566 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1913. 



PROOFERS WANT PROTECTION AGAINST DIS- 

 HONEST PRACTICES. 



Best Type of Field Gu.wule. 



In all the specimens examined, the rubber was in the form of a 

 dense suspension, and had not formed a solid mass. 



TO PREVENT THEFTS OF EXTRA TIRES. 



The number of people who would like to help themselves to 

 another man's automobile when they see it left unprotected in 

 the street is unfortunately very large; and the number of those 

 who, while they would hardly care to run the risk of taking the 

 whole machine, are quite willing to run the risk of taking any 

 movable part of it, is still larger. The extra tire which most 

 motorists carry with them is particularly attractive to the motor 

 sneak thief, and many tires have been lost in this way. The 

 American Chain Co., of Sherrill. New York, has put on the 

 market a chain made of flat links covered with duck 6r leather, 

 that, with the help of a padlock, secures the extra tire to the 

 running board or to some other part of the car. 



AN OLD INNER TUBE AS A LIFE PRESERVER. 



A correspondent writing to one of the popular magazines 

 describes an inexpensive life preserver that he has devised. He 

 has taken a discarded inner tube an<l cut it to the proper length, 

 to fit around his body under the .shoulders, leaving a sufficient 

 length so that the two ends can be joined. This he accom- 

 plishes by sandpapering the outside of one end and the inside 

 of the other, inserting the smaller in the larger, and fasten- 

 ing together by rubber cement. He finds that this improvised 

 preserver will hold the weight of any ordinary man. 



This home-made life preserver will undoubtedly ' work well. 

 provided the joint is secure, but it wouhi be rather unfortunate 

 to have it in operation in deep water on a non-swimmer and 

 have the joint separate. 



WE print below a letter received from a proofing company, 

 whicli seems to indicate that this particular company 

 has had some unfortunate experiences with certain raincoat 

 manufacturers. If many of the proof ers have had similar 

 experiences, it would seem to be wise for them to follow out 

 the suggestion made in this letter and to confer as to the 

 best means of protecting themselves from any manufacturer 

 who might be given to the sharp practices described. 



Mr. Pearson, Editor. 



India Rubber World. New York City. 

 Dear Sir: 



Having heard of you as being at all times interested in 

 using your influence and prestige in doing good for the 

 various branches of the rubber trades, we wish to acquaint 

 you with some of the abuses of the raincoat proofing trade, 

 and ask your assistance in getting the various proofers to 

 meet in a convention and agree to rules to eliminate such 

 abuses. 



Raincoat manufacturers ship converted cloths to proofers 

 to rubberize or waterproof, and we reliable proofers use a 

 compound that we guarantee waterproof and warrant against 

 decomposing or becoming hard or soft within six months 

 after proofing; but a certain percentage of the raincoat 

 manufacturers are unscrupulous and there have been proven 

 instances where a raincoat manufacturer has purposely kept 

 his goods in conditions that are destructive to rubber and 

 then has returned such made-up coats to the proofer charg- 

 ing him a higher price per coat than he sells for to the trade 

 — and the proofer. fearing to let the case go to court, with 

 all the uncertainty involved, will very often deem it the wiser 

 course to allow these charges, extortionate though they may 

 be, in order to avoid a law suit, though in paying these 

 charges the profit of an entire season may be wiped out. 



We issue with our acceptance of orders a provision, in the 

 shape of a printed form, which describes very thoroughly 

 the proper handling of waterproof material in order to pre- 

 vent any subsequent damage; but this is no protection 

 against the dishonest manufacturer who takes advantage of 

 the keen competition among the proofers in order to make 

 the proofer the scape-goat for any loss tliat should fall upon 

 him by reason of having bought poor cloth in the first in- 

 stance, or by reason of mistakes in his work shop, or lack 

 of proper care in stocking and handling after his goods are 

 made up. 



These are but a few of the abuses which the proofing trade 

 is called upon to endure at the hands of an unscrupulous 

 manufacturer, but they could be eliminated if all the proof- 

 ers were to get together and agree on uniform conditions 

 and rules under which they would allow claims for any de- 

 fects for which they are responsible, but would refuse to al- 

 low any claims obviously dishonest in their character. 

 Very sincerely yours, 



F.MR Play. 



BOOKLET OF THE COTTICA RUBBER AND COFFEE CORPORATION. 



The Cottica Rubber and Coffee Corporation, incorporated 

 under the laws of the State of New York, with headquarters in 

 Buffalo, has just issued a booklet of 32 pages describing the 

 purpose of the company, which is "to obtain and develop plan- 

 tation estates in Surinam (otherwise known as Dutch Guiana), 

 the principal object being the planting of rubber trees {Hevea 

 Biasiliensis), coffee and cacao trees, bananas and various catch 

 crops, such as corn; also the carrying on of this business in all 

 its branches from planting to gathering and marketing all of its 

 products." 



The little booklet is generously illustrated and contains a good 

 deal of interesting information, whether one is anxious to invest 

 in rubber plantations or not. Incidentally, it quotes quite freely 

 from letters by Mr. Pearson which appear in The India Rub- 

 ber World of the first five months of 1911, in which he described 

 Dutch Guiana, where the company's plantations are located. The 

 company is capitalized at $250,000. divided into 50,000 shares of 

 $5 each, and this little pamphlet is intended to convince the 

 reader that it is to his interest to own some shares. 



