January i, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



107 



faith and vvichin his full legal rights, but now that the his- 

 tory of the patent is closed, it may be referred to as sug- 

 gesting reasons for revising, in theory and practice, the ap- 

 plication of the patent laws, to the extent of limiting even 

 the temporary success of such attempts at monopoly as 

 made the Dunlop company conspicuous. 



The inventor of a vehicle tire recently patented states 

 in his specification that it " is preferably made of a high grade 

 ol Guttapercha," whereas it is probable that he has never seen 

 any Gutta-percha, and that this material is not at all adapted 

 to the purpose described. If inventors, patent attorneys, and 

 the patent office itself are so careless in the use of the terms 

 •' Rubber " and "Gutta-percha," it is not strange that a great 

 part of the public should regard both as referring to the same 

 substance. 



" The man with the gum shoe is almost as extinct as the 

 dodo," says the able Mirror and Farmer, of Manchester, New 

 Hampshire, in an editorial in which, incidentally, some state- 

 ments made by The India Rurher World are described as be- 

 ing " of especial interest and value." If the New Hampshire edi- 

 tor is still disposed to give weight to anything which may appear 

 in this Journal, we beg to suggest that he would better confer 

 with the rubber footwear manufacturers before again making 

 such an assertion as that nowadays " most men find it unneces- 

 sary to incase their shoes in rubber sandals, even in rainy 

 weather." If the present winter should continue as it started 

 out, the profits of the rubber shoe business may be expected 

 to break all records. 



We might be pardoned for expressing wonder at how 

 the able St. Louis Republic obtained certain information which 

 appeared in the editorial columns of its issue of November 30. 

 But on second thought we have decided to withhold such ex- 

 pression, in view of the matchless enterprise, combined with 

 the marvelous and comprehensive intelligence, which character- 

 izes the modern daily newspaper. All things are possible to 

 the press; at least nothing is hidden from it. The information 

 we refer to is stated in the following words: 



The Rubber Trust is rubbering around in Washington, looking for 

 more protection. It has already increased the price of its goods three 

 times during the year. 



As everybody knows, the trusts work in the dark ; nothing 

 so disconcerts them as to have the newspapers expose their 

 deeds. We feel that the rubber trust never meant to have it 

 known that the price of its goods had been increased, and now 

 that the truth has come out, we shall watch with interest the 

 effect upon the trade. Also, the effect upon the rubber trust. 

 We could wish that the able St. Louis editor had gone further, 

 and worked out this problem : If the rubber trust can increase 

 the price of its goods three times within a year with such pro- 

 tection as it has, how often could it make such increases with 

 " more protection " .-' 



The compliments of the season to the editor of the La 

 V\%\.-i. Advertiser, o\ Colorado! Writing in his paper of " the 

 lately discovered Colorado rubber plant," he says : " We tried 

 to stir up some interest in the matter last year." But the sam- 

 ple he had then " was dried up and too small to properly recog- 

 nize." Hence no progress in 1904. But 1905 is going to be a 

 great year, and we doubt not that the editor of the Adxrertiser 

 will soon obtain a specimen plant of generous size, which he 



will keep well watered through the constant operation of a 

 garden hose, and that he will succeed in stirring up so much 

 interest as to win for himself the first niche in the Hall of 

 Fame which is being erected for the discoverers of rubber in 

 Colorado. 



Was there ever more extreme caution shown than ap- 

 pears in the latest business report of the Soci6l6 La Haute 

 Sangha, a Paris company trading in rubber in the French 

 Congo.' With assets stated at 1.906.668.76 francs, one branch 

 of their undertaking is set down at the following remarkably 

 modest valuation : 



Plantations i franc. 



The explanation given is that it is impossible to state the 

 present actual value. Suppose every planting company was 

 equally solicitous not to excite in the minds ol the stockhold- 

 ers a too lively sense of the value of its plantation ! 



MECHANICALLY ATTACHED TIRES. 



[from " THE HORSELESS AGE," NEW YORK,] 



THE records of the patent office would seem to indicate that 

 a considerable amount of mental energy is being expended 

 throughout the country at the present time in the conception 

 and working out of mechanically attached pneumatic tires. 

 Hardly a week passes but one or more patents are granted on 

 devices of this kind ; and while it is not yet in the class with 

 the non-refillable bottle, it seems likely that it soon will have 

 assumed as many different shapes, and, like its older rival, will 

 have accomplished no good beyond furnishing a source of in- 

 come to the patent attorneys. 



Tires of this type are all much alike in general construction. 

 In fact, the requirements, in so far as attaching and detaching 

 a'-e concerned, are restricted, and the possible structural com- 

 binations so few that inventors have a narrow field in which to 

 exercise their powers of origination, and their results must per- 

 force be nearly alike. Yet so diligently do they stick to their 

 sell- imposed tasks, and so numerous are they, that one is prone 

 to inquire what they are seeking. Is it the solution of the tire 

 problem .•' If so, they are like marksmen who shoot well but 

 know not where to aim. for the solution does not lie in the di- 

 rection in which they are working. 



Real tire trouble consists not in the difficulty experienced in 

 removing a tire from or attaching it to a rim, but rather in the 

 cause which makes its removal necessary, and the motorist is 

 not looking with nearly so much anxiety for the tire that can 

 be easily removed as for the tire that need not be removed. So 

 far as he is concerned, if his tires will stay in proper condition 

 it matters not by what means they are attached, and if his tires 

 do not remain in proper condition the ease or difficulty with 

 which he can remove a quantity of damaged rubber and fabric 

 from the rim of a wheel and substitute for it a new tire of sub- 

 stantial value in dollars and cents usually gives him less con- 

 cern than does the cost of the operation. 



It would seem to be more to the point if those with inventive 

 inclinations who are now working on mechanically attached 

 pneumatic tires were to divert their attention to the production 

 of a tire which will have lasting qualities. Undoubtedly long 

 strides have been made in the development of this tire, espe- 

 cially during the past year, when the proper construction of the 

 fabric to be used and the quality of rubber to be employed have, 

 more than ever before, been made subjects for scientific study, 

 but perfection is still a long way off. However, with a greater 

 number struggling along there is increased likelihood that 

 some one will eventually reach the goal. 



