January 1, 1913.; 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



203 



upper floors are used as stock rooms, while the first floor is 

 occupied by offices, and is equipped with every modern oflice en- 

 vironment. From the Cincinnati branch the company covers 

 part of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, having branches under 

 the supervision of the Cincinnati branch in Louisville, Ky., and 

 Dayton, Ohio. R. P. Motte, who for a number of years was 

 connected with Morgan & Wright — before the consolidation — has 

 been selected to head the Cincinnati branch. 



Fred A. Geicr, vice-president of the Cincinnati Ixulilier Mfg. 

 Co.. was one of the principal speakers at the banquet following 

 the annual meeting of the Society for the Promotion of Indus- 

 trial Education, which was held in Philadelphia early in Decem- 

 ber. Mr. Geier's subject was "What the Manufacturer Can Do 

 to Gel Team Play Between the Schoolmaster and the Layman." 



* * * 



Coughlin & Davis, dealers in auto supplies and rubber acces- 

 sories, are about to engage in extensive exportations to the 

 nearer points in South .America. The Arm has been feeling its 

 way to trade relations for some time, and is the first concern in 

 the city, handling such a line, which is going after foreign 

 business. 



* * * 



The local branch of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. made 

 the best of a record made by one of the Goodyear Xon Skid tires, 

 owned by R. Parker Smith, of Fort Wayne. Mr. Smith stated 

 that he has obtained 17.000 miles out of a Goodyear tire and ex- 

 pected to get 20.000. 



* * * 



The plant and assets of the Ohio Motor Car Company, which 

 was placed in the hands of a receiver on petition of the Dia- 

 mond Rubber Company several months ago, have been sold to the 

 Northway Motor Co., which has just been incorporated with a 

 capital stock of $600,000 for the purpose of taking over the plant 



of the former company. 



* * * 



Local retail dealers in rubber sundries and rubber toys are 

 heralding the movement toward a "safe and sane" Christmas, 

 which has been endorsed by local civic organizations. The move- 

 ment started is opposed to costly gifts for Christmas, and as 

 presents for children it is urged that toys of an indestructible 

 nature be given as well as hanriless. This is a boom for dealers 

 of rubber toys, who for several years have been conducting an 

 advertising campaign to promote the sale of these toys, espe- 

 cially for the smaller children, and it now looks as though their 

 efforts will be rewarded, for dealers report a surprisingly large 

 increase in sales of rubber toys this year over previous years. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 



By a Resident Correspondent. 

 ' I 'HE status of the rubber industry has not e.xperienced any 

 ■^ appreciable change during the past month. -All engaged in 

 the business report that the year has been somewhat ahead of the 

 previous one. Indeed the western coast market has grown very 

 considerably and if there were no more houses here than there 

 were ten or twelve years ago. each house would report a sub- 

 stantial increase in business. But the business is now divided 

 between some twenty houses instead of eight or ten. With the 

 increase of business there has been an even greater increase in 

 the number of establishments to take care of it. and this has 

 gradually worked a change in the methods. Even big houses 

 find that they have to look closely to the matter of expenses in 

 order to show a satisfactory profit, and the expense end of the 

 business is more closely attended to now than ever before. 



Rents are high in San Francisco and the merchants are insist- 

 ing that in many cases they are too high. .A local rubber mer- 

 chant found that in Chicago rents in fine sections of the citv are 



no higher than in this city and yet the field there is far greater 

 than here. Outside of the tire industry, which is very active on 

 this coast, the field is limited in comparison with the eastern 

 markets. Of course, owing to the distance between commercial 

 centers, traveling expenses are bound to be higher here and these 

 cannot be very materially reduced, but the feeling is so strong 

 against high rentals that many removals to new locations have 

 resulted, and this is bringing the property owners to realize the 

 fact that it is inadvisable to ask exorbitant prices. As the city 

 has grown following the 1906 fire new buildings have been con- 

 tinually erected, and gradually the rentals in some localities are 

 getting down to a reasonable basis. 



* * * 



The death of "Tom" Rollins last month comes as a sad bit of 

 news to his many friends in the rubber trade. Fie has been for 

 several years manager of the branch of the Fisk Rubber Co. 

 located on Golden Gate avenue and was a man held in high 

 esteem and respect liy the entire trade. 



* * 



W. D. Rigdon. coast manager of the Gorham Revere Rubber 

 Co., with oflices on Fremont street ; H. S. Sachs, president of the 

 Artgravers Co. of New York ; E. H. Farrish, formerly vice- 

 president of the Gorham Rubber Co., and E. S. Vandinwagen 

 and F. C. Cooley. both with the rubber company, have purchased 

 140 acres of the Fairoaks region, near Sacramento, and each of 

 them will immediately start to improve and develop his portion 

 for country residence purposes. The deal involved $20,000. 

 The Trainor-Desmond Co., which negotiated the sale, has con- 

 tracted to plant the property to 3,500 trees, leaving space on each 

 tract for bungalows. The varieties of trees to be planted are 

 oranges, lemons, almonds, olives and French prunes. Most of 

 the purchasers intend to build immediately. 



* * * 



The Goodyear Rubber Co. is rushing w'ork on its new factory 

 on Second and Natoma streets, so that they will be able to move 

 from the temporary quarters which have been found inadequate 

 to the growing demands of the company's business. The new 

 building is of reinforced concrete, two stories in height with 

 basement, and will have a frontage on Natoma street of 145 feet. 

 It is being equipped with every modern facility and within a few 

 weeks the shop will be able to take up its new quarters in one of 

 the finest factories of its kind in the West. 



* * * 



-\rtbur Hamlin, who represents the Gorham-Revere Rubber 

 Co. in the Northwest, is now in San Francisco on a flying visit. 

 He looks after the firm's branch stores in Portland, Seattle, 

 Taconia and Spokane and says that the stores under his super- 

 vision are ahead of the business done last year. 



* * * 



A. H. Gregory, manager of the coast branch of the New York 

 Belting & Packing Co., has returned to this city after visiting 

 the head oflices and branches in the East. He finds that his 

 people are very well satisfied with the results for the year and 

 he also notes that most merchants with whom he talked do not 

 apprehend any trouble from the change in political control. 



* * * 



A. W. Warren, secretary and general manager of the Hodg- 

 man Rubber Co. of New York, has been visiting in San Fran- 

 cisco for a few days and will return to New York by way ol 

 Portland and Seattle. 



Henry D. McCoy, manager of the Chanslor & Lyons Co. of 

 this city, states that his company has secured the agency for the 

 Lee automobile tires made by J. Elwood Lee, and will distribute 

 them through the firm's stores in this city, Los Angeles, Portland, 

 Seattle, Spokane and Fresno. This is the first time that these 

 tires have been represented on the coast. 



E. L. Rettig. Pacific Coast manager for the Federal Tire Co . 

 has opened a branch store and shop on Golden Gate avenue. 



