April i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBEH NA^ORLD 



219 



JUBILEE OF DR. H. TRAUN & SONS. 





SENATOR DR. HEINR. TRAUN. 



'nr^HE fiftieth anniversary of the firm of Dr. Hciiir. Traun 

 -^ & Sohne, formerly the Harbnrger (iummi-Kaiiim-Co., 

 of Hamburg, seems to have been a jubilee feast, in the best 

 sense of the word. Everybody who was in any way con- 

 nected with the firm was present, and every workman seemed 

 to feel that he was a part of the firm, had a vital interest in 



its welfare, and 

 felt that he had a 

 right to be there 

 and to share in 

 the merrymaking 

 ,-uid in the beauty 

 of the decorations 

 as fully as the di- 

 / H^ '"^ V'tors. Tliegen- 



■ 1 il s])irit wa s 

 v^ that of a big fam- 



ily reunion. Con- 

 gratulations and 

 messages of good 

 will poured in 

 from all over the 

 wcirld. The works 

 shut down at 

 noon, and at 6.30 

 Senator Dr. 

 Traun and his 

 sons, Herr Otto 

 and Dr. Friedrich Traun, received the guests with such cor- 

 diality that a spirit of general friendliness was immediately 

 communicated to the whole assembly. 



Herr Otto Traun, the elder son, and the one who is gener- 

 ally looked upon as the leading spirit of the firm, since his 

 father became a senator, made the opening address, in the 

 name of the Kmperor and the free city of Hamburg. Later 

 on Senator Dr. Heinrich Traun spoke, telling how his father 

 and his associates of the HarburgerGummi-Kamm Co. had 

 organized the company now owned by Dr. Traun and his 

 sons. Then he acknowledged the companj-'s great indebt- 

 ednes.s to the pensioners and veteran workmen of the firm, 

 some of whom had given it their best efforts throughout its 

 whole existence. He also thanked the Hamburg senate and 

 the Prussian governuient for their fostering care and protec- 

 tion. 



The regular responses were made by the mayors of Ham- 

 burg, Harburg, the sponsor for the workmen and others, and 

 then all united in a tribute to the aged Seniorchef Herr Sen- 

 ator Dr. Heinrich Traun, In connection with the jubilee the 

 firm advertised : 



On the occasion of the semi centennial of our comp.Tiij-'s exis 

 tence, we have received so many exjiressions of good will from 

 every side, that we have foviud it impossible to answer them all 

 singly. We must therefore take this method of warmly thanking 

 all those who have so kin<ny expressed an interest in the welfare 

 of our company. 



The first hard rubber factory in Germany was established 

 in Harburg in 1856, as the Harbnrger Gummi-Kamm-Com- 

 pagnie (Harburg Rubber Comb Co.), in connection with the 

 long established business of H. C. Meyer, Jr., whalebone 

 manufacturers of Hamburg. This firm had relations with 



Meyer & Poppenhusen, who had already established, to ex- 

 ploit the patent of Nelson Goodj'ear, the hard rubber factory 

 at College Point, New York, which is now operated by the 

 American Hard Rubber Co. In 1S63 Dr. Heinrich Traun, 

 whose father was a son in law of the original Meyer, entered 

 the business at Harburg and subsequently became sole pro- 

 prietor. In August, 1902, Dr. Traun admitted to partnership 

 his two sons, when the style of the business was changed 

 to Dr. Heinr. Traun & Sohne, vormals Harbnrger Gummi- 

 Kamm-Co. The business has been referred to frequently in 

 The India Rubber World, in the pages of which its history 

 is pretty fully recorded. 



ANOTHER GUAYULE COMPANY. 



^ I HI; International Guayule RubberCo., incorporated last 

 -*• September under New Jersey laws to operate in Mexi- 

 co, report having acquired 280,000 acres of land in the alkali 

 desert about 120 miles north of San Luis Potosi, at a cost of 

 $210,000 (silver) and that they will put 590,000 more into 

 their factor3^ They will operate a process under their own 

 patent granted in Mexico, by which the gum is extracted 

 wholly by rubbing action in water. Their practical man, who 

 has studied Guayule, reports that shrubs bearing male blos- 

 soms give from 20 to 25 per cent of gum, while shrubs bearing 

 female blossoms give from 8 to 12 per cent. They estimate 

 that thcN' have from 25,000 to 45,000 tons of raw material on 

 their lands. Their special machine, by the way, they be- 

 lieve is capable of extracting 3000 tons a year. The officers 

 of the company are J. A. Riley, president ; Thomas A. Ri- 

 der, vice president ; and B. St. John Hoyt, secretary and 

 treasurer. The first named are wealthy coal operators in 

 Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, where the real headquarters are 

 at present. They have a temporary office, however, at No. 

 too Broadway, New York, with their counsel, W. B. Brice. 

 The above figures regarding the yield from Guayule 

 appear excessive and do not coincide at all with those re- 

 ceived from other sources. From many tons extracted under 

 the most rigid supervision of men desirous of knowing the 

 exact truth, the maximum j-ield of rubber reported hitherto 

 has been 12 per cent., and this refined, gave 8 per cent of 

 rubber. With regard to "male" and "female" shrubs, 

 there is a shrub called by the natives the female Guayule 

 and also known locally as " mariola. " This has been said 

 to contain 6 per cent of rubber, but those who have looked 

 into the matter carefull}' have so far been unable to extract 

 any gum at all from it. 



STILL HUNTING RUBBER IN ARGENTINA. 



' I ^HE minister of agriculture of Argentina, says the Soul/i 

 -*- American Journal, clings to the hope that rubber trees 

 are to be found in the Chaco, on the frontier of the province 

 of Salta, where an explorer discovered a few trees which 

 yielded gum. This, however, when analyzed, did not prove 

 to be a marketable commodit}-, and a commissioner sent by 

 the minister to make further explorations failed to find the 

 real rubber tree. However, the minister, in nowise discour- 

 aged, has sent another official naturalist to Salta to make 

 further explirations, but the latter expressed the opinion 

 before starting that his chase was hopeless. [See The 

 iNni.'V Rubber Wori.d, August i, 1905 — page 366.] 



