170 



THE INDIA RUBBER >VORLD 



[March i, 1902. 



MR. JAMES B. DILL. 



IT is only fair that the rubber trade should have full credit 

 for having brought out the first up-to-date " Roosevelt " 

 corporation charter — that is, a " publicity " charter such as 



President Roose- 

 velt recommended 

 in a recent mes- 

 sage to Congress. 

 The newspapers of 

 the country have 

 done full justice 

 to this most im- 

 portant forward 

 step. The India 

 Rubber World 

 has a record of 

 nearly one hun- 

 dred of the lead- 

 ing daily journals 

 that editorially 

 and in their news 

 columns have 

 been unstinting in 

 their praise, and 

 whatever procedure the press of the country as a whole com- 

 mands is pretty sure to become general. It was with this idea 

 in mind that the Editor of The India Rubber World set out 

 to interview the author of this historic charter, Mr. James B. 

 Dill. In spite of the fact that he is perhaps the most prominent 

 corporation counsel in the United States, and the man to whom 

 Andrew Carnegie is said to have paid $5000 for an opinion that 

 was expressed in a single word, he was not a hard man to reach. 

 He, however, refused absolutely to be interviewed, as he had 

 made a rule two years ago never to give another interview. But 

 he was so full of life and interest in the world's corporation 

 work that he could not keep from talking. In response to his 

 caller's opinion that his new type of charter was a brilliant 

 move, he said : 



" I don't like that word ' brilliant ' ; common sense is what I 

 call it, and what it is, and the others are all to come to it 

 shortly." Mr. Dill, in the course of a further chat, admitted 

 that early in March he was to deliver an address at Harvard 

 University on national legislation as opposed to state legisla- 

 tion, taking the new rubber company's charter as a text. 



RUBBER SHOE TRADE IN HONGKONG. 



ACCORDING to the United States consul general at Hong- 

 kong, Mr. W. A. Rublee, the Chinese are not large con- 

 sumers of such manufactured goods as are in demand in most 

 other markets. The sale of most kinds of manufactured goods 

 in that country is confined to a small number of resident Euro- 

 peans and Americans. To secure any large amount of Chinese 

 trade, it would be necessary for manufacturers to cater to the 

 tastes and wants of the Chinese people. There are two classes 

 of imported goods, however, which find a ready sale in the 

 Hongkong district — cotton socks and rubber shoes. 



" There has been a growing demand for both these articles 

 in recent years, and they are coming to be regarded as neces- 

 sities. The poorer classes in southern China have in the past 

 worn nothing on their feet and most of them still go bare- 

 footed. There is, however, an increasing tendency to wear cot- 

 ton socks and rubber shoes, which is likely to cause a large de- 

 mand for both articles in the future. They are now supplied 



by English and German manufacturers, principally the latter. 



" The rubber shoes sold in Southern China are similar to 

 those manufactured in the United States, except that they are 

 slightly heavier and are shaped like a native shoe. They are 

 worn without stockings, are of comparatively recent introduc- 

 tion, but are likely to come into general use. They are made 

 in Gei-many mostly, though some come from England. The 

 cheapest variety costs about $1 Mexican (45 cents gold) per 

 pair at retail, while the best quality sells for about $1.50 Mexi- 

 can (67 cents)." 



It may be added that government statistics show the ex- 

 port, direct, from the the United States to Hongkong of the 

 following number of pairs of rubber shoes in the various fis- 

 cal years : 



1891 72 iSgs ... 156 iSgq 



i8g2 84 1896 1,548 iqoo 708 



1893 58 1897 26,822 1901 1,634 



1894 372 1898 400 



The value of such exports in 1897 was $11,995. 



RUBBER SHOE MAKING IN GERMANY. 



THE ScAuAmarii (Fra.nkion-on-Main) reports a favorable 

 condition of the German rubber shoe industry during 1901, 

 although snow was late in appearing in the winter of 1900-01. 

 The facilities of the Vereinigte Gummiwaaren-Fabriken, Har- 

 burg- Wien, are spoken of as being capable of supplying well- 

 nigh the whole German demand for rubber footwear, though 

 the home manufacture in this line is handicapped by the ease 

 with which, owing to low import duties, the American and 

 Russian products gain access to the markets of Germany and 

 Austria-Hungary. It is pointed out as a mistaken idea, on the 

 part of the public, to call for low priced rubber shoes — since 

 these of necessity must be light in weight and lacking in durabil- 

 ity. The rubber soled canvas shoes made by the Harburg-Vienna 

 factories are said to becoming rapidly into wider use, for gym- 

 nasium, sporting, and beach wear. These shoes have been worn 

 extensively in England for two years past, not only for the pur- 

 pose above stated, but also by persons of small means as an or- 

 dinary walking shoe, being the cheapest possible footwear, and 

 combining the qualities of excluding dampness and affording 

 proper ventilation to the foot. The same factories did a large 

 business during the past summer in their " Universal Plimsoll " 

 canvas shoe, the facilities for making which have been enlarged 

 in anticipation of a still larger demand in future. 



The figures which fv.-Uow, from official sources, show the 

 quantities (in kilograms) of rubber boots and shoes imported 

 into, and exported from Germany, during the past two years, 

 together with the countries with which the trading was done : 



IMPORTS. 



1900. 1901. 



Great Britain 39,800 28,200 



Austria-Hungary 93,000 28,600 



Russia 450,100 532,700 



Sweden 51,000 



United States '38,100 55, 800 



Other lands 16,900 10,800 



Total 637,900 707,100 



Value maris 3,668,000 4,066,000 



EXPORTS. 



1900. 1901. 



Belgium 18,700 9,500 



Denmark 19,000 9,600 



France 16,800 16,500 



Great Britain 151,000 125,400 



Holland 10,400 



Switzerland 6,400 



Other lands 64,900 56,500 



Total 287,200 217,500 



Value marks 1,580,000 1,196.000 



