M.w I, 1909.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



283 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



WASHED RUBBER 

 FOR SALE. 



AX innovation of some importance is the offer to the trade 

 of certain well known brands of rubber, which have been 

 semi-washed and standardized. Nothing has transpired as 

 to who is behind this new move, the rubber manufacturers being 

 requested in the advertisements to apply to their ordinary 

 brokers for sample prices and terms. 

 Presumably the rubbers mentioned, 

 which include Madagascar, Borneo and 

 Peruvian, are cleansed in the countries of production, and as 

 there is a rating in freight on worthless material. This, of 

 course, is in the direction advocated for some lime by many con- 

 nected with the trade, if only on the ground that it makes it 

 much easier to judge of the value of a lot by inspection and also 

 to take average samples for analysis. The expression "semi- 

 washed" indicates that the raw rubber is put through a cleansmg 

 operation. This, of course; costs money and it remains to be 

 seen whether there really is much saving in this half washing, if 

 the rubber has all the same to be washed at the factory to com- 

 plete its puritication. The expression semi-washed may mean a 

 rather different thing, according to the brand of rubber; some 

 rubbers might be really pure enough for use without further 

 washing, as in the case of plantation sorts. Othei's, again, like 

 Manitoba, which is specially mentioned, are hardly likely to 

 have all their fine sand removed by any semi-washing. From 

 what I have heard in one or two quarters, there does not seem 

 to be any great enthusiasm in the trade about the new proposal. 

 The large users of rubber, more particularly, will still, I think, 

 prefer to go on buying raw rubber as before, and have it washed 

 under their own inspection. They have got into the way of 

 judging its value with sufficient accuracy, and they can alwjVs 

 recognize a particular brand in the raw state^a matter which 

 might not be so easy in the case of semi-washed rubber. Then 

 as they already have capital sunk in washing' machinery they 

 seem to think that they may as well do the work. The case will 

 probably be different with small users, who may be attracted by 

 the new move. As far as I know there is only one factory 

 especially washing rubber for the trade, and this is a small con- 

 cern situated at Holywell, in North Wales. 



Of importance to those interested in mining and metallurgy -is 

 the long-talked-of combine between the leading European pro- 

 ducers. This has recently been success- 

 fully negotiated, the main object being 

 the regulation of the output when the 

 market price falls below £jg per ton. How far they will put the 

 price up when trade begins to boom again it would be idle to 

 forecast, but seeing the great increase in the American output in 

 recent years and what may be expected from the Broken Hill 

 dumps, it seems probable that the price of the metal will not go 

 beyond £25 a ton. At the present price of i2i there is not mucli 

 profit even for good mines, and we may expect a rise. But not 

 to talk any further on the metal, it follows from what has been 

 said that the price of the oxide is less likely to' fluctuate in the 

 future than in the past, and I don't think that there need be 

 any fear that the new combination will attempt to raise the 

 prices of the metal and to the high figures of three years ago, 

 unless some extraordinary trade boom should precipitate this .is 

 a natural sequence. 



In the work "Crude Rubber and Compounding Ingredients" 

 there is a paragraph stating that Charles T. Harris used an 

 artificial bisulphide of bismuth for cur- 

 ing rubber heavily compounded with 

 carbonate of lead. I am always rather 

 suspicious about the reported cures with metallic sulphides, and 



PRICE OF 

 ZINC OXIDE, 



THE NEW 

 FRENCH TARIFF. 



BISUUTU IN 

 RUBBER GOODS. 



have no duubt that this bismuth compound contained fret sulphur. 

 However I am not writing specially about this compound, which 

 may or may not have ever come into commerce ; I wish rather to 

 refer to the use of bismuth generally. ■ Except in the metallic 

 state as a component of certain mold, I have not so far come 

 across bismuth in any form in the rubber works. I understand, 

 however, that its compounds have at least one important appli- 

 cation, and that is in the rubber gloves used by surgeons work- 

 ing with X-ray apparatus. Bismuth compounds, it appears, are 

 (luite impervious to these rays and there is a regular sale of 

 bismuth compounded rubber gloves for X-ray hospital use. I 

 don't suppose the total business amounts to very much and a 

 good price, I understand, is charged by the London dealers who 

 specialize in X-ray apparatus. Quite recently an alteration in 

 procedure has led to the use of gloves by the surgeon being aban- 

 doned to a great extent, so this paragraph is not worth the atten- 

 tion of the controllers of the American bismuth "ring." 



This is a matter which is attracting a good deal of attention 

 and comment in England. The interest is by no means confined 

 to our manufacturers who export goods 

 to France ; it is also being laid hold of 

 by the mass of conservative politicians 

 as an aid to the pronmlgation of the tenets of tariff reform, a 

 topic which is in the forefront of the conservative party's pro- 

 gramme. But not to enlarge on matters political, there is no 

 doubt that the new French tariff if adopted will hit many British 

 industries hard and a good many representations have been made 

 by chambers of commerce to the French authorities on the basis 

 of the opinion expressed by our manufacturers. It would take 

 up too much space to refer to the proposals as they affect the 

 rubber" trade generally, and I shall refer only to a single branch. 

 The most important item in this connection is elastic webbing, the 

 increased duty on which has caused a good deal of alarm in the 

 midland towns where the industry finds its headquarters. The 

 French evidently are desirous of still further protecting their 

 own wcl)bing industry, which is already one of considerable 

 magnitude! 



Card clothing for textile mills is practically all imported from 

 England, 19,463 kilograms out of a total import of 19,753 coming 

 from this rountry. 1 believe I. am right in saying that there is 

 only one small factory in France concerned in the manufacture of 

 these goods, so the textile industry generally will be penalized 

 .for the. benefit of this factory. The present tariff is 90 francs 

 general and 70 francs minimum per 100 kilograms and the new 

 one is to be 105 general and 70 minimum, if imported without 

 felt, and 120 general and 78 minimum if with felt. 



I w.AS informed recently by Mr. L. Spencer, managing director 

 of the Gorton Rubber Co., Limited, that they had enlarged their 

 factory and taken on many more hands. 

 Now I hear that they have gone a step 

 further and obtained possession of the 

 Droylsden Rubber Works, not far aw'ay, so as to have still more 

 accommodation for the increase of their tire trade, though other 

 goods for which the Droylsden works have long been noted will 

 be manufactured as before. Messrs. Charles Macintosh & Co , 

 Limited, have also added considerably to their premises by tak- 

 ing over the adjoining works occupied for so many years by 

 Messrs. Robert Peel & Co., Limited, now a branch of the Brad- 

 ford Dyers' Association. I understand that the newly acquired 

 premises will be used chiefly for the manufacture of motor tires, 

 a department that has shown a great increase of late. I regret 

 to say that Colonel R. K. Birley. managing director of the firm, 

 has had a prolonged illness and been quite unable to attend to 



ENLARGEMENT 

 OF WORKS. 



