56 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[NoVEMIiER I, 1904. 



ordering for the entire year. Furthermore, a great many who 

 have always bought from hand to mouth have abandoned that 

 policy and are covering their requirements for the season. 

 Among the first to make contracts this fall, are those who last 

 year experienced great inconvenience in getting satisfactory 

 delivery. A year ago raw cotton was selling at g}i cents and the 

 mechanical rubber industry was placing its contracts at from 

 19 to 25 cents per pound, for cotton duck. To-day the duck 

 manufacturers are covered with cotton at from 10 to loyi 

 cents a pound and the rubber manufacturers are making con- 

 tracts at about 20 cents a pound. Comparatively few rubber 

 concerns made a yearly contract last November, preferring to 

 buy their cloth as they needed it. and take the chances on having 

 to pay a higher price. This proved to be rather an expensive 

 experiment, as many consumers paid from 25 to 27 cents a 

 pound during the latter part of the season. In fact, the orders 

 came in so rapidly during the late summer months that the 

 manufacturers of duck were compelled to turn them down, and 

 some were obliged to pay 27 cents, as compared with 19 cents, 

 which their competitors who made yearly contracts paid. 



It is understood, however, that some contracts have been 

 made at below 20 cents a pound this year. The minimum 

 quantities contracted for by the mechanical rubber people are 

 said to have been 100 per cent, in excess of those of last year, 

 which tends to show a greater degree of confidence in the raw 

 material market on the part of the rubber manufacturers. It 

 would be difficult to find an idle loom in the duck mills at the 

 present time. Not only has the home demand increased suf- 

 ficiently to put them all at work, but the demand for export has 

 eclipsed the call for many years. During the past fortnight 

 the Japanese government has ordered more than 1,000.000 yards 

 of standard duck to be delivered as soon as the mills can turn 

 them out. These contracts have been distributed among all the 

 duck mills in this country. The recent burning of the LaGrange, 

 Georgia, mill, one of the plants of the United States Cotton 

 Duck Corporation, has made it necessary to place these orders 

 elsewhere for execution, and the rubber manufacturers have no 

 need to fear about deliveries being made m regular order. If 

 there are any mechanical rubber concerns who contemplate 

 purchasing on the hand to mouth principle, it may be to their 

 advantage to know that spot duck is worth at the moment 20 

 cents, but delays may be dangerous, for the duck manufacturers 

 have bought their cotton, and no matter how low the staple 

 may decline the fabric market will not ease off. but is more 

 likely to advance on account of the independence of the 

 cotton manufacturers, who are not looking for much more 

 business. 



Readers of The India Rubber World may recall an arti- 

 cle published in these pages three months ago. in which it was 

 predicted that the price of duck would be based on 10 cent 

 cotton, which situation appears to have materialized. 



From the standpoint of the mechanical rubber manufacturer, 

 the outlook is bright, so far as the textile end Is concerned. 

 They consider the present condition of the market greatly in 

 their favor when compared with that of last year, and if the 

 raw rubber market does not militate against them, there is no 

 reason why the coming year should not be a profitable one. 

 Certainly, they have an easier road to travel in considering 

 their cotton cloth purchases. The finer yarn goods, such as 

 osnaburgs and light-weight sheetings, have not materially 

 changed, although the market is firmer than last year. Con- 

 sumers of this class of goods are not hesitating on account of 

 prices, but are ordering as their necessities dictate. The time 

 IS past when the possibility of lower prices can be considered 

 any inducement for them to wait. 



THE DEFLATED TIRE. 



(from "Till-; FINAN'CIAI. NEWS " (LONDON), SEI'TEMliEK I7.] 



IT must be rare that an event in the history of a company 

 commands such widespread interest as that which the 

 Dunlop Tyre Company celebrated last night — the expiry of its 

 famous patent. Premonitions of the event have of late been 

 forced upon the notice of the cyclist most innocent of cycle 

 company lore in the attractive reductions in the price of " outer 

 covers," by announcing which the man at the cycle shop has 

 tempted his customers to re-cover their wheels ; and the direct- 

 ors and managers of the great company itself, so far from keep- 

 ing quiet about the withdrawal of the legal monopoly for the 

 famous "wired-on" tire, have boldly taken the bull by the 

 horns, and given to the event the f'c/af of a public banquet. In 

 this they have shown themselves wise, as well as bold. Silent 

 treatment of the matter would not have avoided the public 

 knowledge of it, or the access of competition which its coming 

 will mark, with the consequent necessary revision of trade 

 prices ; whereas a dinner, with invitations to the press, and 

 speeches, and all the other concomitants of publicity, brings 

 something additional to the general knowledge : it reminds the 

 public that, though left without the law's protection of privi- 

 lege for its patents, there is life and vigor in the old dog yet. 

 The old firm has not the smallest intention of retiring before 

 the swarm of competitors who may be expected to rise up 

 against it now that competition will be upon more equal terms ; 

 and so, though the festive proceedings last night could not 

 avoid the appearance, to an extent, of a funeral collation, they 

 may also be taken as the celebration of a Phoenix-like rebirth 

 — in more business-like language, a rattling advertisement for 

 the company now commencing to trade under the new 

 auspices. The company deserves its advertisement. The 

 cyclist, short of cash, may have found the price of a new Dun- 

 lop- Welch tire somewhat oppressive at times (though reduc- 

 tions have been made of late years) ; but, being no longer the 

 "cad on castors," upon whom the Sporting rimes lavished its 

 vituperation in days gone by — and no longer so, mainly be- 

 cause Mr. Dunlop and his company made cycling an amuse- 

 ment and a means of locomotion in which everyone could, and 

 did, indulge — the cyclist is not an ingrate; and he cannot alto- 

 gether repress affection for the undertaking whose invention 

 has sped him so many blissful miles. 



That is where the Dunlop company is bound to retain a pull 

 over its competitors for many years to come. Critics of its fi- 

 nance point to the thumping sum for goodwill which appears 

 in its assets — and, true, it is somewhat of an awe- provoking 

 amount, and one which, no doubt, the board will very consider- 

 ably reduce when it reorganizes the company's finances to suit 

 the changed conditions — but the company has acquired, and 

 will retain, a very substantial goodwill. In the days of their 

 patented protection Dunlop tires made for themselves a name 

 of excellence, and it will be long before a purchaser, ofTered the 

 choice at equal, or even approximately equal, prices, between 

 a " Dunlop- Welch " and a " Brown-Jones," will hesitate in his 

 selection. Probably he will become more attached to the Dun- 

 lop than ever; for he will not only have old association to 

 guide him, but tne thought that if in their privileged days these 

 tires were among the best on the market, they are still more 

 likely to be among the best now that the privilege is with- 

 drawn, and the company has to fight for its trade upon condi- 

 tions equal save for such advantage as its name may give 

 to its wares. Meantime, we may express a hope that the com- 

 petition to which the Dunlop company is now to be subjected 

 will not be carried too far. Competition is a healthful tonic; 



