July i, 1909.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



357 



is to extend this business to Canada and Mexico. It 

 does not appear that any deposit of gilsonitc — otherwise 

 elaterite or mineral caoutchouc — has been discovered 

 in Canada and Mexico, but works are to be erected in 

 these countries to manufacture the stuflf into insulating 

 material and to prepare it for other well-known uses, one 

 of which is a so-called flux, in the rubber manufacture. This 

 material has long been known to occur in the limestone of 



Derbyshire, England, but in too small quantities to make its 

 commercial exploitation likely to prove successful. A quite 

 new department is, however, the establishment of asphalt 

 works at a Derbyshire limestone quarry where the rock con- 

 tains a good deal of bitumen. There is, however, no such 

 vein of solid bitumen as is found at Utah and has been 

 proved to a depth of 850 feet. [Further details occur in our 

 department of N'cws of the American Rubber Trade.] 



The Rubber Interest in Europe. 



TO MAKE "ZAKINGUMMI" IN GERMANY. 



ACOMP.'\Ny has been registered at Nordhausen under the 

 style Deutsche Zakinwxrke, Actiengesellschaft, with a 

 capital of 500,000 marks [=::$i 19,000], for the purpose of 

 manufacturing and utilizing substances similar to india-rubber, 

 and more particularly "Zakingummi." a substitute mvented by 

 Olsson, of Sweden. [See The Indi.\ Rubher World, June i, 1907 

 — page 268] The company likewise intends to participate in sim- 

 ilar and other enterprises, whenever such participation is likely to 

 be of assistance in the attainment of the company's purposes. The 

 capital has been subscribed for at par by the organizers, Messrs. 

 Robert Petzold, a merchant of Elberfeld ; Friedrich Fisher, cap- 

 italist ; Dr. Paul Schencke, pharmacist; Hermann Rathsfeld, 

 manufacturer ; and Fritz Fischer, engineer, of Nordhausen. The 

 directors are : F. Fischer, H. Rathsfeld, and Erich Jiiger, mer- 

 chant. The managers of the company are Robert Petzold, of 

 Elberfeld, and Dr. Paul Schencke, pharmacist, of Nordhausen. 



BUSINESS OF METZELER & CO. 



At the last annual meeting of Actiengesellschaft Metzeler & 

 Co. ( Munich \ the reports for the business year 1908 were 

 approved and a dividend of S per cent, declared, as usual. In 

 regard to business during the current year, the meeting was 

 informed that the company had received ample orders and that it 

 still had a stock of crude rubber bought at favorable prices, but 

 that it would have to rely for further supplies on the open mar- 

 ket, which is at present unsteady, as soon as the stock on hand 

 had been worked up. The outlook for the business in surgical 

 and technical rubber goods, as well as for the bicycle tire busi- 

 ness, was stated to be favorable, while sales of pneumatic tires 

 for automobiles had recently shown a material increase, com- 

 pelling the works to increase the number of working hours. 



AMERICAN RUBBER FOOTWEAR ON THE CONTINENT. 



The Hamburg firm of Rkcrt Brothers (consisting of Leon. 

 Maximilian and Joseph Ekert), ^lvho!esalers of rubber footwear, 

 is the subject of a lengthy article in Dcr Schuhmarkt (Frankfort 

 o/M., June 3). They have devoted their attention largely to 

 the trade in American rubber shoes on the continent. Our con- 

 temporary says : 



"There was a time when dealers were averse to handling light 

 American rubber shoes, averring that the public was buying rub- 

 ber shoes according to their weight, considering the heaviest 

 shoes to be the best, and that only a heavy rubber shoe could 

 satisfy the customer. It did not take them long, however, to 

 change their views, after these light, elegant rubber shoes had 

 been given a trial, and within a few years the light weight goods 

 have been most satisfactorily introduced into all the more high- 

 class stores. The demand for the 'Candee' and 'Boston' rub- 

 ber shoes increased to such an extent that the Ekert firm was 

 no longer able to find room for its stock in leased warehouses, 

 but proceeded to erect a new warehouse, which at the present time 

 always contains a stock of many thousand cases. Assorted ac- 

 cording to grades and sizes, the trade finds in this warehouse 

 the goods of the two brands named and the product of several 

 other manufacturing concerns who have granted the Ekert firm 

 the exclusive right of sale in most countries. Inasmuch as the 

 European business is mainly conducted from the Hamburg 



warehouse, the same contains special styles for various coun- 

 tries, and we believe we may state that the stock comprises 

 150 different grades of rubber shoes. A few years ago a special 

 sporting goods department was added to the business, and now 

 enjoys a large trade. In this connection we shall confine our- 

 selves to mentioning the widely known 'Scrum' footballs and 

 boots, and the 'Mermaid' tennis shoes, shoes for gymnasts and 

 sandals. In addition to the main warehouse at Hamburg, the 

 firm maintains special warehouses in a number of large German 

 and foreign cities, which place it in a position to promptly meet 



immmmm^::^mk/'^ 



fT.:y.l ( .tf,pj , 



i.MJl; 



, Ekert BROtHERs, "Ekerthaus," Hamburg. 

 " ■ > ■ ^ I' ' . - 

 the demands of its extensive trade... The firm of Ekert Brothers 

 can point to 15 years of successful work, and in view of an 

 efficient force of traveling salesmen and agents, the future ex- 

 tension of the business may be expected to fully equal its develop- 

 ment in the past." 



THE ANNEXATION OF THE CONGO. 



Under the auspices of the chamber of commerce at Antwerp, 

 beginning on June 6, occurred a notable "patriotic manifestation" 

 commemorating the annexation of the Congo Free State to Bel- 



