June i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



279 



and even in boots or shoes, it has done excellent service. 



This is not written with tlie idea of booming any one coni- 

 panj' or any specific process, but rather with the hope that 

 manufacturers to-day will encourage the production of any 

 and all gums from whatever sources that help to swell the 

 crude rubber volume. 



lucidentall}', as the whole trade knows, the price of 

 Guayuk- has suddenly dro])ped from 60 cents to 38 cents a 

 pound. It would seem that rubber is worth more than this, 

 and just why a higher price is not obtainable is an unan- 

 swerable question. The lowered price, however, will doubt- 

 less largely stimulate the production of the gum, provided 

 those who are in the business of extracting it are able to 

 make sufficient profit to warrant tlKir staying in business. 



The \Ai,iK OK CONCERTKD ACTION in trade matters has 

 lately been well illustrated in the success of some leading 

 tire manufacturers in securing materially lower freight rates 

 from the railway companies. 



It is a sir.Nii'iCANT tkm'I.ni. \' in the rubber industry in 

 America that it is i)roving an attractive field for even foreign 

 chemists of repute, as indicated in our British correspondence 

 this month. There were great business successes won in the 

 industry here in the days when the chemist in a rubber fac- 

 tory- was shown little respect, but the "rubber kings " of 

 those days are gone, and it is not certain that their methods 

 would apply to modern conditions. 



Thev have heard in Colorado that Indians in the 

 Amazon valley are great rubber gatherers. Colorado has 

 Indians, and as the white men in that state have failed to 

 develop the mnch vaunted native rubber successfully, the 

 Navajos — the local " redskins " — have been set to collecting 

 "rabbit weed." It is reported that this year " 25,000 tons 

 of the weed can be taken, producing rubber gum worth up- 

 ward of $500,000." And all this from land which the United 

 States Congress has leased to the "rubber" companv for 

 $iSo a year. "The Indians seem to take a great delight in 

 their work, " it is reported, but their rate of compensation 

 has not been mentioned. 



Tin; KUi!iii;R i'oot\ve.\r tr.vde evidently is becoming less 

 dependent upon weather conditions than was once the case, 

 judging from the latest annual report of the United States 

 Rubber Co. That report shows a decline in value of net sales 

 of less than ! of i per cent, as compared with last year, 

 although there was, bj- all accounts, very much less of what 

 used to be called "rubber shoe weather." And the volume 

 of business was much larger than the average for years past. 

 Of course, the net results of an open winter on the business 

 of a rubber shoe manufacturer are not all apparent in the 

 same year, in view of the fact that unsold stocks are largely 

 held by jobbers and dealers, but any one might have seen, 

 during the past winter, that the wearing of rubbers was gen- 

 eral on very many days where there was no snow. 



The cre.xt xiiMniCR oe tires r.\TENTED has led us some- 

 times to wonder where all the money conies from to pay the 

 patent office fees. We have wondered even more whence 

 the money comes to organize companies to exploit some of 

 the freak tires. Really, much more capital is wasted in this 



way than most people suppose. There has just been re- 

 ported the puncture of a company formed a year ago to 

 market a puncture proof tire, and in which considerable 

 money was inve.sted. The newspapers report : " The liabil- 

 ities are estimated at about $gooo, and the assets consist 

 mainly of the patent." 



Ie .\i,i. the industries in the country should experience 

 such an increased demand for goods as has come to the rub- 

 ber men as a result of the San Francisco disaster, no doubt 

 some people would regard such an occurrence as a general 

 good. It may be recalled that the introduction of fire en- 

 gines into China was at first resisted on the ground that 

 without fires now and then, to make new building necessary, 

 carpenters and some other tradesmen would suffer for the 

 lack of work. 



A London I'INANCIal writer figures that the market 

 quotations for shares in one of the important rubber plant- 

 ing companies point to a valuation of $17 each for rubber 

 trees at 6 years old — the age at which they become produc- 

 tive in the I'ar East. The British capitalist may be conserv- 

 ative by nature, but " rubber " has an exception to the rule. 

 He certainly has gone wild over " rublier. " 



NEW TRADH PUBLICATIONS. 



THE Sundries Department Catalogue of the Cleveland 

 Rubber Works of the Mechanical Ruhiser Co. 

 (Cleveland, Ohio) contains illustrations and descriptions of 

 an extensive line of rubber goods for the druggists', surgi- 

 cal, and stationers' trade, together with prices. The cata- 

 logue is well got up and the illustrations are particularly- 

 well executed. [6" X 9". 88 pages.] 



Tver Rubber Co. (Andover, Massachusetts) issue a hand- 

 some brochure with the title "Golden Anniversary for the 

 ' Tj'rian ' Rubber Goods," being devoted to a story of fift}' 

 years of growth of this important druggists' sundries manu- 

 facturing companj-. It is illustrated with views of the fac- 

 tory buildings at various stages of progress, beginning in 

 1856. [7;^"X5"4"- 18 pages.] 



W. D. Allen Manufacturing Co. (Chicago) issue their 

 Catalogue No. 22, devoted to their manufactures, many of 

 which are adapted for use in connection with rubber goods — 

 particularly their hose racks and hose reels, hose couplings, 

 lawn sprinklers, nozzles, and the like. The company are 

 manufacturers of I'ackings in large variety. [65.s" X 9;V"- 

 64 pages.] 



Charles E. Miller (New York), in his Automobile Cat 

 alogue No. 8, describes and illustrates a great variety of 

 Automobile, Motor Boat, and IMotor Cycle parts and acces- 

 sories, including many articles into which rubber enters, in- 

 cluding the leading makes of tires. Jlr. Miller claims to 

 have "the largest automobile supply house in America." 

 [TVs" X 9 ■4"- 200 pages.] 



ALSO RECEIVED. 



INDI.V Rubber Specialty Co., Krie, Pennsylvania I. R. S. Brand 

 of Rubber Goods. [Mail order house.] 64 pages. 



Pennsylvania Rubber Co., Jeannette, Pa. New Tires for Old 

 8 pages. 



■• Ideal ■' Carriage W.isher Co., Roche.ster, New York. '" Ideal " 

 Carriage and Automobile Washer. lO pages. 



