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Show imiii.ii i-im; islands ami iienkv hki:stom; Thi' lu i.paKa ii'la now flooding the country in f.iiur of tin: Immediate in- 1 '-jx-ii ! -ii n( ihh I'hilijpiii: IslinilP ha.i h.id a very seriou- result a In ady. Vr. Kin ftim'!, big rubber man, hail 1'iaib- iilan ' to in v -s t hundreds of millions of dollars in the Islands in an effort, to protltice rubber enough to compel ibe lirillsii Rubber inin-biii'- io re-lure i beir exliorbitant prii i- lie lias already spent large minis in in vi si igat ion and has found that th"' climate and conditions are favorable, but the f'-ar of an unstable t overnnieii; caused hi in to turn his intention ids-where, with the result of his abandoning the Philippines and taking up a proposition to Install In-stall bis biff rubber plantation in Liberia Li-beria on thu southwest roast of Africa. Afr-ica. Hy the terms of the agreement with the Liberia!! government, Mr. Kin-stone gets l.nuo.Ooil acres of land suitable for the production of crude! rubber and a lilt year lease on 2.(100 acres which was planted to rub ber in years ago and is now in full production. liesiiles this he agrees to an arrangement ar-rangement whreby the country will be very much betrlittcd by the Improvement Im-provement of roads, harbors, hospitals, hospi-tals, railroads and hydro-electric power. The cost of this vast reclamation of the African jungle and bringing rubber into competition with the British companies, will be far ovei 1 00.000,000; and lo operate thiB vast project will require the employment employ-ment of from a quarter of a million to a half million native laborers. The million acres when in full production pro-duction will produce approximately 200,000 tons of crude rubber per yenr or over 50 per cent of the total world's production today. The United States consumes 75 per cent of all the rubber used, and the price has gone up from 30c per pound in 1923 to $1.05 per pound in the latter part of 192 5. It in too bad that the Philippine!, could not have secured that vast enterprise, en-terprise, but as Liberia is a daughter of our good old Unele Sam, we are glad to see Mr. Firestone invest in that industrious little republic. |