The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-04-15


tion Company, is a Portland (oregonl |
corporation, and its officers are claimed
to be prominent business men Of the
Oregonian metropolis. DR.. Ewbank, who
is representing the company here, has
some fine personal recommendations
from prominent men.
As to the merits of the proposition,
this department is unable to hazard a
guass. The editor of this department
has no reason to believe that the propo.
sition is other than it is represented to
be, but on the face of it it is not one
which he would feel like recommending
to anyone.
The plantation of the company is
located in the State of Chiapas, in
southern Mexico, and embraces some
5000 acres, described in the prospectus
as some of 90 the finest land in the heart
of the famous rubber belt. ~ The
rubber grown is castilloa, grade some
what inferior to hevea, but said to be
capable of working up into fine ar
ticle.
The company is not offering any of
its capital stock for sale, but instead
is placing on the market "harvest GER
tificates, /" emitting the purchaser to
seventy-fve per cent of the gross in
come of as many acres rs he may pay
for The price per acre is $3.50. The
title to land remains in the company,
but for every $3.50 paid the investor
secures a promise of seventy five per
cent of the gross earnings of an I'M
divided five hundredth of five hundred
acre "series. 7" The company agrees to
clear and plant the land and care fol it
in perpetuity, but it makes no provision
for replacing trees which may die off.
Furthermore, it makes promise to pay
only seventy-fve per cent of the profits
received from rubber grown on the
land. Should the growing of rubber
in that part of the world prove I'M.
profitable, or should some pest destroy
the trees, the purchaser would appar-
emily be left high and dry. He has
no interest in the-land itself, he owns
no stock in the corporation, and he can
the affairs of the company.
. According to the literature of the
!. company the stockholders have placed
their stock in escrow to guarantee that
} they will carry out their part of the
, agreement, but there is nothing on thu
certificates being sold to show that sucf
is the case.
: The whole. proposition in nutshell
! is, "Give me your money and we will
, pay to you three-quarters of all tn,
. money that we make from an undivided
ore acre of land in an area of five hun
bred acres. -
: In case the company should go int,
bankruptcy it is hard to see where tn,
/, certificates holders would stand, al
! their certificates certainly give then
no very tangible assets.
: 1t is presupposed that the land will
be in full bearing in five years. There
e fore in five years time the returns ar,
supposed to commence coming in. II
r all cases where certificates are paid TO
v in cash, the company agrees to pay fiv
+ per cent. interest for the use of tn
y money during the five years.
+ An installment proposition is offere
n as an alternate to the cash purchas
very fair.
e The claims made concerning the earn
n ing power of the rubber land of tn
: company sound as though modern f
Y Dorado had been found. On the SUI
f face at least it looks as though tn
Il thing were bit too good to he true.
The exact status of plantation-g grow
s rubber in connection with the CONNER
eial world is still problematic. At tn
3, present time London has gone rubbe
i mad and fabulous prices are being pal
n for rubber stocks. In many cases
must be admitted that the earnings @
J. some of the companies would seem
Justify the prevailing prices, but othe
stocks plainly show the effects of
crazy boom.
y There have been many fake rubbe
: plantations hoated in Mexico and
y person not thoroughly conversant wit
= conditions in the southern .republ
:. would do well to be very circumspet
~ with regard to investments there.
:, However, in this particular instanc
the greatest drawback to the propos
:. tion offered seems to be that purcha
y, ers of "harvest certificates" are n,
y stockholders, are not property holder
and can have no word in the manag
'e ment of the company. They have not
, ing tn do with the election .of office
y, y, and they must blirdly trust their none
~ 70 the care of other men. This won
~ -st seem to be a proposition likely 4
20 = find favor with intelligent investors.
The intending purchaser of Castill,
romPany should bear one thing in min
The prospectus talks of selling acreaI
a. lint fine certificate sold carries with
or absolutely no title TO any land and
ns the best the purchaser can have nothi'
hut a lien against the earnings of q
land.
- THE STOCK EXCHANGE.
III Transactions were recorded on 4
is stock exchange yesterday morning
- folowsi
ss Oahu-lO a. 36.s75.
Ia. Ewa--35, rs "a 81.
N, Hutshinsou--5 al 1929