Evening star., 1928-04-29
RUBBER DROP WILL NOT HELP
u. S. MOTORISTS FOR MONTHS
Manufacturers, With Summer Supply
Bought Under Contract, Will Be
Unable to Make Cut Now.

I out of the calculations of the price fix-
! ers. that circumvented the blockade
| effected by the stevenson act and which
permitted American rubber manufac-
1 turers. after a short period of high
prices. to so in and buy rubber in quang
/ tity at fair prices. y
! THE price decline below the cost of
production which followed lifting of The
| restrictions resulted from the Seranble
/ Of the gentleman farmers to ufaoad
! after il became apparent the Stevenson
act would not hold the smaller farmers
/ in line. The net result of the reStric-
| ton flaSco is that there are today, in
stead of a few rich rubber growers.
/ thousands Of plain farmers in the rub
| ber~growing business cultivating two
I rubber trees in Borneo and Java where
| one grew before"
Much Of the groundwork for the
/ lifting OF the restrictions thrown around
/ rubber by the British came about
/ through the miniStrations of the en-
/ phatic man who sits in an Office on
/ the seventh floor Of the Commerce De-
partment Building ana looks out over
world dominated-eXcept for rub
ber--by American products.
Herbert Hoover is his name. and he
may be President of the United States
one day Meanwhile he Is husily hold
ing down the Job of Secretary of Com
mercc, and export restrictions which
tend TO shoot up the price of anv world
commodity. levied for the benefit of n
favored few. are far outside his ken
He has told the British so in most em-
phatic terms and his fine Italian hand
can be seen all through the rubber
war. which now has virtually termi-
mated with lifting Of the Restrictions
Another man IN the Commerce De-
partment-E G. Holt chief of the
rubber division-has played his part in
the struggle TO bring crude rubber
prices down where they can be seen
and not only heard And the voice OF
the Department Of Commerce of the
United States means something here
and abroad.
Manchester Guardian Speaks.
Varied views are taken by the British
on the lifting of the export reStric-
tions. which are effective November /.
but whose effects viii be felt before
that time. The Manchester Guardian.
stalwart of England's middle counties,
says:
THE decision appears to us to be both
a courageous and right one. 1t has
recently become apparent that reStric-
ton would nave 10 go, ana tneTe is
everything to be said for ending 1t at
once without prolonging the uncertain
lies OF the market, OVerpro~
duction can only be cured by low
prices. which will eliminate the inefti-
cient producer and viii stimulate con-
sumption, and by process Of RATIONAL
izatiun and consolidation within the in
dustry itself win lower production costs
and SO enable profits to be earned even
at low level OF selling prices. These
considerations have been too long ob-
scured and ignored, and though one
cannot but fear that the rubbergrow-
ing industry has before It a prolonged
period of difficulty and depression. the
sooner that period is begun the sooner
1t viii be ended.
Finally, but by no means least i'm
portant the abandonment of govern
ment- imposed restrictions upon the
export from British territory of an im-
pnrtant raw material relieves the coun-
try of a source of considerable en-
barrassment in its economic discussions
with other countries. and enables IL to
pursue with a clearer conscience its
declared policy of working for the de-