406 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



I September i, 1906. 



THE RUBBER TRADE AT AKRON. 



UV A RKSIDENT CORRHSI'OXDKNT. 



' 1 ""O THK ICiJiTou OF The India Rudhkr Woui.n : Witliin 

 -*■ tlie next month or six weeks the Faultless Rubber Co. 

 will merge its two plants, the one located in Akron and the 

 other located in .Vshland, into one big plant. For some 

 time past the merger plan has been under way but the of- 

 ficers of the company are undecided where to locate. Both 

 Akron and Ashland are under consideration. A site for a 

 large tract of land in the vicinity of the Goodyear Tire and 

 Rubber company's plant in Ivast Akron has been selected 

 and an option has been taken on the property. Ashland 

 has also olTered the company a site for its plant if it will re- 

 move to that city. Some time ago the site upon which the 

 company's plant in Akron now stands was optioned to a 

 railroad company and on this account the company is seek- 

 ing to make the move, not knowing when the land will be 

 purchased by the railroad company and it will be forced to 

 vacate the premises. Ashland is anxious to retain the 

 plant. The stumbling block, however, in effecting the com- 

 bination involves two propositions. The first is that the 

 company has the bulk of the heavy machinery which was 

 installed at a cost of several thousand dollars recently, in 

 the Ashland plant, while the solution of the labor question 

 is in Akron. The coinpan\- since operating its Ashland 

 plant has experienced difliculty in .securing the required 

 amount of help there. The past year has been one of the 

 best, if not the best, this company has enjoyed since its or- 

 ganization. 



Mr. Edwin C. Shaw, general su])erintendent of The B. F. 

 Goodrich Co., has returned from an auto tour of the New 

 England states, on which he had been absent since the first 

 of April. 



The Mechanical Rubber Co., of Cleveland, was made a de- 

 fendant in the suit filed in Summit county by Ohio C. Bar- 

 ber, the match king, against the C. Aultman Co., of Canton, 

 Ohio. In this action Mr. Barber seeks an accounting for 

 hinuself and other creditors of the company of about $20,000, 

 which is represented in stock of the Whitman & Barnes 

 Manufacturing Co., held by the .Aultman company before it 

 became defunct. The Mechanical Rubber Co. are interested 

 i^l the litigation and filed a motion in the courts to be made 

 a party defendant to the suit. 



The Republic Rubber Co., of N'oungstown, is enjoying 

 some of the prosperity resulting from the large orders placed 

 by the railroad companies for new cars and eijuipment. A 

 report from this plant is to the efiect that large orders for air 

 brakes, steam hose, and mechanical rubber goods have been 

 received. 



The Mechanical Rubber Co., of Cleveland, is represented 

 by one of the strongest amateur base ball teams in the state. 

 The employes of the company comprising the team have re- 

 ceived liberal support during the sea.son from the manage- 

 ment. 



The annual picnic of employes of The B. F. Goodrich Co., 

 the Alkali Rubber Co., and the American Hard Rubber Co.. 

 at Silver Lake, on August 3, was attended by more than 

 10,000 employes, their families, and friends. The threi; 

 companies supplied all their employes with tickets for them- 

 selves and their families for car fare, admission, dancing, 

 boat riding, and all the other amusements afforded. A fine 



program of sjjorls was given during the day. One interest- 

 ing feature was a guessing match over the exact number of 

 words written on a postal card. 



Ivxperiuicnts are being made by several of the large factor- 

 ies in Akron looking toward the perfection of a hard rubber 

 tile. The pa.st several months have witnessed the fact that 

 rubber tiling is fast growing in favor for diiTerent uses. 

 This has caused the local enterprising concerns to prepare 

 and bid for their share of the output and place upon the mar- 

 ket some new ideas in rubber tiling. As a result two 

 plants promise within a short time to put on the market a 

 tile which they believe will surpass the present product. 

 The adoption of the rubber tile for equipping steam coaches 

 on railway trains will according to local manufacturers 

 bring rubber tiling into a greatly increased use throughout 

 the United States. 



The eighth annual picnic of the Cleveland Rubber Co. 

 was held at Silver Lake Park, near Akron, on August S. Over 

 2000 employes and their families attended. The company 

 furnished the amusements offered at the park free of charge. 



James A. Swinehart, president of the Swinehart Clincher 

 Tire and Rubber Co., and inventor of the now famous side 

 wire system of fastening on rubber tires, has patented two 

 new tires — one for a solid rubber tire and another for a j)neu- 

 matic tire. The Swinehart Clincher Tire and Rubber Co. 

 will manufacture both new patents in connection with their 

 clincher lire. 



The annual meeting of the oflicials, branch managers, 

 salesmen, and heads of departments of the Firestone Tire 

 and Rubber Co. was held at the office of the company on 

 August 17-1S. At noon on the first daj- luncheon was 

 served at the plant by the company. Another session was 

 held in the afternoon and in the evening all of the managers 

 and salesmen were taken to the Portage Country Club, 

 where dinner was served them, after which they were enter- 

 tained at Lakeside Park Casino. Covers were laid for 30, 

 and H. S. Firestone, president of the company, acted as 

 toastmaster, and proved a genial host. The past year has 

 been very successful with the companj-, showing increased 

 sales in all departments, and the prospects for the coming 

 year are bright. 



L. A. Allwine and L. C. Warden, of Lorain, Ohio, have 

 been granted a patent on a new vehicle wheel originated and 

 designed by Mr. Allwine. The wheel is intended especially 

 for automobiles and is expected to do away with the pneu- 

 matic tire. On the contrary the tire is to be of solid rubber 

 while the wheel is fitted with a non circular pneumatic hub. 

 This hub acts as a cushion, effectively doing awaj' with the 

 jar and producing virtually the same efiect as a pneumatic 

 tire. The hub according to the patent can be of any shape 

 other than circular. In the drawings made bj- the inventor 

 the hub is to be elliptical in shape. 



G. A. Shaw, of Akron, has applied for a patent on a new 

 non puncturable automobile tire which if proves successful 

 promises to greatly decrease the cost of repairs. The new 

 tire is equipped with an inverted rubber casing and rubber 

 inner tube. For the tread of the tire a steel rim is fastened to the 

 outer casing bj- means of the clincher system. The new tire 

 makes the inner tube easy of access for repair and for sub- 

 stituting new ones. The steel tread, it is claimed, will in- 

 crease the life of the tire nearlj' 100 per cent., while the cost 

 will be about the same as the present automobile tire. 



