New Britain herald., 1926-01-19
STRETCHING AT RUBBER

of publicity this gentleman dis penses has Its repercussions across the ocean, or wherever rubber is an important article of commerce. Unlike the state department, the department Of justice, and the diplomats, Mfr. Hoover believes fin publicity and plenty of it. The other day he promised the nation a large dose of 1t on Monday; and true 10 the prediction, he dis pensed his bundle yesterday,
 His intimation that one Ameri- can crude rubber concern is plan hing the expenditure of s1o,00o,ooo In solving the rubber stringency, and another is 10 expend five times that amount must be added to the expenditures already planned by certain concerns the past few weeks. All told, there must be nearly s100,ooo,oOO planned and pending for the American rubber industry, The only insects in the ointment arc where the rubber is to be grown and how soon the fin ished article can cventuate.
 One rubber school holds that vast areas in the Philippines are adaptable 10 rubber growing; but the Philippine legislature is not in- clined to look with favor upon the i plan unless there is a contingent agreement about independence. or ] that American rubber plantations will not set back or eclipse the day when Philippine independence can ] be attained. As Cuba is self govern | ing while under our protection. and ! still grows us our cane sugar, it is 1 logical 10 assume that American rubber plantations in the Philip pines would not necessarily mean a nogation of Philippine political i aspirations.
 Some American rubber and tire interests have invested in Sumatra, where the Dutch companics arc al ready doing their best 10 supply the i world with the gelatinous sub stance. and doing so efficiently and 1 well. The Dutch government seems 1 10 welcome American capital in it's possessions. Such American planta- tons as already exist there are yielding good returns, thus being a 1 bait for others to he established i there. The Dutch East Indies pro ducc more than half as much crude rubber as is produced in British Malaya, but British capital has been strongly entronchcd in the in dustry there.
 An American company owns a neat acreage iu British M1laya. There seems 10 he no reason why 1 American money cannot develop rubber plantations wherever rubber can grow. Our needs are so great that tho business seems assured of a profitable market for years 10 come.
 But tho near future docs not socm 10 be as bright as Secretary Hoover would have us believe; at least, the silver lining on the cloud 1 disappears if British forccastcrs are even remotely correct. British i rubber brokers have declared the 1 shortage of rubber during 1925 has been 60Oo0 tons, and that hy 1928 an actual rubber famine is in sight. 1 IL takes newly planted trees from i six 10 eight years 10 yield the 1 milk" from which crude rubber is ! obtained what new plantations are brought into existence now cannot b. heard from during the period of string"ncy alleged to be in sight Added 10 this is the probability that existing plantations arc begin ming 10 show signs Of decay, re- ports from British and Dutch sources being that they are failing to continue their yields of the past,
 Tho deficiency in crude rubber has been primarily due 10 four fac tors. Lack of increased planting of rubber trees (since 1918 only 4Sl,- ooo acres have been plantedD; the recovery of European plants. de mau1ing mass production; in creased purchasing power, result ing in 27 per cent increased regis traiion of passenger cars and 8 per cent Of trucks in countries out side Of the United States; and the worldwide use of balloon tires, which require g per cent more crude rubber than cord castings. Tho United States uses 75 per cent Of the worlds supply of rubber, France and Belgium being next. but with only eight per cent, al-