Evening star., 1925-05-26
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

A century ago India rubber was not
| a factor in commerce; 1t was almost
unknown in industry, but was con-
sidered handy in erasing lead pencil
| marks 1t was produced from the
| milk" of wild trees growing in the
vast forests of South America-prin-
cipally in the tropical regions of
Brazil. Columbus had found on his
second voyage to the New World that
| the Indians were using it in their
| moccasins to make them waterproof,
and he took some back with him to
| Spain as an Indian curiosity.
| Today the whole commercial world
| stands aghast at the realization that
England controls 95 per cent of the
worlds production of India rubber,
that the United States consumes ~
per cent, while producing practically
none, and that before the end OF the
next Ave years the demand will ex.
ceed the production. This is officially
merce, in a bulletin of which prelim-
mary pages were made public last
Saturday.
In 1928 we imported crude rubber to
the value of $185. 100000. If we can.
not get sufficient crude rubber to meet
| our needs three of our principal in
dustries win be embarrassed in pro-
portion to the degree of rubber short
age-rubber manufacturing, automo-
tive and oil. The oil demand is de-
pendent upon automobile manufacture
which Is, in turn, dependent upon
rubber. These three major industries
represent American invested capital
exceeding $13 900, 100000 o. nearly a
third Of all capital in our country.
Rubber can be gathered from a
hundred species Of plants, but not prof
! itably in all cases. The best comes
from a tree indigenous to Brazil
known botanically as Hevea brazilien
sis. More rubber is grown In the
British territory of the Middle East
midway between the Near East and
the Far East than In South America
and it all comes from seed carried out
of Brazil in 1876 by a British explorer
Sir Henry Wickham, contrary to the
laws of that country forbidding any
export of rubber seed. OF the world 6
plantation rubber, Great Britain con
trolls SO per cent through domicile In
British colonies-India, Ceylon, Java
and North Borneo.
From the same Wickham seed, the
Netherlands possession Of Sumatra
Dutch Borneo and French Indo-China
have large acreage. But the United
States, even in the Philippine Islands
has accomplished practically little to-
ward it's own needs, although using
nearly three-quarters of all rubber
used in the world. Not only is there a
rubber acreage of 2,961 900 acres in
British territory, but British owned
plantations of 269 900 acres in Neither
lands India. Plantations now produce
| 3S6 900 tons and wild rubber of South
America and Africa amounts to $4,000
tons.
During the war the price Of rubber
| rose to IS a pound for smoked sheet,
| while in 1921 and 1922 1t fell below
141s cents in New York. Thereupon
the British colonial Office appointed
what is known as the Stevenson COM
mittee to control rubber exports and
regulate the price. The price has beer
climbing under the monopolistic con-
troll until recently it has gone above
70 cents. and 1t is now nearly at thai
peak. Two years ago Congress gave
the Department of Agriculture an ap-
preparation of 100000 with which tc
investigate the situation and consider
| the possibilities of. rubber planting in
the Philippines. West Indies and oul
Southern States. Experiments are
| being made with Mexican "guayuli,
or sage brush rubber, in Arizona, Cali
| fornia and New Mexico, but it is ar
inferior grade. Henry Ford has 1,00t
J acres Of rubber land" in Florida. but