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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June i, 1903. 



The demand (or hose and belting duck has been somewhat dis- 

 appointing to the textile trade during the whole of May. Man- 

 ufacturers of hose and belting, in placing their contracts for the 

 year, anticipated a normal demand, but the cold weather of last 

 summer caused considerable of this material to be carried over, 

 and it is doubtful if the maximum quantity is taken, although 

 the past few warm days caused quite a spurt in the demand for 

 hose, which was reflected in the duck market. Concerns buying 

 as they have use for the goods are finding the market strongly 

 against them, and in some cases they are paying a radical ad- 

 vance for their takings. From the present standpoint it looks 

 as if the rubber trade will be compelled to pay a much higher 

 price (or textiles when they come into the market to renew con- 

 tracts this fall. 



Felt manufacturers are holding their prices firm at recent ad- 

 vances, and some of them are looking for still higher prices on 

 account of the strong position which wools are holding all over 

 the country, During the past month there has been a very 

 good demand for felts from the manufacturers of boots and 

 shoes. The Binghamton (N. Y.) Felting Co. have been receiv- 

 ing such a flattering demand from the rubber shoe trade that it 

 has greatly increased its capacity for turning out goods. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN TRENTON. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



TO the Editor of The India Rubber World : The Re- 

 liance Rubber Co., organized in March, expect to begin 

 the manufacture of a general line of mechanical rubber goods 

 about June 1. The company was incorporated April 6 with a 

 capital of $25 000. The officers are W. Holt Apgar, president ; 

 Ezra Evans, vice president; John W. Burd, secretary; Albert 

 \Y. Lee, treasurer. 



The company have leased the old Brookville grist mill just at 

 the northern edge of the city. The building is about 100 X 40 

 feet, two stories high. The mill has been thoroughly over- 

 hauled and remodeled to suit the needs of the lessees and has 

 been equipped with the necessary machinery of the most mod- 

 ern pattern by William R. Thropp, of Trenton. The plant will 

 be operated by water power. Charles A. Joslin, formerly super- 

 intendent of the Globe Rubber Co. factory and later connected 

 with the United and Globe company, has been engaged as super- 

 intendent. Mr. Joslin stated to your correspondent that the 

 company would make a line of high grade mechanical rubber 

 goods, and when operated to its full capacity the mill would em- 

 ploy fifty hands. 



The case of Colton Fulton v. Grieb Rubber Co. was tried in 

 the Mercer court May 14. Fulton was an employe of the com- 

 pany, and in September, 1899, had both hands taken off in the 

 rolls of an India-rubber mixing machine in the defendant com- 

 pany's factory. The plaintiff claimed that a shock from an elec- 

 tric light wire suspended near the machine caused him to slip, 

 throwing his hands between the rolls. The defendant fought 

 the case from every point, and claimed that the accident was 

 the young man's own fault. The jury awarded Fulton $3000. 

 The case was a retrial. It was tried first in January, 1902, when 

 the plaintiff was awarded a verdict of $6500, which was set aside 

 on appeal. Since the new trial the counsel for the company has 

 made application for a new trial, and Justice Swayze, of the Su- 

 preme court, has granted a rule to show cause why a new trial 

 should not be granted. The rule is returnable in June, and will 

 be argued in November. 



David Bumster, an employe of The Eureka Rubber Manufac- 

 turing Co. of Trenton, had his left arm crushed in the machin- 

 ery at the 'mill May 14. He was working on a three-roll 



"cracker," the only one in the city, when the sleeve of his 

 jumper caught in the rolls and in an instant his arm was drawn 

 into the machine. His arm was crushed for its entire length, 

 and at the hospital was amputated at the shoulder. He is im- 

 proving as fast as can be expected. The safety clutch on the 

 machine was quickly applied by a fellow workman and that 

 probably saved his life. 



William II. Skirm, |r., since 1893 secretary of the Empire 

 Rubber Manufacturing Co., resigned that position on May 1. 

 He is succeeded by A. Boyd Cornell, son of Surrogate John W. 

 Cornell, of this county. Mr. Cornell is a graduate of Princeton 

 University, class of '01, and has been connected with the com- 

 pany since Ins graduation. Mr. Skirm stated to your corre- 

 spondent that he was not yet ready to announce what his future 

 plans would be, but said that he would not be connected with 

 the rubber industry in this city. Mr. Skirm's father, Gen. 

 William H. Skirm, was long the president of the Empire com- 

 pany. 



The Crescent Belting and Packing Co., have installed a bat- 

 tery of four new boilers, of 150 HP. each. The boilers are of 

 the horizontal return tubular type and were built to special 

 specifications by the John E. Thropp & Sons Co. (Trenton), 

 and are housed in a new boiler room of brick, 40X3° feet. 

 Arrangements are now under way to extend this addition to a 

 height of three stories, the new stories to be used for addi- 

 tional facilities in the hose and insulated wire departments. 

 The old boiler house will be remodelled into a machine shop, 

 to take care of repairs to the factory. 



The employes of the Lambertville Rubber Co. have formed a 

 strong baseball club ; James Markey, manager ; Walter Scott, 

 secretary ; C. Spangler Stiles, treasurer. 



The Eureka Rubber Manufacturing Co. of Trenton, which 

 recently began the operation of their new factory, now have all 

 the departments in which the machinery has been installed 

 running on full time. J. A. Lambert, secretary and general 

 manager, states that orders are coming in aggregating twice 

 the capacity of the mill. Two 18* X 50" roll mills have been 

 ordered and are expected soon. They will be installed as soon 

 as they arrive. The company have their own reclaiming plant 

 in operation. 



The local union of the International Amalgamated Rubber 

 Workers' Union of America, organized last winter, now has a 

 membership of nearly 900. The union held a big picnic in 

 Hill's grove on Memorial day. Headed by a band the union 

 paraded through the principal streets to the grounds, where a 

 program of sports was given in the afternoon, followed by a 

 dance in the evening. The union has organized a branch in 

 the Mercer Rubber Co.'s mill and is making arrangements to 

 provide the union stamp to those factories that will accept it. 



A protracted squabble over the purchase of 5000 feet of new 

 hose for the fire department was settled by the common council 

 on May 19, when that body awarded the contracts as follows : 

 2500 feet to the United and Globe company, 1250 feet to the 

 Empire company, and 1250 feet to the Crescent Belting and 

 Packing Co. When it was decided to purchase the new hose 

 the fire commissioners recommended that 2500 feet be bought 

 from the United and Globe company and 2500 feet from the 

 Eureka Fire Hose Co. (New York). The fire committee of the 

 council ignored this, and made a counter recommendation that 

 2500 feet be bought of the United and Globe company, and the 

 balance equally divided between the Crescent and Empire 

 companies. This prevailed. The matter was pending several 

 weeks and created much discussion. The rubber workers' 

 union petitioned the fire committee not to allow any of the 

 contract to go outside the city. 



