242 



THE INDIA RUBBER ^WORLD 



[May 



1902. 



RUBBER GOODS MANUFACTURING COMPANY. 



THE third annual meeting of the stockholders of the 

 Rubber Goods Manufacturing Co., incorporated under 

 the laws of New Jersey, was held on April 10, at the 

 registered offices of the company in that state, No. 60 

 Grand street, Jersey City. The annual report of the president, 

 Arthur L. Kelley, presented in printed form and read at the 

 meeting, follows in full : 



"The third business year of the company ended December 

 31, 1901. In conformity with the by laws, I have the honor to 

 report as follows: 



" Your special attention is called to the auditors' reports, 

 presented herewith, which show the gratifying increase in the 

 sales of our allied companies of tYi per cent, over the previous 

 year; and notwithstanding a decrease in the bicycle tire busi- 

 ness, a profit which is highly satisfactory. The large variety 

 of goods manufactured by the allied companies, which practi- 

 cally includes everything except boots and shoes, insures a good 

 business and reasonable profit when trade is in a normal con- 

 dition. 



" Business in all departments has been excellent; the falling 

 oflf in demand for bicycle tires being more than made good by 

 the increased demand for automobile and carriage tires, and gen- 

 eral mechanical rubber goods. The business of two of the tire 

 plants belonging to the company has been consolidated in 

 Hartford, where we have a factory fully equipped to take care 

 of the increased production without a material increase in the 

 overhead expense. The physical condition of all the properties 

 has been maintained, and all are in excellent shape. 



" The following dividends have been paid during the year : 



Two Common $338,834 



Four Preferred 5&3>598 



Total $902,432 



" On the following pages you will find audited reports show- 

 ing : (i) Balance sheet showing condition 



of your company as of December 31, 1901 ; 



(2) Receipts and disbursements of the 



Rubber Goods Manufacturing Co.; (3) 



Earnings and disbursements of allied com- 

 panies." 

 The financial report is fuller in detail 



than has before been presented to the 



shareholders in any rubber manufacturing 



company in this country. It is of interest, 



for one thing, in that comparative ac- 

 counts are presented for each of the three 



years during which the company has been 



in operation. It will be seen that, besides 



paying dividends, $726,000 has been appro- 

 priated out of the earnings for additions 



to plants, and there remain net unapplied 



earnings, belonging to the Rubber Goods 



Manufacturing Co., of $613,663. This 



would permit the payment of 7 per cent. 



on the preferred stock of the company 



throughout 1902 (amounting to $563,598), 



and still leave a balance, even if no profit 



should be made this year. The showing 



would have been less favorable, however, 



if four common stock dividends had been 



paid last year, instead of only two — which 



fact confirms the judgment of the board in voting to suspend 

 the payment of common stock dividends until the company 

 should have accumulated funds to protect it against any pos- 

 sible emergency. It will be seen, too, that in estimating gross 

 profits, the cost of repairs and maintenance plants has first 

 been deducted, while a substantial amount has been written off 

 for depreciation. 



The item in the list of assets — 



Treasury stock at cost .$294,443.60 



relates to certain shares of the preferred stock of the company 

 issued to the American Bicycle Co. in part payment for the 

 Hartford Rubber Works and other tire factories, and which 

 the Rubber Goods Manufacturing Co. agreed to redeem and 

 did redeem within a certain period. These shares are carried 

 on the books of the latter company at cost, which sum is 

 diminished from time to time by the amount of dividends 

 earned by said shares. By this means, ultimately, this account 

 will become extinguished. 



A change in the constitution of the Rubber Goods board 

 was not unexpected. On April i the following circular was 

 sent to the stockholders by a New York firm of bankers and 

 brokers whose connection is close with the so called Keene in- 

 terests in rubber stocks: 



Dear Sir : There will be a contest at the annual meeting ot the 

 Rubber Goods Manufacturing Co., Jersey City, April 10. The manage- 

 ment of the company yesterday sent to all stockholders requests for 

 proxies, together with a number of printed documents, setting forth 

 certain changes in the incorporation and by laws which the management 

 proposed, by the use of the proxies, to consummate at the meeting. 



Under the amendments proposed by the present directors, the power 

 to elect a full board of directors at each annual meeting would be with- 

 drawn from the stockholders, and in lieu thereof there would be created 

 three different classes of directors ; and only one class could be voted for 



BALANCE SHEET. 



[In the report as presented, all statements referred only to the last business year. But for convenience of 

 comparison, the figures for the previous two years are here included, as shown in the first and second annual 



reports.] 



A SSET S. 



Dec. 31, rgol, 



$ 74,323.07 



15,000.00 



876,856.83 



292,443.00 



Cash 



Mortgage notes (for property sold) 



Accounts and bills receivable 



Treasury stock at cost 



Plants owned $110,000.00 



Furniture owned 856.05 



Net earnings of properties less amount 



received to date 



Investments. Stocks of allied companies. 



Feb. I, rgoi. 

 $425,746.42 



45,585.19 



Feb. 10, 1900 

 $318,246.72 



765, 589. 5 1 



110,856.05 



24,928,646.83 



1,271,783.77 

 25.141,149 09 



557.297-04 

 22,129,732.28 



Total $26,298,125.78 



LIABILITIES. 

 Dec. 31, 1901. 

 Bills payable (for money borrowed). . . . | 450,000.00 

 Accounts payable, to allied companies. . 597.326 42 



Accounts payable, to others 53.657.44 



Deposits by companies 



Preferred stock 8,051,400.00 



Common stock 16,941,700.00 



$26,884,264.47 $23,770,865.55 



Feb. 1, 1901. 



Feb. 10, igoo. 



$ 



405,317-33 



8,051,400.00 



16,941,700.00 



7,621,300.00 

 15,134,000.00 



Total $26,094,083. 86 



$25,398,417.33 



$1,485,847.14 



$22,755,900.00 

 $1,014,965.55 



Surplus $204,041.92 



[Owing to a change in the method of presenting these reports, there should be added to the surplus on 

 December 31, 1901, the sum of $613,663.61— unapplied net earnings of the allied companies as explained 

 on the next page. There should be further added the item of $726,1)00.77, " appropriated for additions to 

 plants," also mentioned further on, to show the total amount for the last year, to correspond with the item 

 " Surplus " in the preceding reports — or a total of $1,648,706.30.] 



