August i, 1909.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



389 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 



B\" A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



■VV/llEX a dealer in rubber goods commences to express his 

 '" opinion with regard to business and financial conditions 

 in San Francisco and on tlie coast during the past month he 

 ahnost invariably says that conditions have been exceedingly 

 bad. He says that business is dead, that there is no demand 

 for anything and he wonders what can be the matter because 

 he has never seen things so quiet in this territory. After 

 thinking the matter over he tempers his remarks, saying that 

 he has been doing something right along, but that business is 

 not active and is far from what it should be. Again he is apt 

 to say that it is just about what should be expected at this time 

 of the year, or, that he expected dull times this summer, follow- 

 ing the financial stringency through whicli the whole country 

 has passed. He is apt to say that aside from a few retailers in 

 certain mercantile lines who have moved down town in San 

 Francisco where they are paying such high rents that they can 

 hardly make ends meet, that nowhere on the coast is there anybody 

 who is actually suffering, and all of the rubber dealers believe 

 that the fall season will witness the commencement of an active 

 healthy business. The present conditions are rather disagreeable 

 and unpleasant than hard, because there is no great suffering 

 and everybody can hold out until fall at least. What makes it 

 Tiard to understand is that people should be so unprogressive and 

 so unwilling to advance money for improvements and live busi- 

 ness operations when all outside conditions including big crops, 

 for which there is a healthy market, a growing and rapidly 

 developing country, and a large commercial business seems so 

 fully to warrant busier times. The tariff question interests 

 Western people almost not at all, and they think that there is 

 plenty of money here on the coast. 



The Phoenix Rubber Co., one of the new firms in San Fran- 

 cisco, report that they have been rather busy during the past 

 month, due largely to the tire business which they have been 

 favored with. This firm has succeeded in gaining a firm foothold 

 in the trade during stringent times, so that they are confident of 

 making a good success when conditions get back to normal again. 

 Mr. Ralph states that the tire business has been particularly 

 active. The big lumber mills which have been closed down are 

 showing some signs of activity now, some opening for active 

 operations, which promises well for the mechanical goods trade. 



Mr. Ralph pointed to the railroad development work going on 

 Tiere as showing the confidence which the big railroads have 

 in the city. Seattle and Los Angeles have grown to be large 

 cities, but there is room for big cities located as they are without 

 interfering at all with the development of San Francisco. When 

 tlie Panama canal is in operation this bay will he the center for 

 a tremendous ocean traffic. The farmers through the state have 

 had one of the most ideal and prosperous seasons. These are 

 a few of the things, said Mr. Ralph, which will lead to a renewal 

 of business confidence and activity. 



The Bowers Rubber Works are about to establish a distribut- 

 ing warehouse in Los Angeles for the greater convenience of their 

 customers in the southern part of the territory. 



Mr. Joseph V. Selby, Pacific coast manager for the Boston 

 Woven Hose and Rubber Co.. states that he considers the out- 

 look for fall business very favorable, in view of the bountiful 

 crops and the satisfactory prices which the producers will receive. 



The garage owners of Alameda county held a meeting lately 

 for the purpose of aiding in the formation of the national organiza- 

 tion of garage men who are organizing for the purpose of secur- 

 ing great concessions in the price of tires. The idea of the 

 garage men is that if they get all of the garage people in all 

 of the states to form a purchasing organization they will be able 

 to import tires from Europe, and after paying the duty, still 

 make the prices lower than now. 



Mr. George Sweeney, of Eccles & Smith Co., and Mr. Henry 



Martine, manager of the Gutta Percha and Rubber Manufac- 

 turing Co., are among the Elks who attended the grand assem- 

 blage of Elks held in Los Angeles recently. 



L. L. Torrey, manager for the Pennsylvania Rubber Co. in San 

 Francisco, states that business continues to be good enough con- 

 sidering the times, and that collections are holding up fairly 

 well. 



Mr. Winslow, manager for the Pacific Coast Rubber Co., reports 

 that business is just about what everybody had expected at this 

 time of the year, and consequently were prepared for — that is, 

 quiet. 



THE RUBBER TRADE AT AKRON. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



'T'HE fact that manufacturers' profits were threatened by the 

 ^ unprecedented rise in the prices of crude rubber is ad- 

 vanced by Akron tire men as the reason for the advance in the 

 prices of tires which went into effect with all of the principal 

 tire companies on July 16. It was affected uniformly after 

 several conferences in Akron and Cleveland between representa- 

 tives of the various companies. The new consumers' prices are 

 almost identical in the lists of the different manufacturers. The 

 increase amounted to 15 per cent, in most cases, and more in 

 others. 



Tire manufacturers here are inclined to ascribe the rise in the 

 crude rubber market in good part to the remarkable demand for 

 mechanical rubber goods that has become apparent within the 

 last few months. As compared with the slack conditions in this 

 branch of the trade following the depression of last year, the 

 present increase comes as a reaction. Factories are working 

 with night forces to fill orders for hose, packing, and other 

 mechanical goods used in various industries. This demand is 

 looked upon as a sequence to the resumption of activity in 

 factories in all branches of industry. 



The B. F. Goodrich Co., with a view to future expansion of 

 their factory, purchased recently a tract of four acres on Main 

 street, adjoining the plant on the north. The land was bought 

 from the Brewster Coal Co.. and has 440 feet frontage on the 

 street. Part of it extends to the canal in the rear. There is 

 room on this land to increase the size of the Goodrich factory 

 nearly 50 per cent. 



Frank R. Tate, formerly of Akron, has resigned as manager of 

 the St. Louis branch of The B. F. Goodrich Co., and will enter 

 the automobile business. No successor has been appointed as yet, 

 but the business of the branch is being conducted by the assistant 

 manager, J. A. Peterson. 



The B. F. Goodrich Co. have issued a convenient "Trip Record 

 Book" for automobilists. It has spaces for records of time, auto- 

 meter and speedometer readings, the conditions of roads, hotels, 

 garages and experiences with tires. Opposite each record page 

 is a blank page for memoranda. 



Mr. Joseph W. Kelly, who resigned two years ago as a depart- 

 ment manager in tlie B. F. Goodrich Co., returned on June 28, 

 after living two years in Europe with his family. He will make 

 his home here temporarily. 



Mr. J. T. Hart, formerly with the La Crosse Rubber Mills (La- 

 crosse, Wisconsin), has been secured by The Diamond Rubber 

 Co. to head the establishment and organization of the new boot 

 and shoe factory. Mr. Hart had experience with a number of 

 other rubber companies before he held a position in the Lacrosse 

 company. Officers of the Diamond company are still unprepared 

 to make any definite announcements regarding the details of the 

 new factory, but expect to have the new goods on the market 

 shortly after January i. The new building has been under way 

 some time. 



The Diamond Rubber Co. are placing on the market an inno- 

 vation in the form of a double tube motorcycle tire. Heretofore 

 the company have made only single tube tires for this class of 



