August i, 1903.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



363 



RUBBER AT THE OSAKA EXHIBITION. 



TO the Editor of The India Rubber World: The 

 fifth national industrial exhibition at Osaka, which 

 opened on March 1, is not only more extensive than its prede- 

 cessors, but more complete in many ways, and indicates a con- 

 tinual advancement in Japanese industries. Besides, the in- 

 creasing number of foreign exhibits shows a growth of interest 

 abroad in the markets of Japan. 



Your correspondent has taken pains to look through the ex- 

 hibition for products of the rubber industry, giving attention 

 first to the industry in Japan. There are, as The India RUB- 

 BER World has reported from time to time, several small rub- 

 ber factories in this country, principally in or near Tokio, 

 though only a few of the more important ones have made ex- 

 hibits. It may be said, by the way, that most of the concerns 

 are too young to have made much progress, which probably 

 his restrained them from attempting to attract attention in 

 comparison with more important establishments, and particu- 

 larly the exhibitors from abroad. 



The most extensive display of Japanese rubber products is 

 that of the Meiji Rubber Manufacturing Co., in the manufac- 

 turers' building. This includes specimens of all their products, 

 which include a wide range of mechanical goods, such as hose, 

 belting, packing, valves, rollers, matting, tiling, truck tires, etc, 

 It is an attractive display, and, considering the small limits of 

 their business, as compared with the industry in other lands, a 

 very creditable one. 



In the same building is the display of the Mitado Rubber 

 Co., also of Tokio. Their products consist of mechanical rub- 

 ber goods and toys. The Oriental Rubber Co. and the Nippon 

 Rubber Co. might have been expected, from the importance of 

 their business, to make displays, but they failed to do so. In 

 the Educational building, among the products of the Osaka 

 Industrial School are some rubber water bags. 



There is a special building allotted to Canada, in which the 

 Canadian Rubber Co. of Montreal have installed an extensive 

 display of mechanical rubber goods, druggists' and stationers' 

 sundries, boots and shoes, and waterproof goods. 



The Gorham Rubber Co. (San Francisco) have installed a 

 display of goods of the same classes in the Foreign Sample 

 building, comprising, so far as I have been able to see, about 

 the only rubber goods from the United States. 



The important Italian rubber firm of Pirelli & Co. (Milan) 

 shows a wide variety of their products, including a diving suit. 

 J. G. Ingram & Son, of the London India Rubber Works, dis- 

 play a collection of surgical and other India-rubber goods of 

 their manufacture. There were other specimens of rubber 

 goods, shown mainly by representatives of foreign machinery 

 houses — as by Birch, Kirby & Co., Limited, agents for several 

 British firms — but as thus shown such goods naturally are not 

 prominent. 



In another department, related to the rubber industry, the 

 Japanese are better represented, that of electricity. Special 

 mention must be made of the Andrews-George Co. and the F. 

 W. Horn Co., of Yokohama, who have erected a special build- 

 ing for the display of electrical apparatus. 



The machinery in the Machinery and Transportation build- 

 ings, and throughout the exhibition, is run by a dynamo made 

 by the Sibaura machine works. 



A collective exhibit of insulated wire, made by Japanese 

 firms, includes about 70 different items, including insulation 

 with India-rubber, Gutta-percha, paraffine, and weather proof- 

 ing compounds. The Yokohama Insulated Wire Co. exhibit 

 a number of large coils of their wires and cables. Many foreign 



merchants exhibit specimens of American and European insu- 

 lated wires, in connection with displays of electrical machinery. 



From what I have seen, I am convinced that Japanese rub- 

 ber manufacturers and Americans interested in this market for 

 rubber belting cannot afford to overlook the competition of 

 Dick's Balata belting and of cotton belting, which are rapidly 

 coming into use. 



Mr. C. K. Ogiwara has resigned his position with the Orien- 

 tal Rubber Manufacturing Co., being succeeded by Mr. 

 Voshida, late of the Meiji Rubber Manufacturing Co. 



J. K. L. 



Tokio, Japan, June a6, 1903. 



A GERMAN VIEW OE AMERICAN BUSINESS. 



I Rl >M Mil' 1 .' MM] I DRESDEN). 



IN the German daily press of late there have been accounts of 

 the business report of the United States Rubber Co. (the 

 rubber shoe trust) for the year 1902 03. in which a favorable re- 

 sult of this enterprise is stated. There is represented to be a 

 net revenue of §1,384,000 against a capital of $23,525,500, orabout 

 5.7 percent. The New Yorker Handehzeitung brings a like rep- 

 resentation. But if we look closer into the business report of 

 this trust enterprise, about the formation of which we published 

 detailed articles last year, we shall find an altogether different 

 state of things, and that the reports in the press are decidedly 

 incorrect. The capital is not $23,525,500, but $47,191,000, or 

 more than double, viz. : $23,525,500 preferred and $23,666,000 

 common stock. The return on this enormous capital at (1,- 

 384,000 is not 5.7 per cent., therefore, but only about 2.9 per 

 cent., and this must be considered as an extremely poor result. 

 If the trust has accomplished nothing but to bring an indus- 

 try once highly lucrative to the verge of nothing, this can only 

 be termed prodigality in the sense of national economy. It con- 

 firms the opinion of those who have taken a skeptical attitude 

 toward such enterprises. Our German capital and our indus- 

 tries may take this result as a warning. Only 2.9 per cent. ! 

 And in a year which the very business report exemplifies as 

 one rarely favorable to the rubber shoe industry ; in a year 

 where the prices for raw Caoutchouc were so low that any rub- 

 ber factory, under even fairly good management, should have 

 come out with a much higher profit. 



Of course, if one sees at what ruinous prices the United 

 States Rubber Co. dispose of their goods in foreign countries, 

 onfe must give up hope that the company can ever be in a posi- 

 tion to improve upon their figures of profit. The prices which 

 the United Stales Rubber Co. have made in the Orient, for in- 

 stance, are simply unheard of; prices which simply mean loss. 

 One can only conclude that the company want to throw their 

 goods at any price on the European market, in order to keep 

 busy under all circumstances the many factories bought up be- 

 yond the measure of reason, instead of simply closing some of 

 them and reducing production. 



As for prices, the business report, reproduced in the June 

 number of The India Rubber World, says that they " have 

 ranged about the same as in the previous year, when theie pre- 

 vailed the lowest prices for rubber boots and shoes (the 

 cost of material being considered) ever known in the history of 

 the trade." In proof of which it is stated that during the last 

 two years five companies manufacturing rubber shoes have gone 

 to ruin or withdrawn from business. This is correct, but it 

 is not mentioned that it was this very United States Rubber 

 Co. which, two years ago, quite unnecessarily and suddenly, 

 lowered prices about 27.5 per cent., thus bringing them to 

 such a level as to exclude any profit. This action was di- 

 rected against the outside factories, on the idea that an oppor- 



