show on what basis
they are operating"