146 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February i, 1906. 



at all superfluous. Though apparently a simple operation 

 and regular in its results, this tinning needs careful atten- 

 tion if the coating is to be of sufhcient thickness to really 

 prevent reaction between the copper and the sulphur. It 

 seems probable that it is not a simple case of coating one 

 metal with another but that definite alloys are formed. 

 =^The partial electrification of the London and Brighton 

 railway has led to some discussion in the press in the mat- 

 ter of the contracts for the equipment being given to the 

 General Electrical Co. (Allgemeine lilektricitiits Gcscllschafl) 

 of Berlin. It has been e.xplained, however, that a good deal 

 of the work will be carried out at the Rugby works of the 

 British Thomson-Houston Co. The facts briefiy stated are 

 that the system of electrification to be followed is the single 

 phase high pressure, and that this particular class of car 

 equipment has not yet received the attention of British manu- 

 facturers. In contradistinction to the existing electrified lines 

 on the Lancashire and Yorkshire and North Eastern railwajs 

 the Brighton line is to have an overhead current probably at 

 from 2000 to 5000 volts with transformers on the cars. The 

 lines mentioned above do not exceed 600 volts, but higher 

 pressures find favor in German practice. 



With regard to the issue of the prospectus of this concern 



on December i r, perhaps the most noteworthy fact is that it 



had a half page advertisement in a 



THE UBERiAN prominent financial daily (Financial 



RUBBER CORPORATION. ' ■' ^ 



Times), no comment being made in the 

 editorial columns. The following day the paper contained 

 a long leading article criticizing the company and the man- 

 ner of its promotion in rather a strong tone. A day or two 

 later the same paper published a skit prospectus from an 

 anonymous correspondent entitled "The Siberian Lubber 

 Co. Unlimited," which was really amusing. But the point 

 for the ordinary reader to decide is whether the prospectus 

 or the criticism is most entitled to favorable consideration ; 

 probably the statements in both maj' be considered as 

 biased. Of course Liberian rubber is not by any means a 

 new tool for the company' promoter to handle ; my memories 

 of it go back to 1885, vi-hen Mr. C. W. Meiter and others of 

 London got a monopoly of rubber gathering in the country. 

 ProbabU' the best thing that can be emphasized about the 

 new company is the strength of the directorate, including as 

 it does such men as Sir West Ridgway, Sir Harry John- 

 ston, Sir Gilbert Parker, m. p., and Sir Raymond West. 

 The fact that the Dunlop Rubber Co. have contracted 

 to buy all the output maj' cause a little nervous tension 

 among purchasers of their fine Para motor tires, but it must 

 be remembered that the Dunlop company have now a large 

 business in general rubber manufacturing and that Africans 

 must form a large part of their raw product. The contem- 

 porary referred to above comments especially on the pro- 

 motion profits, which leave only ^50,000 working capital 

 out of the /;220,ooo being paid for the p operty. It is note- 

 worthy' that the Consolidated Rubber vSyndicate which acts 

 as the selling agent between the Monrovian Rubber Co. and 

 the new company was only registered on December 5, 1905, 

 the directorates of all three companies being largely identical. 

 Apart, however, from the promoting side of the business, 

 the main point for the investor is whether the rubber is there 

 and whether it can be gathered regularly at a low cost. The 

 directors seem to be confident on these points. 



I .MAY mention that in addition to the general mechanical 



rubber goods which this Manchester firm has been manu- 

 facturing in the past, a specialtj' is now 



eaTt ERrRl's'-BE^R CO. '^^'"i?. '"^^^^ "^ ^^^'^^a belting which, it 

 is claimed, is quite equal to anything of 

 the soit made elsewhere. It is supplied in two qualities — 

 the lanco and No. i. The firm will probably find plenty of 

 competition in their market as, besides other British makers, 

 there are several on the continent. These may rest assured, 

 however, that the language used by the Irwell company in 

 describing their goods will be warranted by the results ob- 

 tained in practice, if one may judge from what has occurred 

 in other cases. 



The recently issued report of the large concern generally 



known under this abbreviated title is much more satisfactory 



than was the case a year ago, and the com- 



siLVEHTowN pany's shares have now risen again to the 

 REPORT. figure at which they have been quoted for so 

 man}' years. In the comments which I have seen on the re- 

 port the only discordant note struck is with reference to the 

 silence observed by the directors as to the " new business" 

 which has absorbed ^100,000 capital. Speculation is rife 

 as to what this new business is, but the directorate seem to 

 think that publicity would do them harm, as their attitude 

 has been to treat it as a trade secret. There certainly is a 

 good deal to be said in not letting 3'our competitors know 

 exactly vi'hat you are doing, especially if the particular 

 business would suffer b}- competition. I'urther, if the thing 

 'proves to be non-successful those responsible for the project 

 cannot well be called over the coals, as the loss can be put 

 down in the general profit and loss account without being 

 particularized. 



The remarks in the quality of plantation rubber in the 



December i.ssue of this Journal are of great interest. 



Their trend is to show that it has not yet 



plantation jjggn shown that the new rubber is equal to 



RUBS R 



that from primeval forests, much less superior 

 to it. It is important that the actual facts should be empha- 

 sized because now that the company promoter has so largelj' 

 identified him.self with rubber, loose statements are bound 

 to parade themselves as indisputable facts. It is said that 

 the new rubber is not quite suitable for elastic thread, and 

 it is quite easy to imagine that this is so. In this connec- 

 tion there seems no inducement for the manufacturer to test 

 its actual value for the purpose. Elastic thread making is 

 in the hands of but a few firms and the risks attaching to 

 any bad work are so great that it is quite natural that any 

 change of material should onlj- be adopted after careful 

 consideration and must be attended with monetary advant- 

 ages. It is suggested that an alteration in the vulcanization 

 might prove the new rubber to be quite equal to Brazilian 

 Para. So it might, but as the prices of the two correspond 

 how is the manufacturer to gain for the trouble and attend- 

 ant risk in altering his customary and satisfactory proced- 

 ure ? The future of plantation Para rubber does not depend 

 on its being proved the best in the market for everj- possible 

 purpose. The prospects are quite bright enough without 

 going so far as that. It is reported that a large London 

 produce firm has offered to buy the total output of Para 

 rubber from more than one plantation for 10 years at a fixed 

 price of 5 shillings per pound. But planters should not 

 overlook the fact that in South America there are still vast 

 virgin regions to be tapped. 



