September i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



407 



THE PACIFIC COAST RUBBER TRADE. 



''T^O Till-: F.i 

 -*■ various ; 



BY A RESinKNT CORRi:SPONI)KNT. 



vDiTOK ui' TiiK Iniua RrnnKK World: The 

 rubber houses that were h)catc(l in San I'ran- 

 cisco at the time of the great fire, have almost without an 

 exception started in business again either here, or across the 

 bay at Oakland. Those firms that were fortunate enough to 

 have branch houses in other Coast cities, sufiered but little 

 loss of business as all orders were able to be filled, and 

 stocks generallj' were large enough to meet immediate de- 

 mands. The firms that had to get all their supplies from 

 the Kast were reallj- out of business for some time as freight 

 shipments were so slow, and even now there is difficnltj- in 

 getting supplies here on time, some goods that would ordi- 

 narily have been received by July i, just now coming in. 

 The demand for rubber goods of all descriptions is very 

 heavy, owing to the many new enterprises starting u]) call- 

 ing for this class of goods, as well as the rapidly growing 

 country trade. The houses that have started in business 

 again in San Francisco are carrying just as light stocks as 

 the3' can and still supplj' customers, as the buildings they 

 are now compelled to occupy are as a rule temporary afinirs. 



* » * 



Tin: Diamond Rubber Co., now located at No. no Tele- 

 graph avenue, Oakland, has one of the finest stores of any 

 of the firms that were burned out at San Francisco. They 

 have a large building in the center of the business part of 

 the city. While it is the intention of the firm to return to 

 San Francisco, it does not expect to move until permanent 

 quarters can be secured and the present heavy expenses of 

 operating a store there are lessened. C. E. Mathewson, the 

 manager of the Diamond company's interests here, has left 

 for the East to visit the home office, accompanied by F. O. 

 Nelson and Donald McKay of the same company, and it will 

 be several weeks before thej- return. Mr. Albright has just 

 returned from a business trip to Tonopah and the new min- 

 ing camps in Nevada, where he landed good orders for tires 

 and had a chance to see the rough usage to which articles of 

 this class are subjected in that country. He states that the 

 life of the ordinary automobile tire in the mining region is 

 about one month, or about 2000 miles, and considering the 

 nature of the roads he considers this excellent service. The 

 most of the travel is done after nightfall as the heat in the 

 desert is intense, reaching from 120 to 130 degrees in the 

 shade. The effect of this heat on automobile tires can be 

 imagined, and as very often no attempt is made to follow 

 the roads, but the machine is driven over the rocks and sage 

 lirush, it is little wonder that tires are not longer lived. 

 Time is the chief consideration there instead of money, and 

 when a tire is blown up or badly punctured, no attempt is 

 made to repair it but a new one is put in place. The road 

 between Tonopah and Goldfields is strewn with these, an in- 

 teresting comparison with the grewsome bones that lined 

 the roads to the old mining camps." The garages in Tono- 

 pah are said to compare favorably in size with those of any 

 of the large cities and large stocks of rubber tires are carried. 



* * * 



The Plant Rubber and vSupply Co. are now conifortabl}- 

 housed at No. 32 California street, and while no attempt is 

 being made to keep a large stock X)n hand, a very complete 

 line ot the specialties they handle is being carried. At the 



present time they are carrying only manufactured products 

 and all orders for mold work are turned over to other 

 firms. It is not likely that the factory will be established 

 here again, in fact a location across the bay is now being 

 sought. Mr. Plant has just returned from a trip to the Ivast 

 and now has the firm business under his personal supervi- 

 sion. H. M. Groszmeyer, who was formerly a salesman for 

 this firm, is now acting in the capacity of city salesman, tak- 

 ing the place of R. J. Hammond, who has gone into the 

 shipping business. 



» « » 



Thk Good3'ear Ruliber Co. now has a factory in operation 

 at Nos. 218-220 Spear street, and the ofilce is also located 

 there temporarily. Mr. Richard H. Pease, the manager of 

 the firm's Pacific coa.st interests, states that a temporary 

 building is now being erected at Nos. 573-579 Market street, 

 where it has been located for the past 35 years, and that after 

 Sept. ist, the oflices and sales room will be there. Here the 

 same complete stock of rubber goods will be carried as 

 formerly, including the products of the United States Rub- 

 ber Co., the Wales-Goodyear company, and the Woonsocket 

 Rubber Co. .Since the fire the firm's California trade has 

 been handled through the Portland store and the business 

 has not sufiered any interruption. 



* * * 



The Gorham Rubber Co. now has its business moving as 

 steadily as before the file and is able to fill all orders from 

 the vSan Francisco and Oakland stores. The factorj' is now 

 in running order at No. 105 Fremont street, San Francisco, 

 and a stcok is carried there sufficient to supply the city trade. 

 At Fourth and Washington streets Oakland, is the main store 

 of this company, and tvvo warehouses are also located in that 

 cit}-. In San Francisco a five story building is being erected 

 on Mission street, near the old location, and as the work 

 is now well under way it is expected that it will be ready 

 for occupancy by January. Mr. Parish, of this company, 

 states that business is now heavier than ever, orders for the 

 first six months of the present year being fully 20 per cent. 

 greater than for the corresponding period last year. The 

 foreign trade is also heavy and it is asserted that San Fran- 

 cisco houses are now receiving orders that would have gone 

 elsewhere before the fire, showing the kindnesses that are be- 

 ing showered upon her from every quarter of the globe. 



* # » 



The Pacific Coast Rubber Co. has done quite a bit of mov- 

 ing since the fire, but announces that it is now permanently 

 .settled at Nos. 138-140 First .street, around the corner from 

 the old location. The large building erected at No. 1 1 Haw- 

 thorne street will be utilized as a warehouse and is now well 

 stocked with the lines of rubber goods that this firm carries. 

 Mr. H. C. Norton, manager of the San Francisco store, has 

 just returned from a short visit to the Portland store, and 

 reports that a great business is being done there as well as 

 here. Owing to the condition of the streets in San Fran- 

 cisco he thinks that there will be a very heavy local demand 

 for rubber boots and shoes. 



* * * 



Although Barton, Squires, Byrne, Inc. have been in 

 business only about eight months, they are now doing a 

 very large business and are more than satisfied with results. 

 After the fire they secured offices in the Ferry Postofiice 

 building, and later moved to No. 27 Commercial street 



