April i, 1907.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



211 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



FACTORY 

 FIRE. 



ASICRIUUS fir.e occurred on February 13 at the rubber works 

 of Messrs. Charles Macintosh & Co., Limited, at Man- 

 chester. The outbreak occurred at a few minutes past 7 

 o'clock in the evening, in the ball department, just when the work 

 girls were leaving for the day, and before the flames were got 

 under subjection the two top stories of 

 the principal mill were burned out and the 

 roof had fallen in. A good deal of slock 

 was destroyed, but the loss in this way was not so serious 

 as it would have been a month later, the busy 

 season having only just commenced. According to 

 some newspaper reports I have seen that the cause of the fire 

 was the ignition of naphtha vapors. This is only true in a sense, 

 it being a small tin of naphtha on one of the work tables which 

 got on fire, owing, I understand, to a defective gas jet. Nothing 

 in the nature of an explosion occurred, such as might have re- 

 sulted from an excess of naphtha vapors in the atmosphere of 

 the room. A good deal of damage was done to the warehouse 

 by water, the clerks having to be found temporary habitats else- 

 where. I am informed by a member of the firm that the 150 

 work people affected by the fire have not been thrown out of em- 

 ployment, but have been put into other departments pending re- 

 construction. 



In a paper read on February 4, before the London section of 

 the Society of Chemical Industry, Dr. P. Schidrowitz and F. 

 MOTOR Kaye gave detailed analyses of the treads 



TIRE and body rubbers of seven makes of British 



ANALYSES. .qnd foreign pneumatic motor tires. They 



prefaced their paper with the remark that, considering the im- 

 portance the industry has now attained, it is remarkable that so 

 little has been published with regard to the chemical composition 

 of the tires. Those who know the rubber trade probably do not 

 see anything remarkable in the fact that the individual makers 

 have pursued their own investigations without stopping to read 

 papers to enlighten their opponents. Nor have the manufacturers 

 let the public into the secrets of their mixings, all that is usually 

 said on this point bcmg found in the categorical statement that 

 the very best rubber is used. In the analyses given in the paper 

 just referred to it is shown that the mineral tnatters in the tread 

 vary from 16.4 to 56.8 per cent, and in the body fromi 2.12 to 6.8 

 per cent. The mineral matter found was only roughly specified, 

 but from some of the remarks concerning it one would gather 

 that the authors' knowledge of the rubber manufacture is not on 

 a par with their knowledge of rubber analysis. I much doubt 

 the general use of china clay in rubber work, and it is certainly 

 surprising to be told that the iron in tire rubber is present either 

 at ferric oxide or metallic filings. The authors do not concur 

 in the statement sometimes made that the mineral matter is 

 merely an adulterant, though they think that in some cases the 

 quantity of mineral used may be excessive. The paper concludes 

 with the opinion that in cases where tires fail in use a chemical 

 examination of the rubber may be distinctly useful. This is a 

 point where there is room for divergence of opinion, .■\nalysis 

 might show that the quality of the rubber in a tire was decidedly 

 low, but as so much depends on the details of construction it is 

 hardly safe to examine and report on the rubber apart from the 

 canvas. Internal friction is known to have a good deal to do 

 with the wear and tear of tires; indeed, a well known manu- 

 facturer expressed his opinion to me recently that quite 50 per 

 cent, of the wear and tear of a tire lies in the details of its con- 

 struction, quite apart from the intrinsic quality of the rubber. 

 -A. tire with a cheap rubber mixing might, he said, prove much 



superior in practice to one with a quite first class mixing if the 

 general construction of the former were superior to that of the 

 latter. Granting the truth of these statements, it is clear that 

 analysts must use due caution in pronouncing on the quality of 

 motor tires from the results of the analysis of the rubber 

 portion. 



Little that was novel in the way of tires met my eye at this 

 show, held at the St. James Hall, Manchester, February 22- 

 MANCHESTER March 2. Although the North British 



MOTOR Rubber Co. were absent, the Dunlop Co., 



SHOW. Charles Macintosh & Co.. David Moseley & 



Sons, The Dook-Swain Tyre Co., and the Shrewsbury & Chal- 

 liner Co. had attractive displays of their tires. At the stand of 

 Mr. G. W. Lowcock, m. i. e. e., was shown Bailey's patent 

 "Open-Door" spare wheel and tire carrier, an arrangement which 

 does away with the inconveniences attaching to the ordinary fixed 

 carrier. As usually carried on a motor car, the spare wheel or 

 tire is held by clips to the side or footboard, and prevents access 

 to some parts of the car. In the patent carrier a ring is hinged 

 to a pillar or bracket fixed on the footboard, or to the frame of 

 the car. It is fitted with a latch so that it can be instantly 

 opened like an ordinary door. A novelty which attracted a good 

 deal of attention was the Garner patent non-skid tread as fitted 

 to the Macintosh motor tire. This is on an entirely new prin- 

 ciple, the steel studded leather tread being fastened on to an 

 overhanging tread which is part and parcel of the tire canvas 

 The overhanging lips consisting of five layers of canvas are 

 strong enough to carry two renewals of the leather tread. 

 Elaster. the "ideal substitute for air in inner tubes," was being 

 effectively advertised at the show, and was being a good deal 

 discussed. .Mtliough it does not seem to be proved whether the 

 resiliency is or is not aftccted there is no doubt that with elaster 

 in the tube puncture troubles need not be apprehended. 



The tragic end of Mr. Ralph Frankenberg in the wreck of the 

 steamer Berlin at Hook of Holland deprives the Greengate rub- 

 ber works of one of its prominent and cap- 

 alile managers. Both by his work people 

 and those with whom he came into business 

 contact the news of his decease has been received with sincere 

 regrets. With his younger brother. Sydney, Ralph Franken- 

 berg was admitted, in November, 1903, to the management of the 

 business founded by their father in 1866, and the corporate style 

 became I. Frankenberg & Sons, Limited. Mr. Frankenberg 

 senior recently entered for a second term upon the mayoralty of 

 Salford, after which a number of employes of the company and 

 their wives were entertained by the mayor and mayoress. There 

 was presented to Mr. Frankenberg at that time a portrait of 

 himself, purchased with subscriptions from every one employed 

 in the factory. Mr. Frankenberg responded in his own behalf 

 and Mr. Ralph Frankenberg in behalf of his mother, thanking 

 those present for their expressions of good wishes. 



RALPH 

 FHANKEMBERG. 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN EUROPE. 



GROWTH or A BELGIAN FACTORY. 



TP HE business now conducted under the style Societe O. Engle- 

 *■ bert Fils et Cie. was established in 1868 by the late Oscar 

 Englebert-Coudere, at Liege, as a dealer in rubber goods. The 

 business proving successful from the beginning, he began soon to 

 experience the need of means for manufacturing goods for filling 

 small orders for immediate delivery, and these he undertook to 

 supply. In 1877 Monsieur Englebert engaged definitely in 

 rubber manufacture, organizing a plant having a floor area of 



