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Show -atgt "-Trn rrf'n' ,T?"'""""""1HHHHHHHHHHHHh1 To Grow Rubber Plants Government Land in Colorado to be Leased to Company for Experiment Purpose. Tiik ltKi'UJiLicAN Is Indebted to Congressman Howell for copies of a house bill leasing certain lands In La I'lata county, Colorado to a certain rubber company. A report accompanying accom-panying this bill may be of considerable consider-able Interest to the many In this community com-munity who are followers of the Mexican Mexi-can rubber operations. Tills report savs "The uses of rubbcrhac been greatly great-ly Increased and continue to Increase yearly, while the natural supply Is becoming be-coming exhausted The planting of lubber trees and their care and preservation pre-servation will In time perhaps rcstoio the supply, but the necessity of enlarging en-larging the supplj Is urgent The plnguay weed, which grows In the mountains of Colorado and adjoining adjoin-ing states and territories, lias been found to contain a considerable amount of lubber The IV I V. Hubber Company has been organlcd to expei iment with this plant to demonstrate the practicability of producing pro-ducing rubber In stilllclent quality for commeiclal uses and at a low enough cost to make the pioductlon proll table. The land proposed to bo leased Is u part of the Utc Reservation In Colo-lado. Colo-lado. 1 Tills land was opened in 10 to cash entry only, the proceeds of the I entiles to go to the benclit of the l'tc Indians The land has been open to purchase for twenty-six jean, and the arid mountainous portion has remained to entry but Is still unoccupied unoc-cupied The land has been thus far found unavailable for agrlcultuie. 'The I'lciadcnia Is a plant known in Mevico and among the Indians as "plnguay" and grows naturally upon Hie land described In this 'bill. The I V r Company lias erected a factory fac-tory with which to experiment In the manufacture of i libber from this 1 plant i The plant is perennial, but the rub-i rub-i ber Is found In the roots To make" , the pioductlon of rubber from this I plant practicable It will depeiv' upon i the ability to giovv it In Increased ' I quantities and probably at lower altitudes. alti-tudes. A Judicious selection of seeds and experiments in cultivation may greatly Increase the quantity of the production of the plant and the amountof rubber In each plant. The, claim was made to the committee that the nlant yielded rubber avcrag-lug avcrag-lug In quantity from. I to It per cent. It Is hoped that by skillful selection the production may be suillciently Increased to make a commercial success suc-cess of the cnterpilsc and add another Industry to Ameilcan agriculture. If the company should meet witli success It would under the bill hae the right to purchase the land at the price IWed In the act of congicss open-lug open-lug the l'tc ltescnation for settlement. settle-ment. A small lental of :i cents an acre Is charged In the bill, the procdeds to go to the Indians. The land Is now Ij lug Idle and Is of little value for gra.lmr, and Is notsusccptlblo to Irrigation, as It is on a high, drj mesa The experiment, experi-ment, therefore, does not Interfere wltli legitimate agricultural settlement. settle-ment. Tnere arc Interesting and valuable val-uable possibilities In case of success and no harm can come to an) one but the lessees In case of failure, and jour committee believe the opportunity to make the experiment uught to be given. giv-en. The bill Is so drawn that mineral land can not bo acquired under it. During the period of tire lease the character of the land as to mineral win h investigated, and the land can not in purchased If It contaii - coal oi other aluablc minerals. 'I he land has been open at $1.25 an acre since 1880, and should the experiment prove successful a considerable area of the reservation would become valuable. Your committee are of the opinion that the experiment ought to be made and that the bill Is so guarded as to protect the rlphtsot the Indians and of the general public. No epense Is InvoHcd to the Government, Gov-ernment, and the bill only gives an opportunity for the experiment. |
