1. 1903] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



311 



RUBBER SHOE FACTORIES LATELY CLOSED. 



WHILE ['resident Colt, in his report in the foregoing pages, 

 mentions five rubber shoe factories as having been unsuccess- 

 ful of late, no intimation is given of their identity. In this 

 connection it may be of interest, however, to present a record 

 of the independent shoe factories, founded since the organiza- 

 tion of the I'nited States Rubber Co. that are not now doing 

 business : 



Miidh Rubber Co. 



INCORPORATED July 14. 1899, under Rhode Island laws, by former 

 employes of the Woonsocket Rubber Co. ; capital stated at $100,000. 

 A plant costing $13,000 was built and equipped at Woonsocket, Rhode 

 Island, and the nuking of third grade shoes begun early in January, 

 1900 — daily capacity 1800 pairs — the first goods being shipped on Jan- 

 uary •-'5. The factory was run through the year and then closed indefi- 

 nitely. May 24, [90I, factory leased to the Empire State Rubber Co , 

 incorporated in Delaware ; capital. $50,000. Work was begun June 3 

 and continued intermittently a few months. Creditors of the Empire 

 company tiled a petition in bankruptcy against it October 29, 1901. ami 

 the lease was surrendered December 18. Factory sold August 21, 1902, 

 to Fred I,. Smith. 



Milltown India Rubber Co. 



INCORPORATED July 27, 1899, under New Jersey laws, through the 

 efforts of the late John C. Evans, long superintendent for the Meyer 

 Rubber Co. ; capital authorized, §200,000. Factory was built at Mil! 

 town, New Jersey, many residents becoming stockholders ; amount in- 

 vested reported at $145,000. F'ormal opening of the factory, August 

 27, 1900. The death of Mr. Evans, president and manager of the 

 company, on February 5, 1902, practically put an end to the business. 

 Receivers were appointed, and at public sale on June 19, 1902, the 

 property was bought by Fred I.. Smith for $66,500. 

 By field Rubber Co. 



Incorporated September 10, 1897, under Rhode Island laws ; cap- 

 ital, $25,000. Organized in October of that year, with Fred L. Smith 

 president. Acquired a factory at Bristol, Rhode Island, which was en- 

 larged from time to time, until the daily production reached 4500 pairs 

 of third grade rubber shoes and tennis goods. The factory was closed in- 

 definitely in November, Igor, and on May 16, 1902, Fred L. Smith wrote 

 to The India Rubber World : " The writer is president, T. McCarty 

 vice president, and R. G. Burlingame secretary ; the stock is held by us." 

 Concord Rubber Co. 



Incorporated April 15, 1S99, under Maine laws ; capital author- 

 ized, $500,000, of which $145,000 is reported to have been paid in. 

 Bought unused factory building at Concord Junction. Mass., and began 

 making shoes November 8, 1899 ; capacity reported at 5000 pairs daily, 

 production probably reached 3000 pairs. Factory closed April 15, 1903. 



THE TEXTILE GOODS MARKET. 



IT would require retrospection extending over a long period 

 to find a parallel to the present situation in the market 

 for raw cotton and finished goods. May has been prolific of 

 exciting features, especially in the staple market. The evolu- 

 tion from a condition which was a short time ago entirely in 

 control of the buyer, to one in which the seller wields the 

 scepter, indicates beyond peradventure that prices are governed 

 by other than immediate causes. The feeling is entertained by 

 some of the best posted men in the trade that a pronounced 

 decline in cotton is not unlikely to come very soon, inasmuch 

 as the prices prevailing are not so much the result of a legiti- 

 mate consumptive demand as they are of the speculative cam- 

 paign waged by the " bulls " of the cotton pit. Viewed in this 

 light, it is reasonable to look for a condition soon that will re- 

 dound to the benefit of both the buyer and seller. This deduc- 

 tion is what has caused so much reluctance on the part of buy- 

 ers to operate more freely during the month ; at the same time 

 the fact must not be lost sight of that the goods that have been 



offered were not made from cotton that cost more than 8'/£ 

 cents, and yet there is very little profit, if any, for the manu- 

 facturer even on this basis. That is the reason that he has 

 refrained from granting concessions in scores of instances 

 where business might be greatly stimulated thereby. Instances 

 of curtailment, or shutting down altogether, are numerous in 

 the South and East. There are other manufacturers who be- 

 lieve this course would be impracticable, for obvious reasons. 

