A Rubber Make-believe.
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Disturbing financial operations threaten the rubber market. Powerful influences are at work, amongst dealers in rubber-company shares, fictitiously to raise the price of rubber, in order to advance their own ends; this, of course, is in keeping with the speculator's plan of business. Rubber brokers in the City of London are well aware of the move, which it is not to their interest to discourage, and it will soon be an open secret that both wild and plantation rubbers are being largely purchased by parties other than consumers. It is credibly rumoured that the consequence will be a rise to no less than 14s. or 15s. a pound, in the course of the next few weeks, and any such abnormal change, though it be obviously temporary, cannot be of benefit to anybody but the speculators and the promoters of new companies. We feel sure that a rise of this kind cannot last beyond, say, the early fall of this year, and that the reaction after it will be tremendous. Whilst there are reasons for the expectation that rubber prices will continue above the normal for a maximum period of two years from date, after which the rapid increase of yield per tree in relation to age will begin to take world-wide effect, the newly-threatened element of frenzied gambling must. spend itself in a few accounts. Supporters of this journal will recollect the articles on " Chemical and physical tests of solid tires " and " Plantation Rubber," by Messrs. Clayton Beadle and Stevens, which appeared in our issues of the 5th and 12th .NoVeIllber, 1908, and the 23rd September, 1909, respectively ; the idea that rubber supplies will be permanently deficient is completely erroneous. We wish that we could say the same about the City prognostication which we have named, but we are sorry to have to record that there appears to be nothing to control those who have embarked upon the course indicated, and who apparently mean to " rig " both the rubber and the share markets accordingly.