256 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1, 1913. 



J. Murray Percival, who was for many years assistant fore- 

 man of the cutters at the Ahce Mill of the Woonsocket Rubber 

 Co., left that position early this month. A watch and fob were 

 presented to him by his fellow employes. 



* * * 



Mrs. Isabella E. Norris, daughter of the late Francis M. 

 Dimond, Governor of Rhode Island in 18S3, and mother of 

 Samuel Norris, of New York City, secretary of the United 

 States Rubber Co., died at her home in Bristol, R. I., on No- 

 vember 26. She was in her 86th year. Her last illness was 

 short, death being due principally to old age. 



Mrs. Norris was born in Providence. She went to Bristol 

 to live when a girl. She was long active in work of St. 

 Michael's Episcopal Church in that town. 



* * * 



Clifton A. Hall, 87 years old, died at his home, 380 Benefit 

 street. Providence, January 12. He was one of the oldest archi- 

 tects in New England, and was the originator of modern well- 

 lighted manufacturing establishments. One of his early pro- 

 ductions was the plant of the National India Rubber Co., Bristol. 



* * * 



T. O. Doyle, overseer of dyeing at the British Hosiery Co.'s 

 plant, has accepted a position with the International Rubber Co. 

 at West Barrington. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN CHICAGO. 



By a Resident Correspondoil. 



IN all but two lines of the rubber industry in Chicago, manufac- 

 turers, jobbers and dealers report good business for the month 

 of January. Despite the fact that the weather has been de- 

 cidedly inclement since the middle of the month, which is due to 

 a heavy snowstorm and subsequent rains, footwear has been 

 moving sluggishly and this condition of affairs has caused keen 

 disappointment in all quarters. It was the general belief that 

 the footwear market would show a degree of activity after the 

 advent of the heaviest snowstorm of the season, but jobbers and 

 dealers report that there has been but a slight improvement 

 over December, and they do not look for much activity until the 

 advent of spring. 



Rubber hoof-pads is the other line that has failed to show any 

 evidence of activity, and dealers do not hesitate to say that the 

 sales are not near so good as for the same period last year. 

 However, they do not overlook the fact that severe cold weather 

 was the programme in Chicago for a period of six weeks last 

 year, while during January of this year the temperature at no 

 time reached a low mark. But the dealers in hoof-pads say that 

 the market has shown a gradual improvement since the middle 

 of January, and if the weather would change to colder and re- 

 main that way for a week or more, there would undoubtedly be 

 an activity that would to a degree make up for the sluggish 

 condition of the market since the beginning of winter. 



Incidentally it may be stated that the Society for the Preven- 

 tion of Cruelty to Animals and two prominent Chicago news- 

 papers have been active of late in urging upon drivers the neces- 

 sity of providing hoof-pads for their horses. The newspapers 

 have pointed out that the horses lose at least 60 per cent, of their 

 energy in trying to maintain their feet on the slippery cobble- 

 stones and asphalt, and that consequently drivers are alone to 

 blame because of the fact that so many of them neglect to pro- 

 vide foot pads. Hoof-pad dealers feel that if the teamsters can 

 be made to realize the truth of the assertions made by the news- 

 paper, the market should show an unusual activity during the 

 remainder of the winter. 



But the real feeling of cheer appears to be monopolized by the 

 mechanical rubber goods manufacturers, jobbers and dealers, 

 who report that they could not be better satisfied with the 

 sales that they have made of almost every item since the first 



of the year. Furthermore, they state that the mechanical rubber 

 goods market is showing constant improvement and they an- 

 ticipate a heavy spring business. Reports from all of the steel 

 mills in the vicinity of Chicago are that orders are coming in 

 much faster than anticipated for this season. Another pleasing 

 feature is that none of the mills has been laying off men, but 

 on the contrary are working full time. This state of affairs is 

 very encouraging to mechanical rubber goods men, and they as- 

 sert that they are receiving larger orders from the steel mills at 

 the present time than at the same period last year. There is 

 also much activity in western mines, which is largely responsible 

 for the present prosperity of Chicago mechanical rubber goods 

 manufacturers. 



"So far as our house is concerned, the demand for the various 

 items of mechanical rubber goods is about the same as for this 

 period of last year," said a representative of the Quaker City 

 Rubber Co. "Orders for tires have been coming in stronger than 

 we had anticipated, and this is due to the more general use of 

 automobiles in Chicago during the winter season. Mining busi- 

 ness is good in certain sections, and a most gratifying feature is 

 that the large steel mills at Gary, Ind., South Chicago and other 

 points contiguous to Chicago are working full force." 



* * * 



The fact that automobiles are in such general use in Chicago 

 during the present winter has caused much rejoicing among 

 those who make a specialty of repairing tires. It is said that the 

 number of automobiles in daily use in Chicago since the advent 

 of the present winter far exceeds that of last year, and as a 

 result repairers have about all the work that they can handle 

 conveniently. One prominent repairman has found it necessary 

 to increase his working force, and he asserts that his business is 

 about twice as large as last winter. In the past it had been the 

 belief of automobile owners that the macliiiies were merely a 

 dry-weather convenience, and that it would be the height of 

 absurdity to drive them through the slush and snow of winter. 

 But investigation at most garages reveals that few owners of ma- 

 chines have abandoned them for the winter, and that the number 

 in storage is much smaller than last year. Garage men point 

 out that an automobile can be used in the worst winter weather 

 when it would be a crime to use a horse. 



* * * 



The recent seasonable weather has caused unusual activity in 

 clothing and druggists' sundries. Business in these two items is 

 reported as much better than for the same period last year. The 

 prospects for heavy trade in clothing were not particularly bright 

 at the beginning of the new year. Most dealers were well 

 stocked and manufacturers and jobbers did not look for large 

 orders until the middle of February at the earliest. 



* * * 



The scrap rubber market held its own during the month of 

 January, and from no quarter is complaint heard that the outlook 

 for a heavy spring business is not good. The scrap rubber in- 

 dustry has been developing rapidly in Chicago during the last 

 twelve months, and most of the concerns have found it necessary 

 to employ additional help. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 



By (1 Resident Correspondent. 



NOTHING could have been more cheering than the rains 

 which have been falling during the past two weeks. This 

 has brought the rainfall for the season well up to the average 

 throughout the state, and its timely coming has assured good 

 crops for the farmers, to say nothing of the increased demand 

 for rubber shoes and clothing. The rains were so late in com- 

 ing this year that merchants in the interior had scarcely drawn 

 at all on their stocks of rubber clothing and shoes. But during 