 The mills have practically no stocks of goods, for they have 

 sold out nearly everything, and have not been making up 

 stocks at the risk of cotton falling. Few mills, if any, have 

 bought cotton at 12 cents, and those who have done so, are in 

 possession of contracts that must be executed at a certain time. 

 There are a number of mills, on the other hand, who have run 

 out of orders for goods, and have cotton left over. In such 

 cases they have sold the cotton at an immense profit, some of 

 them realizing 4 cents a pound, or $20 per bale. Following 

 figures are the prices of spot cotton at the various ports : 



New York. New Orleans. Liverpool. 



May 2 1075c. iu,*, : c- 5.56./ 



May 9 11.15c. 10" 5. 70^ 



May 16 n 40c. li'jc. 6.14,/ 



May 23 12 00c. 



6.401/ 



The operations of the rubber manufacturers in the cloth mar- 

 ket have been influenced the same as other consumers by 

 the prices which manufacturers of cotton sheetings and ducks 

 have asked for their products. While the rubber manufactur- 

 ers have realized keenly the position of the cloth maker, know- 

 ing that he has not been receiving a price for his goods that is 

 on a parity with the cost of raw cottons, it has been for the in- 

 terest of the consumer to refrain from anticipating his require- 

 ments in the future, and confine his purchases to immediate 

 needs. The month past has been a quiet one with the rubber 

 consumers of sheetings, as many of them have shut down for 

 their annual repairs, and have therefore not been consuming a 

 great deal of cloth. They are commencing again, however, to 

 attend to their needs, and are visiting the market for sheetings. 

 These goods have not advanced to any extent during the 

 month, although they are firm at quotations, and sellers regard 

 them reasonable when compared with the cost of production. 

 The market is not in possession of abundant supplies of the 

 grade of sheetings which the rubber trade demand, and the 

 mills are not likely to increase the stocks so long as cotton 

 maintains its present level. It therefore behooves the rubber 

 manufacturer to use the best judgment in considering his re- 

 quirements in this direction. From what can be learned by dil- 

 igent inquiry among the representatives of the cotton mills 

 making this class of sheetings, there is very little possibility of 

 current prices going down for some time to come. This asser- 

 tion holds good even though the price of staple cotton goes off 

 materially, for the price of goods is not based on the present 

 price of raw cotton, but on cotton which had been bought at 

 around 8 cents a pound. The rubber trade will therefore find 

 the following prices of sheetings accurate at the present time 

 with a possibility of advances in case cotton continues to rise : 



Forty-inch Majestic C. C 65^ cents. 



Forty-inch Majestic B. B. B t l / z cents. 



Forty-inch Majestic B. B 6J^ cents. 



Forty-inch, Elcaney 5 Jg cents. 



Thirty-six inch, India sli cents. 



FABRICS FOR THE RUBBER TRAM. 



Sheetings. 40' Selkirk. . . . 6; s c. 40 Shamrock. .. 8 c. 



40" Ilighgate... 5',;C. 40' Sellew 6; ! gc. Dut 



4"' Ilightown. ..j'oC. 4S Mohawk... .9J.2C- A " 7 oz - Cran- 

 io Hobart 6 c. 40" Marcus. .4 ford. ... 7%c. 



40" Kingstons. ..7 c. 40' Mallory . . . .4 J 4 c. 40" 8oz. Chart- 



39' Stony hurst... 5 c. 36" Capstans. . ■ ■3%c. 



S'/zC. 



39" Sorosis 4%c. Osnaburgs. 40 tooz.Carew.io^c. 



40' Seefeld 7 c. 40" Iroquois 8'.^. 40" II oz.Carita.i ij 4 c. 



