178 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March i, 1902. 



CYCLES, AUTOMOBILES. AND TIRES. 



A COUNT of the automobiles seen on upper Fifth avenue, 

 in New York, on the afternoon of January 20, between 

 the hours of 2 and 7, showed 176 going uptown and 144 com- 

 ing down— a total of 320. While it is probable that many of 

 these were counted twice, still these figures, for a single 

 thoroughfare, would indicate that the new vehicles are becom- 

 ing numerous enough to make an important demand for rub- 

 ber tires. A report has been current of a contract completed 

 by one rubber factory for $50,000 worth of tires for a public 

 motor vehicle company in New York. While the heavily 

 capitalized electric vehicle companies organized in various 

 cities by stock jobbing interests have gone out of business or 

 reduced their capital to an honest basis, the business of manu- 

 facturing automobiles appears to be extending. Recently the 

 American Bicycle Co. divided its business, one branch to be 

 devoted to making and selling automobiles, which is regarded 

 in some quarters as indicating an ultimate intention of the 

 management to devote itself principally to the new industry, 

 and possibly to bring about a combination of the strongest 

 elements in that branch. 



As for the bicycle industry, it was stated at a recent meeting 

 of the Miami Bicycle Co. that the number of bicycle factories 

 in the United States had declined from 288 on January i, 1900, 

 to 69 on January i, 1901, and to only 24 on January I, 1902. 

 The India Rubber World is informed that in a certain city 

 of 200,000 Inhabitants, there were at one time estimated to be 

 10,000 bicycles owned, the streets and parks were crowded with 

 wheels, and there were fifteen bicycle stores doing business, 

 together with as many other stores handling bicycles, and nu- 

 merous repair shops. Now a single bicycle store suffices, and 

 a bicycle is seldom seen on the streets. This may be an ex- 

 ceptional case, but it is in the knowledge of every one that 

 cycling has declined in this country, and one result has been a 

 heavy falling ofT in the bicycle tire trade — a once important 

 branch of the rubber industry. 



At the New York cycle show of 1895 there were 22 separate 

 exhibits of tires, made in 19 factories, a single one of which 

 embraced twenty different "styles." At the 1897 show 28 ex- 

 hibits were made, representing again 19 factories. To-day only 

 eleven rubber concerns are named as " active " licensees under 

 the Tillinghast single tube tire patent, several of whom are 

 more active in pushing their trade in the motor than in the 

 cycle trade, and some of whom are making very few tires for 

 the latter. Besides, two rubber factories are making tires to 

 which the Tillinghast patent does not relate. But the field has 

 been deserted by certain concerns which, five years ago, were 

 large manufacturers of bicycle tires. 



Time was when the large and elaborate catalogues of the bi- 

 cycle manufacturers devoted much space to the subject of tires. 

 This year, an examination of the more modest booklets issued 

 by the constituent companies of the American Bicycle Co., 

 with a single exception, fails to disclose any mention of tires 

 except in the briefest manner, in small type, indicating what 

 makes of tires the buyer of any particular wheel may choose 

 from. The evident purpose is to sell wheels, not tires; if one 

 will only buy a wheel, he can have almost any kind of tire. 

 And no doubt the average buyer is concerned less about the 

 kind of tire than about its cost. 



The bicycle appears to have held its own better in Europe. 

 Victor Breyer, a French cycling journalist visiting America, 

 told Bicycling World that a million bicycles are in use in 

 France and that the number increases yearly, for both business 

 and pleasure. Many small manufacturers have gone out of 



business, but the larger concerns, with ample capital and fac- 

 tory facilities, are reported to be in sound condition. A French 

 government report for 1900 recorded that the number of regis- 

 tered bicycles in that country amounted to 975,878 ; motor 

 cycles, 11,252; and motor cars, 5286. The maintenance of two 

 bicycle shows in London is regarded as proof of a continued 

 interest in cycling in the United Kingdom. While the number 

 of exhibitors of late has been smaller than formerly, there was 

 a gain in the total number of wheels exhibited, from 1779 in 

 1900 to 1866 in 1901 — according to the Cyclist. 



But the European demand has been supplied with a decreas- 

 ing assistance from American factories, involving no doubt a 

 declining export of American cycle tires. The value of total 

 exports of " Cycles and parts " from the United States for the 

 past five years has been : 



1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 



$6,902,736 17,092,197 $4,820,284 $3,061,061 12,599,237 



The only country buying American bicycles to which the ex- 

 ports were not smaller last year than in 1899 was Japan, which 

 took $223,787 worth as against $138,155 in the former year. 



TRADE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



IN regard to the rubber footwear and mackintosh trade in 

 the territory of which Omaha is the center, Z. T. Lindsey, 

 president of the Inter-State Rubber Co., of that city, informs 

 The India Rubber World : 



" The territory in which we work includes all the states and 

 some of the territories from fifty miles west of the Mississippi 

 river to the Pacific coast. Early in December there was a very 

 bad spell of weather — net much snow, but it was very cold for 

 several days — which created a great demand for the kind of 

 goods we sell. There was difficulty in getting enough goods to 

 supply the demand up to and including Christmas week. After 

 that the weather moderated, and January proved to be about 

 the mildest January that has been known in the territory re- 

 ferred to. A remarkable fact is that there has not been up to 

 this time [February 8] very much snow in any of the mining 

 districts, the only exception being an early snow in northwest- 

 ern Montana, which soon disappeared. The dullest trade in 

 our line of goods and the poorest collections this year are in 

 the mountain and silver mining country. 



" Our customers claim that they are expecting to carry over 

 three-fourths of the goods which they bought from us last sum- 

 mer and fall. But as there can be a great deal of winter weather 

 in that particular section of the country between this date and 

 April, we hope the retail dealers will dispose of all their goods 

 before another season. The cold weather and snow that came 

 about three weeks ago through Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Ne- 

 braska, and South Dakota caused quite a good demand on the 

 retail dealers for goods that they had on hand. It has made a 

 steady demand on jobbers for sorting up goods, and indirectly 

 has helped the jobbers and directly been a great benefit to the 

 retail dealers. No doubt the retailers will dispose of half to 

 three-fourths of the goods which they bought for the present 

 winter. Owing to the mild January referred to, collections 

 have not been quite so good with us as last year, but the only 

 failures have been of firms who wanted to fail. 



" On account of the high prices of all kinds of grain, hay, and 

 live stock, the western country is in an unusually prosperous 

 condition, and the people have plenty of money to buy any- 

 thing they need ; therefore a better class of goods is being sold 

 in all lines. Dry goods, clothing, and leather boot and shoe 

 dealers claim that they have never sold as many high cost 

 goods in this section of the country as they have sold during 

 the past few months, and we believe this to be true." 



