THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1910. RUBBER CRAZY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10019, 15 April 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1910. RUBBER CRAZY.

When the last English mail to hand left England the boom in rubber shares was still affording one of the most sensational periods ever known in London financial circles. Its effects had spread to every part of the country, and it appeared almost as though practically the entire population had gone "rubber crazy." New rubberproducing companies were being placed onthe market at an average of one a day, and not one was experiencing the slightest difficulty in disposing of its shares. Nearly everybody who had bought is a determined holder, and this has been the reason for the phenomenal appreciation of the value of stock. Shares in one company worth nominally 2s, ran up to as high as 355, and the nominal capital of the company, which was declared at £150,000, became

worth £2,475,000. The 4,000,000 £1 shares of another company were I worth £4,000,000, while the value of the shares of still another concern had appreciated by over £1,000,000. i Scenes of the wildest description were taking place daily on the Stock Excnange, scenes reminiscent of the most stirring times of the American boom of 1901 and the great Kaffir boom of 1895. All over the Stock Exchange there was a demand for experienced clerks. Remuneration at the rate of a guinea an hour was quite a modest honorarium in many instances. Owing to the enterprising broker pursuing possible clients into the depths of the country by means of seductively-worded circulars, the staffs at the post offices in the vicinity of the Stock Exchange I have had to be considerably augmented to deal with the extraordinary flood of correspondence. The price of rubber has advanced sympathetically with the increase in the value of shares. In 190S the price of beat-quality rubber at one time stood at 2s 9d per pound; les3 than a fortnight ago it was quoted at lis Cd! The more conservative companies, however, do not hesitate to point out that the price must eventually experience a sharp fall, and are basing their estimates upon the likelihood of the product ruling as low as 23 6d a pmjmd. In the meantime, the boom is proceeding vigorously Indirectly the prosperity of the rubber market is making itself felt.in different parts of London; "rub Dcv dinnars" ot the most luxurious order have hzsn quite a feature of social life, while the different charities have all shared substantially in the good things that the craze has been made to produce.