Evening star., 1925-11-30
AMERICAN RUBBER
Project NO BLUFF
Flrestone Forces Clearing
lIberian Jungle for Gigantic
Plantation Scheme.
sy the Associated Press.

sy the Associated Press.
AKRON, Ohio, November 3d.
Clearing away Of the Liberian jungle
preparatory TO the planting Of l,000,-
0Qo acres of rich African soil with
100000. 900 rubber trees has been be
gun by forces marshalled from the
ends of the earth by Harvey s. Fire
stone, president of the Firestone Tire
ani Rubber Company.
Hy January !, 240 representatives
OF the Akron company will be in
Liberia, pushing the project which
Mr.. Firestone said will be supplying
between % and SO per cent of the
worlds crude rubber within the next
decade.
The leasing transactions already
are completed with the Liberian gov
, ernment. The construction Of wharf
age facilities has begun at Monrovia,
the Liberian capital, aad the planting
Of the first $4,000 acres is under way.
This first planting will be com
plctcd within the next six months
and d quota of at least the same size
Will be completed i'll the six months
following.
The LiberIdn acquisition and dc
elopment by the American company
l. certain TO bring down rubber prices
which have bounded upward i'll the
last several months, III MI. Fire
Slone's opinion.
No Bluff. lie Declares.
Planters the world over have had
the feeling that America has only
been bluffing in its rubber projects
Nh. Firestone said. 1T has appeared
t. them that the United States manu-
faCturers have not been willing TO in.
vest money with return no nearer
than five or six years. They believe
they have noted an American desire
10 cash in on investments at once.
and that therefore the Americans are
not inclined TO make any thorough
developments. This attitude is rapidly
hanging now as our work goes for
ward In Liberia.
Following the entry of the Firestone
forces into the little African republic,
the companys head announced that
5000 acres had been acquired in
TobaScO on the isthmus of Tehuante-
p9c in Mexico and that rubber al
re&dy was being extracted from trees
lianJed there hy other interests sew
egal years ago.
In addition TO these enterprises. Mr..
F'restone capped his world rub
Der quest with the announcement
that he was seriously considering en-
tering the Amazon BASIN in South
rubber lands are undeveloped.
1.200 Acres Now Producing
Three concessions have been OBJ
tairSed by the Firestone company
from the Liberian government. The
first was the lease OF 1000 acres OF
land, previously held and partly de
veloped by British planters. Twelve
hundred acres OF this land, row
rubber and is TO be a nursery and
experiment basis for the larger
American project.
The second lease, which is the mil
lion-acre acquisition, gives the Ameri-
can company not only the right to
plant and produce rubber on that
acreage, but gives il all other rights.
such as mineral, sub-soil and timber
rights. The timber rights are given
the company taX-free.
a third grant by the Liberian gov
ernment gives the company the right
10 construct its own lines of com
municatiOn within and without the
plantation for its private use, with
out taxation.
In addition TO the planting, culti-
vation and collecting the rubber, the
FirestOne company is improving the
harbor at Monrovia. From the har-
Dor roads will radiate into the hin
ierlands. In the entire area of the
country. which is $4,000 square miles
almost exactly that of the State of
Ohio-there are but 90 miles of
pdssable highway. This mileage is
seTsgated and unconnected.
Towns to be Built.
Hospitals also will be built and
labOrers huts will be constructed for
the housing of the natives who are
10 be brought from their pagan vii