September i, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER "WORLD 



403 



THE INDIA-RUBBER TRADE IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



THE recently issued prospectus of the Motor Pneumatic 

 Tyre Co., Limited, has met with a good deal of adverse 

 criticism in motoring circles. The company acquires 

 from the British Motor Tyre Syndicate of Manchester 

 the Seddon lire patent, the benefit of agreements for the sale 

 of the American, French, and Belgian patents, and 

 MOTOR an agreement for the manufacture of the tire by 

 ..„,,- David Moseley & Sons, Limited. For this the sum 



NOrEo. 



of /^i 50,000 is asked. The Seddon patent, it may 

 be mentioned, has yet twelve years to run, but the company 

 acquires no works or premises — merely an agreement to give 

 one firm the monopoly of manufacture. The fact that the 

 vendor is to get ^10,000 for underwriting ;/J5o,ooo, the mini- 

 mum on which the directors will go to allotment is rather sig- 

 nificant of doubts as to the public response, seeing that such 

 underwriting is usually done at 5 per cent, and not 20 per cent. 

 These comments have to do merely with finance and do not 

 touch on the intrinsic value of the tire. The estimates of 

 pVofits arc based on the supply of 5 per cent, of the motor tires 

 used in Great Britain. This does not seem an extravagant es- 

 timate, but from what I gather it is still some way from attain- 

 ment.=^Motor tire repair outfits are being extensively adver- 

 tised by an increasing number of firms, among whom I may 

 mention Harvey Frost & Co. (London), as having made a 

 name for their H. F. vulcanizer. With regard to the matter 

 generally, however. I do not find any overweening anxiety on 

 the part of motorists to burden themselves with such extra 

 tackle. They have quite enough to do they say without ac- 

 quiring the rubber manufacturer's art. It is more advisable in 

 their opinion, to carry some spare tubes and replace the punc- 

 tured one. This is then sent to a repairer, who puts a patch 

 on for IS. 6d. in the course of a few days.^^~ It is customary in 

 the case of a new car for the huyer to specify the make of tire 

 he wants and this is fitted at the same cost for all tires. In 

 the case of new tires, the market price of the particular tire 

 wanted has to be paid. At present Michelin's continue the 

 dearest, though on all sides one hears that it is worth the 

 money. Moseley 's new tire can be bought at a cheaper rate 

 and it is favorably spoken of, more particularly on account of 

 the ease with which it can be attached or detached. The 

 chief disadvantage to it in the case of motorists who are not 

 too well off, is that it requires a special wheel and it is the pro- 

 spective purchase of this which has militated against its more 

 general adoption. — However, despite the progress made by 

 British firms, very little inroad has been made upon the su- 

 premacy of the Michelin and Continental motor tire business, 

 and the British makers admit that their progress is slow, 

 though they do not admit the superiority of the French and 

 German makes. Now that ignition is being generally carried 

 out by voltaic electricity at a pressure it is said of 30.000 volts, 

 special high tension cable is necessary. This is now sold in 

 different qualities from i to 3 shillings per yard and as a break- 

 down would prove a serious matter, the best quality, with a 

 very strong rubber insulation, has the greatest sale. This con- 

 nects the sparking plug with the storage battery carried on the 

 motor. The Sphinx 20 ampere-hour battery is in great favor, 

 dry batteries having proved somewhat unsatisfactory. 



The publicity given in all sorts of newspapers and journals 

 to the bottle ring scare has naturally caused the topic to be dis- 



cussed by all sorts of people whose knowledge 

 ni,o=<ro of 'he rubber trade is infinitesimal. I have 

 DANGERS. been an amused listener to conversations on the 

 subject at garden parties, etc., where the min- 

 eral water bottle has made its appearance and have been told 

 that the beverage contains a large amount of antimony in solu- 

 tion. " Cheap, convenient, and killing." is the headline of an 

 article that has gone the round of the papers and which is 

 still in circulation. As I think I have said before it seems to 

 me that the only danger to be apprehended is from particles of 

 the worn rings being swallowed. As long as rings which are 

 worn or decayed are kept in use it is advisable to take care that 

 any sediment at the bottom of the bottles is not poured into 

 theglass. A warning on these lines might usefully be given in 

 the press to the public : it would be far more in consonance 

 with the facts than are the alarmist paragraphs that have ap- 

 peared. The Z(i«(rc/ of June 24 in an editorial says : " The use of 

 a mineral com pound containing an undoubtedly poisonous metal 

 is always undesirable even in small quantities, where articles 

 of food and drink are concerned." The Lancet, however, is a 

 notoriously alarmist journal and its warnings against this or 

 that alleged danger to human life do not often result in action. 



At the annual meeting held in London in July the Amer- 

 ican visitors did not include any representatives of the rubber 

 trade as far as I was able to ascertain. The meet- 



sociETY OF jng ,yas mostly given up to festivities and was 



CHEMICAL , J . Hi- L ^^ 



INDUSTRY favored by exceptionally fine weather. One 

 item which was arranged at the eleventh hour 

 was a reception at Dorchester House, Park lane, the new 

 home of the American embassy, by Mr. and Mrs. Whitelaw 

 Reid, whose hospitality was much appreciated. Another item 

 of even greater interest was the unexpected reception at Buck- 

 ingham Palace of six of the prominent members by the King. 

 The command came during the progress of the garden party 

 given by Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher Moulton and naturally caused 

 a flutter of excitement. The two Americans received were 

 Mr. W. H. Nichols, of New York, the president of the society, 

 and Professor Chandler, of Columbia University, a past presi- 

 dent. 



The recently issued report of the Leyland and Birmingham 

 Rubber Co., Limited, is not particularly cheerful reading for 

 the shareholders, though its tenor was not un- 

 FiNANCiAL expected after the adumbration of the chair- 

 man at the last meeting. As the principal rub- 

 ber works in this country, or at any rate some of them, are 

 in private hands, and do not publish their results, it is not pos- 

 sible to attempt any general review of the effects produced by 

 the continued high price of the raw material. It may safely 

 be said, however, that the financial results of the different 

 firms are not at all in uniformity. In some cases largely dim- 

 inished profits are shown ; in others the results are considered 

 quite satisfactory. One of the largest firms say they have made 

 quite as much money in the last twelve months as in any of 

 the last few years, though it was added that they had to work 

 harder for it. It would seem then that the very numerous is- 

 sues upon which a successful business depends have still a po- 

 tency as regards the profit and loss account and that the mar- 

 ket price of the raw material is only one factor, albeit a dom- 

 inant one. As regards the north of England, the booming 



