August i, 1903.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



379 



taneously inflimniible. Still another source of danger is found 

 in vulcanized rubber when it is ground up in the process of re- 

 claiming. Care is necessary to prevent the mass from heating 

 to the point of combustion. 



The next question is, what to do about it. It is possible, of 

 course, to do nothing but keep your insurance premiums 

 promptly paid and rebuild after every conflagration. But that 

 course is not profitable, nor is it generally necessaiy. The pre- 

 cautions that may be taken with only slight expense and with 

 a perfectly practicable amount of trouble will generally be suc- 

 cessful. While much of what follows may seem very elemen- 

 tary to experienced manufacturers, it is safe to premise that 

 THE India RUBBER WORLD has readers who may find some of 

 the suggestions interesting and profitable. 



In general, the protection against spontaneous combustion 

 consists in keeping the inflammable substances dry and cool. 

 Bituminous coal, for instance, should never be kept in a damp 

 cellar nor in bins close to the heat. If large quantities must be 

 stored, they should be given as much area as possible, in order 

 that the depth may not be great. Ventilation must be provid- 

 ed almost as caiefully as for employes. If wooden bins or 

 bunkers are used the coal should never be filled in against the 

 sides, as may be done with other kinds ot fuel. Generally 

 speaking, no partitions of any kind should be used. 



As to naphtha and gasolene, they should be stored apart 



TRAIN LOADS OF SEWING MACHINES. 



TH E magnitude of the new Singer plant in South Bend, In- 

 diana, and the output of sewing machines by this great 

 company through its various agencies, are matters of which very 

 few people have much knowledge. The fact that the company 

 now sells 1,500.000 sewing machines annually may seem incred- 

 ible, but such is the case. 



The factory in South Bend, which covers an area of Soyi 

 acres, is the distributing point for the middle west of the 

 United States. Many large shipments have been made since Jan- 

 uary 1, including two consignments that were unusually large. 

 The first of these shipments was a 25 carload lot, made on 

 April 30. In the cars were 2850 complete machines, packed in 

 crates and assembled ready for use. Their destination was rep- 

 resented in various places in Minnesota. Wisconsin, and Ohio. 

 The train of machines left South Bend over the Lake Shore 

 railroad. 



The second similar train load also consisted of 25 cars, load- 

 ed with 2552 Singer sewing machines. They were sent to dif- 

 ferent points in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Ar- 

 kansas, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, 

 and South Dakota. This consignment was shipped May 9. 

 Each car in both trains bore the trade mark sign of the com- 

 pany, which consists of a big S in bright red, standing out con- 







' 





A TRAIN LOAD OF SEWING MAC HINFS. 



from the building; and if piped in should be conducted where 

 they will not come in contact with steam pipes or other warm 

 surfaces. The quantity kept on hand should be as small as 

 possible, and the storage tanks must of course be strongly 

 built. If, in addition to such precautions, employes can be dis- 

 suaded from smoking while they carry naphtha about or from 

 warming gasolene over a frame, the chancesof safety are good. 



Metal receptacles and shaded places away from heated pipes 

 ate the requirements of the more or less inflammable powders, 

 including dust as well as more useful accumulations of matter. 

 In short, all the precautions against factory fires starting from 

 within, are but amplifications of three maxims: Keep cool; 

 keep clean ; keep dry. Without stopping to moralize on other 

 applications of these injunctions, the man who consistently 

 and sensibly applies them to the conduct of a rubber factory, is 

 likely to have little trouble from fire. And what trouble he 

 does have will come from incendiaries or lightning flashes 

 rather than from spontaneous combustion or other internal 

 causes. 



The Rio Michol Rubber Plantation Co. (Berkeley. Cali- 

 fornia), with $600,000 capital, have filed articles of incorpora- 

 tion in Arizona. Incorporators : L. S. Sherman, W. F. B. Wake- 

 field, L. A. Washburn, 



spicuously in front of a woman represented to be working on a 

 Singer machine. The trade mark attracted no little attention 

 as the cars swept through the country and helped to add to 

 South Bend's fame as a busy manufacturing center. 



This plant, which is one of the most modern and most com- 

 plete manufacturing establishments in the world, makes only 

 the cabinet work and the iron stands for the machines. The 

 heads, embracing the mechanisms, are shipped from the factory 

 at Elizabethport, New Jersey. The South Bend factory makes 

 parts for the big plants in other cities, and is one of an extensive 

 system of factories which in themselves are each the largest of 

 their kind in the world. The company has, besides those already 

 mentioned, factories at K'lbowie, near Glasgow, Scotland ; in 

 Montreal, Canada ; and in Russia. Branch factories are locat 

 ed at Cairo, Illinois, and in Germany. 



Singer machines are sold in all parts of the world. More are 

 disposed of in foreign countries than in the United States. A 

 peculiar feature of the sales department of the company lies in 

 the fact that every machine sold is disposed of through one of 

 the company's agencies. No jobber is allowed to handle the 

 machines. Consequently, no matter in what part of the world 

 the machine is bought, it is sold direct to the purchaser by the 

 Singer Sewing Machine Co. 



