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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June i, 1905. 



RUBBER AT THE RAILWAY EXHIBITION. 



THE exhibition of railway appliances held in Washington 

 during the first half of Ma)', in connection with the meet- 

 ing of the International Railway Congress, has been widely 

 commended as the finest collection of the sort that has ever 

 been brought together in the United States. It includes the 

 showing made at the St. Louis exhibition, with the exception 

 of such heavy items, for instance, as the locomotive testing 

 plant of the Pennsylvania railroad. The exhibition was in per- 

 fect order by May 3, the date of the opening, and the total cost 

 must have been very large. The result was most satisfactory, 

 and however important the meeting of the railway congress 

 may have been from other standpoints, the fact remains that 

 the exposition was the feature of the congress that attracted 

 public attention, and that without it this assemblage of the 

 railway notables of the world would have made a far less tan- 

 gible impression. 



The exposition is of significance as showing that a closer re- 

 lationship has been established between the supply men and 

 the railroads to whose necessities they cater. ,'Vnother point of 

 interest is that this being an international congress, with may 

 visitors from abroad, an important illustration has been given 

 of the completeness of the American market for the lines of 

 goods which enter into railway construction and equipment. 



The exhibition, with its scores and scores of important dis- 

 plays, has been of interest from many viewpoints — for instance, 

 on account of the prominence of electricity in connection with 

 steam railway transportation. Space can be given in these 

 columns only to the exhibits made by rubber manufacturers, 

 and by the manufacturers of other appliances or supplies with 

 which the rubber trade is more or less interested. In addition 

 to the companies named below the leading air brake manufac- 

 turers were all represented : 



EXHIBITS OF RUBBER MANUFACTURERS. 



The Diamond Rubber Co. (Akron, Ohio). — Sheet rubber for gaskets, 

 plain and wire bound rubber hose, packings, mats, and a general line of 

 mechanical rubber goods. 



The Hartford Rubber Works Co, (Hartford, Connecticut) — A large 

 line of air, steam, and water hose ; packings ; plain and perforated mat- 

 ting ; also a full exhibit of the raw material in the different stages of 

 manufacture. 



Home Rubber Co. (Trenton, New Jersey). — Air brake and steam 

 hose ; also a sample case showing a full line of mechanical rubber goods. 



Mechanical Rubber Co (Chicago). — Full line of rubber goods for 

 railroad use, including air brake hose, locomotive and fender couplings, 

 gaskets, corrugated U shaped steam hose, and rubber fire hose nozzles. 



Mechanical Rubber Co. (Cleveland, Ohio). — Air brake, steam, and 

 water hose ; gaskets, rubber mats and matting, and drug sundries of 

 rubber. 



New York Belting and Packing Co., Limited (New York). --Inter- 

 locking rubber tiling, car heating and air brake hose, gaskets, belting, 

 packing, etc. 



Peerleis Rubber Manufacturing Co. (New York). — " Peerless" steam 

 hose, engine, and tender hose connections ; " Rainbow" sheet packing, 

 and a general line of mechanical rubber goods for railroads. 

 MORE OR LESS ALLIED GOODS. 



Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co. (Chicago). — Pneumatic tools and appli- 

 ances. 



Garlock Packing Co. (Palmyra, New York). — Packings. 



Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Co. (New York).— Pneumatic drills and tools 

 and appliances. 



IL W. Johns-Manville Co. (New York). — Asbestos packing ; Vul- 

 cabeston goods. 



Rand Drill Co. (New York). — Pneumatic drills and tools and appli- 

 ances. 



Robins Conveying Belt Co. (New York). — Three rubber belt convey- 

 ors for handling coal. 



Sprague Electric Co. (New York), — Flexible steel armored hose for 

 compressed air or steam [The Sprague hose was also shown in the 

 exhibit of the General Electric Co.] 



Standard Paint Co. (New York). — " Rubberoid " roofing ; " P. and 

 li." insulation paint. 



Vacuum Cleaner Co. (New York). — Vacuum cleaning apparatus in 

 operation. 



G. S. Wood (Chicago). — "P. and W." rubber preservative for hose 

 also air brake, steam, and fire hose. 



RUBBER (iOODS FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE. 



PROPOSALS have been received as usual at Washington 

 for supplies for the postoffice department and the 

 postal service for the fiscal year beginning July i. The speci- 

 fications include the same quantity of rubber bands (6800 

 pounds) as last year, but less than in some former years. 

 There are also various items — not large in the aggregate — of 

 typewriter and other rubber erasers, penholders " with cork or 

 rubber tips," and so on. 



The requirements for rubber stamps are large and varied, 

 embracing a total of 51,685, under 44 headings, of sizes up to 

 3 '.6 inches; in forms square, circular, triangular, and oval; 

 with and without border line; with and without air cushions ; 

 self inking and otherwise ; with from one to seven lines of type ; 

 in some cases containing only a single date, as " 1905 "; fac- 

 similes of signatures, and so on. Resides, 1000 sets of rubber 

 type are called for, in addition to 10.625 separate items of rub- 

 ber type. A total of 27.600 rubber inking pads are mentioned, 

 and 7440 two ounce bottles of ink for such pads, in addition to 

 2500 pounds of ink. Of " flexible stamps of printers' roller 

 composition," only 6doo are called for, against 7000 last year, 

 and 10,000 during each of the two preceding years, prior to 

 which none had been mentioned. In relation to the " printers" 

 roller composition " the specification reads : 



The stamp to consist of a composition of glue, glycerin, and borax ; 

 the glue capable of absorbing not less than 10 parts by weight of water 

 to I part of glue when allowed to stand in contact with water for 24 

 hours at a temperature of 20° C: glycerin to be chemically pure and 

 having a specific gravity of not less than 1.2550 at I5J2°C.; these in- 

 gredients to be in the following proportions : 55 pounds of glue, 45 

 pounds of glycerin, and i pound of powdered borax, thoroughly boiled, 

 and must not gain in weight by absorption of water or steam more than 

 5 per cent. 



It would appear that rubber " postmarking and cancelling 

 stamps" are to be required for the first time, these including 

 the name of the postoffice and state, and containing a space to 

 receive the date, and mounted on an air cushion base, of which 

 1 1. 000 are required, in addition to the usual number of rubber 

 " dating stamps " for use in the money order and registered 

 letter services. Metal postmarking and cancelling stamps con- 

 tinue, however, to be required in large numbers. 



Rubber Boots and Sauerkraut.— Writing of the sauer- 

 kraut industry at Clyde, Ohio, which is said to be larger than 

 in any other town in the world, a newspaper correspondent de- 

 scribes one feature of the manufacture as the " stamping " pro- 

 cess. After the cabbage heads have been sliced by machines 

 into " slaw," and salt has been added, the mass is thrown into 

 vats of 100 barrel capacity, to be " stamped." The correspond- 

 ent says: " The stamping is done by a force of men who wear 

 rubber boots made especially for this purpose." It is encourag- 

 ing to read farther that " great care is taken tp have everything 

 clean in connection with each operation." 



