June i, 1907.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



285 



FIRESTONE DISMOUNTABLE RIM. 



'T'llE Firestone dismouiitable rim, designed for reducing the 

 •*■ delays incident to clianging tires on the road, is adapted 



alil<e for the tourist and the racing motorist. By this system 

 annoying features of road tire repair 

 may be ehniinated by carrying an 

 extra rim equipped with an inflated 

 tire. The rim is referred to as abso- 

 Uitely safe ; the mechanical fastening 

 prevents it from coming olT in case 

 of accident, and it cannot creep or 

 u<irk around the rim, and thus come 

 louse. The rim is removed from the 

 wheel with a single lateral move- 

 ment, thus presenting a surface for 

 friction equal merely to the width of 

 the felloe. The rim is removed by 

 loosening the nuts, allowing them to 

 remain ini the bolts; the clips are 

 turned in the opposite direction, and 

 the nuts tightened to hold the clips 

 in that position. The rim is then 

 easily slipped off. In adjusting the 

 extra rim with its inflated tire, the 

 operation is reversed. The expense 

 of changing automobile wheels to 



permit their equipment with the dismountable rim is understood 



to be slight, and the rim is adapted to any standard clincher tire. 

 * * * 

 The demand for a nonskidding tire of the pneumatic type has 



been recognized by the Firestone Tire and 



Rubber Co. (.^kron, Ohio), who are now 



placing a "Dual Tread'' tire on the market. 



The Dual tread is somewhat thicker than 



the ordinary tread, and consists of two 



ridges of rubber about %-inch thick and 



from iH to 2 inches apart, extending 



around the tire. It is adaptable to tires of 



3H-inch size and upwards, and may be in- 

 corporated in any type of tire during 



manufactui-e. It is claimed that this device 



gives nonskidding features in advance of 



those possessed by any other tire. The 



twin tire idea has been in use for some 



time with solid tires, particularly for heavy 



vehicles. 



SAFETY OF FACTORY EMPLOYES. 



'T'HE Exposition of Safety Devices and Industrial Hygiene 

 ■'• held in January and February last at the American Museum 

 of Natural History in New York is to be made a permanent 

 museum of security. .\n advisory committee has been organized 

 to further the work of protecting life and limb, the scope 

 of which will include measures for the better protection of 

 employes in factories from dangers connected with the use of 

 machinery and from poisonous fumes and the like. The Scien- 

 tific American (New York) has provided for a gold medal to be 

 awarded annually for the best device for preventing accident. 

 Further information can be obtained from Mr. William H. 

 Tollman, director of the American Institute of Social Science, 

 at the Musuem of Natural History. 



HEALTH OF BTTBBES WOEKERS. 



A RECENT report by the state board of health of Massachusetts 

 upon the sanitary condition of factories and workshops states 

 in general that "in the rubber factories examined during this 

 investigation the greater part were in better condition than 

 those previously reported upon." It appears that 14 rubber fac- 



tories were visited, m ,>,.un iive were very ^luall. There were 

 employed a total of about 9,000 persons, chiefly in making foot- 

 wear. As a rule no ill eflFects of the work upon the employes 

 was noted— particularly no cases of lead poisoning. In the case 

 of new employes unpleasant but not serious effects from naphtha 

 fumes were mentioned. "In but two cases was machinery found 

 to be iiiadeciuately guarded; in one of the large gears of the calen- 

 ders and in the others some right angled gears on spreaders 

 were unprotected." In respect of lighting, ventilation and clean- 

 liness, favorable mention i ' 



RUBBER STAMPS iOK POSTAL USE. 



T^HE United States postolVice departmciii advertised for pro- 

 ••• posals, to be sent to Washington by .April 22, for supplies 

 of all kinds for the fiscal year beginning July i, including rubber 

 items of a greater amount than in any former year.. T|ic speci- 

 fications included: 



11,050 pounds rubbtr bands. 

 900 boxes erasers. 

 1,150 dozen typewriter erasers. 

 104,801 rubber stamps, in Rreat variety. 

 550 items of rubber stamp repairs. 

 10,445 rubber type. 



400 rubber stamping pads. 

 4,100 dozen pads for rubber stamps. 

 I gross finger cots. 

 The specifications two years ago included 6,800 pounds of rub- 

 ber bands and 51,685 rubber stamps. This year's specifications 

 do not mention "flexible stamps of printers' roller composition," 

 of which a considerable number were taken at one time. [See 

 The India Rubber World, June i, 1905 — page 314.] This year 

 it is required that "all rubber stamps must be of the best quality 

 of sheet rubber," with the cement guaranteed to hold for two 

 years. 



RITBBER GOODS FOR THE INDIANS. 



The specifications for supplies for the Indians, at the govern- 

 ment expense, for the next fiscal year, and for which proposals 

 were opened at Washington on April 11, included details regard- 

 ing 740 pairs of rubber boots, 9,425 pairs of rubber shoes, 16,- 

 600 feet of garden hose, 1,715 feet of rubber belting and 1,455 

 pounds of rubber packing. 



The awards for rubber footwear went chiefly to J. Edtiiund 

 Strong, of Chicago, who has been the successful bidder on this 

 line of goods for several years. 



WANTS AND INQUIRIES. 



[403I NT.\MF.S of manufacturers of 

 ^ ^desired by a Western rubber 



unlined linen hose are 

 by a Western rubber company. 



[404] Can any of our readers inform an inquirer if it is prac- 

 ticable to reclaim shoddy with dry heat? 



[405I Where can Castilloa rubber seeds be procured? 



[406] Who manufactures the following kinds of packing, and 

 who arc the .\merican agents— "Durabla." "Vanda," "Klinger- 

 titc"? 



[407] Wanted names of makers of machinery for extracting 

 the latex from rubber trees by creating a vacuum or similar 

 means. 



[408] Wanted the name of the manufacturer of "Rockhard"' 

 packing. 



[409] Wanted names of manufactures of gutta-percha tissue 

 for tailors' use. 



[410] Wanted name of firms making special machinery for 

 the manufacture of fountain pens. 



[411] Who manufactures gutta-percha tissue- in black, white 

 and brown for mending purposes? 



The Chiapas Rubber Co., of Mexico, is mentioned among the 

 purchasers of a press for preparing rubber in "block" form, made 

 by Brown & Davidson, Limited, of Colombo. Ceylon. 



