For several years, Harvey S. Firestone, famed tiremaker, warned his countrymen of the dangers of a British rubber monopoly. Herbert C. Hoover took up the cry. But the public remained calm, and indifferent. Tires were still dirt-cheap, and Mr. Firestone's fulminations seemed visionary.
Then the British reduction of rubber output began to prove effective. Stocks of rubber in London warehouses have fallen from 52,000 tons in April, 1924, to about 5,000 tons today. Crude rubber has risen to 85c a pound—the highest price since 1917, and a rise of 68c (or 300%) in one...
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