November i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



47 



THE INDIA-RUBBER TRADE IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



R1£F1';k1';XCES to the high prices which rubber manu- 

 facturers have to pay at the present time for rubber 

 scrap have been commented on by our London con- 

 temporary, and Mr. Ernest E. Buckleton has sug- 

 gested that the matter should come up for consideration at a 

 special meeting of manufacturers. I don't 

 THE PRICE OF k„o\v whether or not this latter has had any 



RUBBER SCRAP. , . , ,, r ,■ 



response, but it appears to be the leeling 

 in the waste and reclaimed rubber trade that no good could 

 be effected by any such meeting. The present high prices 

 result from the ordinary laws of supply anil demand, and 

 any artificial regulation of prices seems doomed to failure. 

 Though the selling prices have certainly gone up during the 

 last year or two, the dealers are emphatic that their profits 

 have decreased. Owing to the largely increased number of 

 collectors, and the competition amongst dealers, much higher 

 prices are now paid bj' the latter than was formerly the case. 

 It is understood that one prominent dealer suggested to the 

 principal buyers that thej' should undertake to buy all their 

 requirements of scrap rubber from him for a certain period of 

 time, and he would cause prices to come down 20 or 30 per 

 cent, all right. Nothing seems to have come of this proposi- 

 tion, and anyhow it does not seem to have caused any alarm 

 among the other dealers. One of the latter said that in the 

 event he would at once raise his price to collectors 10 per 

 cent, and so cause a diversion in the course of the traffic. 

 Again it is pointed out that England is not by any means 

 the onlj- available market, as indeed higher prices can gen- 

 erally be obtained on the Continent, where there is an 

 increasing demand. 



It was suggested to me very forcibly the other day that 



some one ought to start an agitation with a view of getting 



a law passed with the object of ensuring 



SECOND QUALITY jj^^j nothing but pure rubber should be 



SURQICAL RUBBER. " ' 



used m such cases as the accessories of 

 feeding bottles. It was also suggested that the large infan- 

 tile mortalitj' in our large towns was at least accelerated by 

 the cherubs sucking in the decomposition products of substi- 

 tute. There] may not be much in all this as far as the death 

 rate is actually concerned, but I certainly am of opinion that 

 such rubber goods should be made only of pure sheet rubber, 

 and not of the lower priced qualities which contain substi- 

 tute. It is notorious that medical men nowadays complain 

 of the quality of surgical rubber goods, saying that they 

 are not as reliable as they used to be. The manufacturers no 

 doubt will reply that the doctors will buy in the cheapest 

 market. Still, the matter may easily prove a serious one, 

 and as long as the goods are sold under the name of rubber, 

 and nothing is said as to admixture of other bodies, I think 

 that in the event of anything serious happening the manu- 

 facturer or dealer cannot expect to escape all consequences. 

 It i.'-' suggested that second quality surgical rubbers should be 

 made of a distinctive color, so that no confusion maj- arise 

 in the mind of the buyer or user. This might not prove 

 readily feasible, even did the suggestion meet with support, 

 but the whole matter certainly seems to warrant considera- 

 tion, and it may be taken for granted that old established 

 British firms would welcome any publicity which would 



show up the competition to which they have been subjected 

 of late years by foreigners. The case is different from 

 goods made of compounded rubber. With regard to the lat- 

 ter, more particularly of insulated cables, the suggestion that 

 rubber goods should come under a law like the Food and 

 Drugs act met with a good deal of derision. In such cases 

 the publication of formulas would benefit the trade at the 

 expense of the individual who has achieved success probably 

 at great pains and expense. Where, however, the health of 

 the public may be supposed to be in jeopardy owing to the 

 use of inferior goods, then it would seem to be in the com- 

 mon weal to put such goods under some such supervision as 

 is exercised over the dealers in food and drugs. 



Although the management of this Manchester proofing 



works is now in the hands of a receiver, it must not be 



assumed that the business is in a parlous condi- 



B. COHEN jJQj, Indeed, I have it on good authority that 



& SONS. . . ^ , 



an examination of the books shows thtt the 

 home business has been regularU' conducted at a substan- 

 tial profit, despite the very adverse condition which the 

 proofing trade generally has experienced of late years. The 

 difficulties in which the firm found itself involved seem to 

 have been enlirelj' due to the failure, or it w-ould probably 

 be more correct to say, the mismanagement, of the Canadian 

 branch. This firm is not the only British one which has 

 found the Canadian business turn out unprofitable after an 

 encouraging .start. No doubt a complexity of causes are at 

 work in such cases, but I am informed on good authority 

 that it is no use trying to do business direct with customers ; 

 the Canadian middleman is a j)ower in the land and those 

 who seek to do without him will court disaster. There may 

 or may not be much in this, but my informant was emphatic 

 in the opinion that there was plenty of good business to be 

 done, if put through the hands of Canadian dealers. 



I CANNOT say that I have yet purchased any of these sub- 

 stitutes for linen, but in holiday resorts this season I have 



been notified of their existence on several occa- 



RUBBER sions, and have heard their praises sung by 

 COLLARS. , ,,,.,,, r 



tourists who are not troubled with lack of means. 



With the athlete, reduction of baggage is a prominent desire, 



and the fact that one or two of these collars take the place 



of a dozen starched linen ones is looked upon as a decided 



advantage. 



Under this title a paragraph has appeared in several 



newspapers relating to a monopoly obtained by a British 



firm in Abyssinia. From inquiries made 



MONOPOLY ^^ (3 Bloom street. Manchester, I am en- 



IN WATERPROOFS. 



abled to state that the concession granted 

 by the emperor of Abyssinia to Mr. Hassib Ydlabi, of Has- 

 sim Ydlabi & Rehan, of Bloom street, has been taken over 

 by a newly formed company called the Ethiopian Rainproof 

 ;Monopoly Co., with a capital of /ioo,ooo. I am informed 

 that it is only proposed to deal in rainproof goods, and that 

 though the company is British in its origin, buying in the 

 cheapest market will be a prominent feature in its trading 

 routine. The monopoly is for 25 years. The climate of 

 Abyssinia varies considerably according to locality. The 

 country is by no means all of the sandy desert jiatvrc 



