Tu view of the gloom which seems: to have settled upon the rubber industry and the hopeless outlook. at the moment, a reader suggests. that we should provide a mild antidote by publishing extracts. from an article in the '"New Statesman'"' from the pen of Mr. A. Emil Davies. This writer takes an exceedingly hopeful view of the situation two years hence, predicting that we shall see rubber at three shillings a pound within that time, and we can only hope that his belief will be justified. At the same time we fancy that, having not yet lost all recollection of 1910, we shall find many who will caution us against the type of optimism which seems generally to have been associated with rubber. Starting with the figure of 26,000,000 tyres. as the output -of the United States. in 1917, Mr. Davies shows 25,000,- 000 in 1918, an increase to 35,000,- 000 in 1919, and to 41,000,000 in 1920. But, he points out, the estimated consumption for 1920 was 44,000,000 tyres, the excess over output being made up from surplus stocks which will become heavily depleted. The principal difficulty of manufacturers, he says, is the supply of cotton fabrics. He also points out that Germany is beginning to buy rubber gently, from Rotterdam, and when that. country is taking its full quantity, and Russia and other European countries come in, the prospects of rubber will be brilliant for some years to come. All this is certainly consoling for those companies which can afford to wait and to finance themselves over the coming critical months, but it is the immediate future which is giving so much concern. Faith in the future is a very poor substitute for present dividends.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.