12 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



[October i, 1901. 



set — coupled with the centralization of management, are now 

 being recognized as factors which work only for evil. In more 

 than one of these concerns agitations are on foot to secure a 

 radical change in management, but as the subject does not 

 directly affect the rubber trade at the moment, it need not be 

 pursued further here. 



With regard to the humorous remarks on government in- 

 spection of manufacture, which appeared in the August issue 

 of The India Rubber World, it may be of 



GOVERNMENT jntgrest to State that British rubber manufact- 



INSPECTION. 



urers who take up government contracts are 

 liable to periodical visits from some official. Not that this 

 official, who is often the chemist, takes upon himself the duty 

 of in any way superintending the manufacture, as is done in 

 the case of iron and steel inspectors; the visits, between which 

 a long interval of time may elapse, are merely in order to see 

 that the clause notifying that contractors must be bona fide 

 manufacturers is being duly observed. The American proposal 

 that an inspector should certify to the amount of Para rubber 

 used is certainly somewhat startling, and would create quite a 

 flutter in the dove-cotes here if it was to be emulated by our 

 government departments. The position, it may be premised, 

 of such ai) inspector would not be a particularly enviable one; 

 indeed he would have to be of more than ordinary sagacity if 

 he wished to occupy his position to greater effect than has 

 been the case with our police officers who have had to perform 

 such duties as are enacted in the special order in council re- 

 ferring to the importation of the Colorado beetle, which, by 

 the way, has recently paid a second visit to us, or in the Wild 

 Birds Protection acts. 



Although the rubber trade, in conformity with the bulk of 



our industries, can supply a good many croakers at the present 



time, there are no signs of any general atmosphere 



RECENT qJ depression. Here and there, it is true, a lugu- 



DIVIDENDS. , . -J . u c. J J- 



brious tone is evident when profits are under dis- 

 cussion, but this state of affairs is certainly not universal. The 

 report of the Leyland and Birmingham company, recently 

 announced, may be taken as an index of the hopeful tone pre- 

 vailing in sound concerns. By the way, in regard to this com- 

 pany, it should not be overlooked that the dividend of "j'/z per 

 cent, at present paid is on a capital which has been consider- 

 ably " watered " since the old days when dividends from 25 to 

 40 per cent, were paid. The conversion took place a few years 

 ago, at the death of the chairman, Mr. John Riley, it being 

 considered advisable to make the alteration for certain rea- 

 sons, one of which was a growing disposition among the work- 

 men to think that in face of such big profits they ought to be 

 paid on a more liberal scale. The recent extensions that have 

 taken place at the works render the concern one of the largest 

 and certainly in many ways one of the best laid out works in 

 the country. 



This heading is somewhat vague in itself, as affording no in- 

 dication of what it refers to. The point, however, is not of 

 primary importance as the text will clear up the 

 COMMUNITY mystery. Briefly, what I wished to draw atten- 

 tion to as a somewhat important fact for those 

 who are not " in the know " is the business re- 

 lationship of chairmen as proprietors of rubber factories with 

 firms who, under distinct names, carry on business with the rub- 

 ber trade in chemicals, textiles, or what not. It is not my pur- 

 pose |to go into details of names or places, but only to refer to 

 the matter in a general way. Let us suppose that the manag- 

 ing director of a rubber factory is also in much the same posi- 

 tion in a firm supplying rubber chemicals; the latter firm will 

 be in a position to obtain samples and prices of his competi- 



OF 

 INTERESTS. 



FRUE 

 VANNER. 



tors' goods in a way which is too obvious to require mention. 

 Further, it is morally certain that mutual business will take 

 place between the two firms to an extent which will render an 

 outsider's chance somewhat remote. In the case of a public 

 rubber company, it will easily be seen that the best interests of 

 the shareholders may suffer to a greater or less extent. There 

 is, however, it should be said, an obverse side to the picture, 

 for where such community of interests is known, independent 

 rubber firms have been known to place their orders for chemi- 

 cals elsewhere, rather than at a works where they will be car- 

 ried out, or at any rate, inspected by the proprietor of an oppo- 

 sition rubber works. When the connection is known, then, it 

 will be seen that really no cause for complaint exists, but where 

 ignorance on the matter prevails, those who unwittingly give 

 information which may be used against them, are clearly en- 

 titled to commiseration. If the Bill which Mr. Emmott, M. P. 

 for Oldham, has tried, but unsuccessfully, to get through Par- 

 liament, does ever become law, the case will be met, as the full 

 names of all partners in firms trading under assumed titles 

 would have to be disclosed for the information of the public. 



The trial of a new system of ore concentration has given 

 such good results, that it seems to portend the rapid decline of 

 the Frue vanner, the machine that a year or two 

 THE ago displaced the old Cornish treddle for con- 



centrating gold, copper, and tin ores. The ref- 

 erence is made here because a large amount of 

 rubber in the form of wide belting is used in the Frue vanner, 

 and the new process will not require any rubber at all. 



Reference has on former occasions been made in these 



columns to the contracts made by British railway companies 



for their requirements of rubber goods. In 



RUBBER SUPPLIES ^j^g ^^ Indian railways these contracts 



OF INDIAN RAILWAYS. ■' 



are settled by the consulting engineers, men 

 like Sir Alexander Randel, who have their headquarters in 

 that street of consultants, Victoria, Westminster, to wit. In the 

 case of all such supplies, whether metals, machinery, or rubber, 

 the consulting engineer has his local inspectors in various in- 

 dustrial centers, such as Sheffield, Manchester, and Glasgow, 

 and these gentlemen have the right of entry into the factories 

 where the goods are being made. Samples are regularly taken 

 and forwarded to Westminster, where they are analyzed, if this 

 is considered desirable. This inspection extends to the rubber 

 works (a fact which might have been referred to under one of 

 the above headlines), though its scope is merely that of taking 

 occasional samples, no attempt being made to supervise in any 

 way. When the samples have been approved of the goods are 

 sent direct to the port and do not come under the fuitherccg- 

 nizance of the London engineer. This class of work is rather 

 sought after by the rubber manufacturers, but it is noticeable 

 that the same firms get the contracts pretty regularly, although 

 tender forms are obtainable by all firms alike, as on the British 

 railway system. 



Compared with what was the case five or six years ago, the 



cold cure is more extensively used than at any time since the 



Dry Heat cure came into general use. It is 



COLD CURE 



Q_ TEXTURES almost entirely in connection with the single 

 texture printed surface goods and, despite the 

 frequent attempts which have been made to sell substitutes for 

 bisulphide of carbon, this liquid is still master of the field ; in fact 

 I cannot hear of its having been supplanted anywhere. Since 

 the introduction of the regulations under the Factory acts it 

 must be said that great improvement has been observed in the 

 health of the work people, and no doubt as time goes on even 

 further success will be attained in rendering the process in- 

 nocuous to health. 



