324 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1913. 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



FIRE AT 

 LEYLAND WORKS. 



A SERIOUS lire broke out early in the morning of January 17 

 at the works of the Leyland and Birmingham Rubber 

 Co., Limited, at Leyland, the resulting loss being some- 

 where near $40,000, which, however, is covered by insurance. It 

 IS a very long time since a British rubber works has experienced 

 such a conflagration, and it has been an 

 arduous time for the directors, all of 

 whom remained at hand for a week. 

 With regard to the business, I am officially advised that compara- 

 tively little interruption has occurred, the boilers and engines 

 being untouched. Moreover there was duplicate machinery at 

 hand. .\ feature of these works is the area of ground covered 

 with low buildings instead of the small space occupied by six or 

 seven story buildings to be found in other important works. The 

 building in which the fire broke out was one of the highest, being 

 of three stories, this being the only part remaining of the origi- 

 nal works. It was used mainly for the manufacture of surgical 

 goods, and naturally contained much inflammable material, though 

 no light at all has so far been thrown upon the origin of the fire. 

 The rebuilding of the burnt portion is now being actively pro- 

 ceeded with on the most modern lines ; and as this has long been 

 contemplated the fire, though not perhaps to be considered a 

 blessing in disguise, has not proved an absolute catastrophe. 



It is announced that Mr. W. H. Veno has retired from the 



board of this company, and that the directors have elected Mr. G. 



„„..,„„„ .-, „,„.„ W. Panter. a large shareholder, in his 



CHANOES AT THE 



GORTON RUBBER place. Mr. Veno was one of the new 

 directors elected in the autumn of 1911, 

 at the time of the first adverse balance sheet. A more surprising 

 announcement is that Mr. George Spencer, the managing director, 

 has resigned all connection with the company. Mr. Gray is suc- 

 ceeded as works manager by Mr. G. W. Price, late of the St. 

 Helens Rubber & Cable Co., Ltd. The sales department remains 

 in the hands of Mr. W. Downs, while Mr. M. M. McGregor, late- 

 ly with the Calico Printers' Association, Ltd., has been appointed 

 cocnmercial manager. Mr. G. H. Cartland, for so long the chair- 

 man of the company, remains at his post, while there is no 

 announcement of a new managing director. 



Che report of the company for its last financial year was re- 

 ferred to in The Indi.\ Rubber World for December last, and it 

 does not need much reading between the lines to see that the late 

 managing director must have had an arduous time in his efforts 

 to put the company again on a dividend paying basis after the 

 relapse in 1911. The company reports that it is full of orders 

 and expects a busy year in connection with the cycle tire trade. 

 This is its most important branch, though playing balls, heel pads 

 and yarious mechanical goods are made at the Gorton works. 



It is announced in the papers that the certificate of the British 

 Fire Prevention Committee has been awarded to CelHt non- 

 flaming cinematograph films, this being 

 the only celluloid substitute thus far to 

 receive it. It can hardly be said that the 

 committee has acted precipitately as the discovery of cellit was 

 announced in 1901 at the works of the well-known Bayer Co. 

 in Germany, though it certainly was not brought to perfection 

 until many years afterwards. The main thing about its composi- 

 tion is that it is a cellulose-acetate camphor, instead of a cellulose- 

 nitrate camphor body. 



The main drawback, if such a term is applicable where danger 

 to life is concerned, is that cellit cannot at present compete with 

 celluloid in the matter of price, owing to the tigh price af acetic 

 acid compared with nitric acid. This may afTect its sale for gen- 



NON-FLAM 

 CELLULOID. 



eral technical use, but if it really is quite satisfactory for film 

 making there is great probability that its use will be made com- 

 pulsory, higher price or no. It is reported that the important 

 Paris firm of Pathe Freres tried this substance for films two 

 years ago, and found it satisfactory. This is important in view 

 of the reiterated statements that the "non-flam" celluloid sub- 

 stitutes have all proved failures. Cellit is not incombustible, but 

 it only ignites with difficulty, and then smoulders ; while celluloid, 

 as is known, shoots into flames under conditions which leave 

 cellit unaffected. No doubt some definite evidence will be given 

 before the Commons Committee which is now investigating the 

 subject of celluloid and its storage. 



I HAVE no wish to go into controversial political matters, but 

 may be allowed to state that rubber manufacturers, among many 

 other classes, have lifted up their voices 

 IT'S AN^^^L WIND, j^ declaim against the Insurance Act of 

 1912. Some of those, however, who pre- 

 viously complained arc now in a more tractable mood. These 

 are the surgical goods manufacturers who are inundated with 

 orders for bandages, etc. In the past a retail chemist stocked 

 whatever goods pleased his fancy; now, however, those who are 

 on what are called the insurance panels are bound to stock a 

 certain quantity of specified goods, among which elastic bandages 

 are prominent. The demand for these goods is consequently 

 heavy at the moment, and coming as it has on the top of the de- 

 mands from the Red Cross societies operating in the Balkans, 

 it has caused stocks to be cleared. With regard to one form of 

 bandage — the plain, cured, cut sheet — there are only four or 

 five British makers ; though competition from the Continent has 

 to be met in this as well as in the elastic fabric and spread rub- 

 ber varieties. 



The amusing skit "Hoolihan on the case of Caasey" in The 

 India Rubber World for January, based presumably on facts, 

 reveals a state of affairs in a branch of 

 American rubber manufacturing which 

 is without parallel in this country. An 

 approach to it is in the case of government contracts, where a 

 clause empowers the right of inspection of the rubber works as 

 desired by an official of the particular government department 

 concerned. These officials do not pretend to have any expert 

 knowledge of the manufacture, and as a rule the inspections do 

 not take place while the contract is in hand, the samples for 

 analysis being taken from deliveries. Perhaps a nearer approxi- 

 mation to the procedure of the Underwriters' Laboratories is to be 

 found in the case of the engineering firms in Westminster, which 

 act for various Indian colonial and foreign railways. These firms 

 have inspecting engineers in their pay to make periodical visits to 

 the works with which they are contracting. These inspectors 

 are inrariably engineers who are more at home in the steel works 

 tlian in the rubber factory, in the latter case usually contenting 

 themselves with cutting off a sample of the vulcanized rubber and 

 sending it to headquarters for analysis. So far, except in the 

 case of the Cable Makers' Union, which is not really comparable, 

 there is no tendency on the part of British rubber manufacturers 

 to certify that goods intended for general use conform to stand- 

 ards fixed by any association or committee. They prefer to do 

 things their own way without dictation. This, of course, does 

 not apply to specific contracts, where the rubber has to be made 

 to a formula supplied. With regard to formulas I see that the 

 new specifications for underwriters' fire hose call for 40 per cent. 

 "Fine Para" instead of "Pure Para." For many years it was 

 customary for the British .\dniiralty and various railway com- 



HOOLIHAN ON 



CAASEY. 



