September i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



379 



EVIDENCES OF GREAT PROSPERITY. 



A NOTABLE summary of business conditions appears in 

 The Iron Age (New York, July 31), in the shape of re- 

 ports from 254 representative hardware merchants, scattered 

 over all the states in the American Union. While these con- 

 cise, business like letters are devoted primarily to the hardware 

 trade, they relate incidentally to the leading industrial and 

 business interests of their respective localities — agricultural, 

 manufacturing, mining, or what not. Throughout the whole 

 is apparent a vein of conservative expression, as befits the heads 

 of houses many of which have long been engaged in business, 

 and an absence of any enthusiasm engendered by " booms " or 

 speculation. The letters have not been asked for with a view 

 to promoting any particular sentiment, but in the ordinary 

 work of The Iron Age in presenting occasionally a picture of 

 the business situation, and as the names and locations of the 

 merchants reporting are not printed, the latter have nothing to 

 gain or lose by giving other than correct statements of condi- 

 tions as they see them. There are reports of good trade in the 

 last six months, and reports of bad trade, while the predictions 

 for the second half of the year range from extreme optimism to 

 extreme pessimism. But on the whole these letters reveal an 

 amazing condition of prosperity. 



" The demand for goods has been greater than in any previ- 

 ous year " (Delaware) ; " our business excelled anything we ever 

 did before " (Ohio) ; " business has increased from 20 to 25 per 

 cent." (Michigan) ; " this is our 104th year in business, and the 

 spring trade was the largest we ever had " (Pennsylvania) ; 

 " away beyond all expectations " (Iowa) ; " demand greater than 

 in any former year " (California) — this is how the letters begin. 

 Four out of five reports are in this encouraging vein, while the 

 others mention strikes in mining regions, drought in farming 

 sections, or some other local detriment to business which they 

 believe will be of short duration. 



It is from the agricultural states that the most enthusiastic 

 reports come. More than half the letters refer to heavy crops, 

 good prices, and prosperous farmers ; less than 50 reports are 

 of a different nature. " The financial condition of the farmers 

 was never better" (Ohio); "our farmers are doing a great 

 amount of building and making improvements of every kind " 

 (Indiana) ; " farm lands have advanced from 25 to 50 per cent." 

 (Michigan); "high prices for farm products are stimulating 

 business" (Illinois) ; " farmers never had more money " (Wis- 

 consin) ; "everybody who makes an effort seems to be prosper- 

 ous " (Virginia) ; " this will be a banner year for the farmers " ' 

 (Kansas) ; " the prospects for a good crop were never better " 

 (Missouri) ; " the farmers are all out of debt and have money 

 to loan " (Iowa) ; "the high prices of all stock have put farm- 

 ers in better condition to buy, and for cash " (Washington) ; 

 "condition of the farmer better than ever before" (Oregon); 

 " the people have paid up many of the mortgages on their 

 farms and are getting generally out of debt" (Maine); "our 

 farmers never had more money " (New Jersey) ; " the farmers 

 are enjoying prosperity " (Pennsylvania). Wherever these 

 conditions prevail the farmers are buying goods freely and 

 paying cash for them, building houses, and improving their 

 farms. Where crop conditions have not been so good, it is 

 mentioned that at least they are not going in debt. As a Kan- 

 sas merchant reports : " One small crop will not affect our 

 prosperity." 



Collections are specifically referred to as good in 125 reports, 

 and as poor in 50 reports, while favorable conditions may be 

 inferred from most of the others. " Collections extra good " 

 (Ohio) ; " better than usual "^(Maine) ; " better than since 1892" 



(Rhode Island) ; " collections good, except in some cases when 

 customers seem to be letting their bills run behind to invest 

 in stocks, trust companies, etc. " (New Jersey); "collections 

 have been unusually good " (Alabama) ; "collections are good 

 and we are picking up some old scores on account of better 

 times " (Oregon) ; " most of our customers pay cash ; this is the 

 best of all " (New Jersey). 



Building operations are referred to very generally, since 

 builders' hardware is so important an item of trade, and in this 

 respect, too, the larger percentage of the reports is favorable, 

 as relates both to city and country. Much building is reported 

 throughout New York state. "We expect to have a busy fall 

 on account of new buildings going up " (Pennsylvania) ; " more 

 building in prospect than for several years" (Delaware); 

 " building is far in excess of previous season " (Maryland) ; •' de- 

 mand for builders' hardware better than we have ever known " 

 (Ohio) ; " more building going on and new enterprises started 

 than usual" (Illinois); "unusual amount of building" (Vir- 

 ginia); "trade in builders' hardware exceptionally brisk" 

 (Louisiana) ; " building operations are at high water mark " 

 (Minnesota). Several reports state that building has been re- 

 tarded by scarcity and high prices of material, and strikes of 

 carpenters for higher wages, which fact of itself is regarded as 

 an indication of prosperity. Labor nearly everywhere is re- 

 ported to be fully employed. 



These reports make but slight mention of rubber goods, or, 

 for that matter, of most lines of stock carried by the hard- 

 ware man, but they are referred to here as describing business 

 conditions which are favorable to every branch of manufac- 

 turing for the retail trade. Good crops in most states, dis- 

 posed of generally at good prices, not only benefit the farmers, 

 but add to the prosperity of villages and cities, increase the 

 wealth of the country, and enable every class to spend more 

 money — and every class of buyers includes consumers of rub- 

 ber goods. 



SOME RUBBER LIKE COMPOUNDS. 



ALMOST as long as the rubber business has existed there 

 have been certain compounds in the line of plastics 

 that have a physical resemblance to rubber and that are used 

 where a certain amount of resilience is required. Indeed, in 

 one or two instances they have been sold to rubber manufac- 

 turers as new and valuable substitutes for rubber. The basis 

 of these compounds as a rule are glue and glycerine, both of 

 which have an affinity for water which renders them useless in 

 many lines where they would otherwise be valuable. One of 

 these for printers' rollers (the Jackson compound) is made of 

 16 pounds glue, 16 pounds glycerine, i pound borax, i pound 

 Japan. A variation of this compound is Borcherdt and Berg- 

 man's composition for the manufacture of dolls' heads, hands, 

 and feet. This is 5 pounds of glue, 10 pounds sugar, 2 1/2 

 pounds glycerine, 3 pounds Perry's white. It is quite similar 

 to the composition of Doebrich : i pound glue, % pound 

 glycerine, yi pound sugar, i tablespoonful of flour, with a little 

 albumen and coloring matter. None of the above uses appeal 

 directly to the rubber trade, yet the glue and glycerine com- 

 pound is quite largely used as a covering for gas tubing. It is 

 a curious fact that gas easily penetrates the thickest sort of 

 rubber tube, but if that tube be covered with the glue and 

 glycerine compound it is practically impervious. The Barr 

 compounds for gas tubing, are 10 pounds glue, 12 pounds 

 glycerine, 4 ounces soap, i ounce borax, )i ounce copperas. 

 A later and simpler compound comprises 30 pounds glue, 30 

 pounds glycerine, \% ounces bichromate of potash. 



