January i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBisER WORLD 



121 



ers are set up, they will have a capacity of 100,000 yards a week. 

 They will not, by any means, neglect the trade they have built 

 up in other lines of proofing, but have equipped themselves to 

 fill orders of any amount in the proofing of mackintosh cloth, 

 skirt binding, etc. 



END OF THE FARGO CASE (CHICAGO). 

 The last has again been heard of the case growing out of 

 the failure of the old shoe jobbing house of C. H. Fargo & Co. 

 [see The India Rubber Woki.d, June i, 1901— page 277.] 

 Judge Grosscup, of the United States circuit court in Chicago, 

 on November 19, fixed the attorney's fees in the case. The as- 

 sets of the Fargo company, amounting to $125,000, having been 

 turned into cash. The amount paid to the solicitors, in fees 

 and expenses, was about §28,000. The remainder of the assets 

 was to be distributed among fifty or more creditors. The order, 

 issued in the court was in approval of the report of H. W. 

 Bishop, master in chancery. 



AMERICAN CHICLE CO. 

 The regular quarterly dividend of lyi per cent, on the pre- 

 ferred stock and of 2 per cent, on the common stock is payable 

 January 2 to holders of record on December 26. Late market 

 quotations have been 77 bid and 80 asked for common and 78 

 bid and 80 asked for preferred. = = It was announced lately that 

 the capital stock o( the company was to be increased, in order 

 to extend both its manufacturing facilities and the control of 

 the raw Chicle trade. The increase was to be from $3,000,000 

 to $4,000,000 in preference shares and from $6,000,000 to $8,000,- 

 000 in common shares. At a meeting of the shareholders in 

 New Jersey, on December 20, no vote was taken on this ques- 

 tion, and the proposition was abandoned. 



A TOWN RULED BY A LABOR UNION. 

 The strike last summer at the works of the Farrel Foundry 

 and Machine Co. (Ansonia, Conn.) — manufacturers of rubber 

 machinery — had a political outcome that is attracting more 

 than local attention. Among those who were enjoined by the 

 courts from interfering with the non union workmen employed 

 by the Farrel company in the place of the strikers was Stephen 

 A. Charters, president of the Carpenters' union. Coming to 

 be regarded as a martyr in the cause of labor, Charters was 

 nominated for mayor of Ansonia, and in November was elected. 

 As the mayor in that town has the appointment of practically 

 all the other officials — over fifty in number — Ansonia now has 

 a labor union government, in the hands of persons having lit- 

 tle experience in public affairs, and the result is being looked 

 for with much interest. 



SCRAP RUBBER PRICES DECLINING. 

 Interview with a New York dealer, December 13: "The 

 market for scrap is dull, with a declining tendency. A fair 

 quotation for old shoes, standard packing, carload lots, would 

 be 8 cents a pound ; possibly business could be done at 7I4 

 cents. We are still making deliveries at 8}s cents, but on or- 

 ders booked some time ago. A period of dullness is not un- 

 usual just preceding the end of the year, at the season of stock 

 taking in the rubber factories. But the present state of the 

 market is due largely to stocks held over from last season, 

 which may be estimated at 1800 tons in the hands of large 

 dealers, besides an uncertain amount held by smaller operators. 

 Two years ago rubber scrap went up until we paid as high as 

 II cents ; we heard of business being done at 11 ^4". No further 

 back than the beginning of 1898 the market had ruled at about 

 4X cents, and the possibility of such advances occurring en- 

 couraged a speculative element in the trade. Of course a 

 marked decline followed the high prices I have mentioned, but 

 another big advance seems to have been expected in the fol- 



lowing year — that is, last winter— in preparation for which 

 stocks were accumulated, but the highest price reached at that 

 time was only 9@9'4 cents. There were holders who declined 

 these figures, and they have since been piling up costs for in- 

 terest and storage on stocks that now must be consideied in 

 sizing up the market. Similar conditions affect the market for 

 foreign scrap. Our house has been offering imported shoe 

 stock at 6>4 cents, but we now have offers from abroad of 100 

 tons, for forward delivery, at 6% cents. 



"The prices we have paid for domestic shoes at different 

 periods have been : 



Months. 189^. 1900. igoi. 



January 654: 9^®loH 8'^ 



July ^% 9 8J4 



December 11 g @ gj^ 8 



" We are aware that in some cases higher prices have been 

 paid, and of course also possibly little lower prices, but these 

 are the general average for the months named. These prices 

 might not suit the western market, nor, in some cases, the 

 eastern market; but the most that can be done in any sum- 

 mary of the scrap rubber trade is to give average prices." 



The India Rubber World from time to time has printed 

 comparative statements of the prices of rubber scrap covering 

 a number of years. The record is now brought down to the 

 end of 1901, as follows: 



Year. High. Low, Average, Year. High. Low. Average. 



1887 sVz i,M 5 1895 i% 4 454' 



1888 5X aM 43K 1896 5 4 4}^ 

 i88q 4^ iVi 4 1897 5 4 4X 



1890 A\i 3H 4 1898 bl4 ^'X s% 



1891 Mi 3 3% 1899 "X 6 9 



1892 .3>i 2% 3 1900 loj^ 8 9>^ 



1893 iVs 3>s 4 1901 ?>% TA i'X 



1894 6 4 ■ 5 



Owing to the extraordinary and violent fluctuations during 

 1899 and 1900 it is practically impossible to fix an average value 

 for a year as a whole, as this would depend on the quantities 

 purchased by different consumers at the varying prices, which 

 is an unknown factor. However, the figures above stated rep- 

 resent the best judgment of important firms in the trade. 



Quotations printed in this journal two months ago were 

 8;4@8/8 cents for domestic and 6^s@7 cents for imported shoes. 

 Just before printing the present issue quotations supplied to us 

 are 8 cents for domestic and 7 for foreign. 



CURTAILING OILCLOTH PRODUCTION. 

 One of the factories of the Standard Table Oilcloth Co. — 

 located at Astoria, Long Island, N. Y,, and operated formerly 

 by Joseph Wild & Co. — has been advertised for sale. An offi- 

 cial of the company, in a published interview, is quoted as say- 

 ing that, on account of overproduction and keen competition 

 much business had been done, prior to the consolidation in 

 July last, at prices which afforded no profit, even when it was 

 not done at a loss. Besides, the business of jobbers has been 

 demoralized. The new company was a natural outcome of 

 this state of affairs. There is still competition ; the Standard 

 company consolidated but seven firms, and there are five good 

 concerns on the outside. The Standard company have de- 

 cided, therefore, to curtail production by closing the Astoria 

 plant. The new company have not expected to do much in 

 the way of building up an export trade, to afford an outlet for 

 surplus production. While their machinery may be more im- 

 proved than that in use in England or Germany, any advan- 

 tage which might result has been more than offset by the higher 

 rate of wages in the United States.==Since the above was 

 written an advance in price has been announced of 5 cents per 

 piece on plain goods and 10 cents on marbles. ==The above 

 company, which is a new Jersey corporation, on December 14 



