62 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November i, 1910. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN CHICAGO. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



■ I 'HE recent decline in the price of crude rubber is now hav- 

 •* ing its effect on the rubber goods trade, and is reflected 

 through the Chicago branches of the Eastern houses. Tlie rail- 

 road companies and the industrial concerns who buy the bulk 

 of the rubber goods distributed in Chicago are not buying as 

 freely as they were a month or two ago, evidently looking for 

 a drop in the prices of manufactured products. They do not 

 seem to take into consideration the fact tliat the present stocks 

 of goods in the hands of supply houses and manufacturers arc 

 based upon crude rubber at the old price. 



Those big consumers who purchase their supplies on yearly 

 contracts are hanging off, and do not seem to be in a hurry to 

 renew their contracts at the present time. Their contracts begin 

 to lapse usually in October and continue to e.xpire until the 

 end of the year. A number of the big houses usually have their 

 year's supply contracted for before this time. 



The local trade does not look for any great reduction in price, 

 and consequently does not believe that the purchasing agents who 

 are holding back will gain much, if anything, by the delay. 

 While the manufacturers agreed early in the summer to main- 

 tain the present accepted prices for manufactured goods until 

 the market on crude rubber had become more certain and regu- 

 lar, some price cutting of "independent" manufacturers is re- 

 ported. The fact that the manufacturers are maintaining their 

 prices and that business is holding off as a result indicates a 

 healthy condition in the trade any way, and they believe that 

 this accepted and generally understood attitude will give a much 

 better result in the end than if they cut prices and attempt to 

 make immediate contracts for next year's delivery. 



* * * 



Jobbers of rubber sundries state that holiday buying is inter- 

 esting their trade, and they do not expect to do much until the 

 reorders begin to come in after the first of the year. The retail 

 merchants are pretty well stocked at the present, according to 

 salesmen's reports fresh from the field. 



* * * 



The rubber business here has been affected like all other trades 

 by the demoralizing influence of politics, but as soon as the 

 November elections clear the air of speculative talk, and the 

 bumper crops begin to move, the trade feels assured that busi- 

 ness will be better than it has been for several years. One Chi- 

 cago manufacturers says: "Business men have grown to be very 

 sensitive about trade reports, not to mention conditions, and the 

 slightest rumor causes them to be hesitant and carefully conserva- 

 tive and draw in whatever business extensions they have in 

 hand." 



* * * 



Generally speaking, the distributors of tires are having the 

 best business in rubber lines in Chicago at the present time. They 

 do not seem to have any trouble in taking orders for all the 

 goods they can furnish. 



* * * 



The Vail Rubber Works, one of Chicago's new factories 

 which was started last January to manufacture all kinds of 

 molded rubber goods and mechanical supplies, has reorganized 

 under the new name of the Vail Rubber Co. This company is 

 a close corporation with $16,000 capital, all paid. The factory 

 is at No. 301 West Indiana street. William A. Vail is presi- 

 dent ; William H. McCoy, Sr., vice president ; and William H. 

 McCoy, Jr., secretary and treasurer. 



* * * 



H. B. Harmer, well known to tire people, has succeeded Fred 

 Croplcy in the management of the Chicago branch of the G & J 

 Tire Co. Mr. Cropley will devote his time to the automobile 

 sales business. 



The New Jersey Car Spring & Rubber Co. report a very 

 satisfactory volume of business since opening an office in Chi- 

 cago on May i. They have had unusual success in marketing 

 their "Arcadia" brand of belts, and the sale of fire hose is 

 exceedingly good. 



* * * 



The Illinois Tire Co. is a new incorporation of the month, 

 dealing in automobiles supplies. The company has a capital stock 

 of $2,400. Incorporators : M. L. Burkhardt, F. L. Jackson and 

 L. E. Gates. 



* * * 



Mr. Charles A. Hunter, president of the Peerless Rubber 

 Manufacturing Co., spent a few days in the Chicago office during 

 the early portion of the month. Mr. William Hillman stopped 

 off for a few days in Chicago on his way East, returning from 

 a short visit to the Denver office of the company. The Denver 

 office was started less than a year ago and is doing a very hand- 

 some business. 



* * * 



The Republic Rubber Co. are rushing the construction of their 

 new five story steel building which will be devoted exclusively 

 to the manufacture of Republic "Staggard tread" tires. The 

 building is expected to be one of the largest and best equipped 

 in the rubber industry. 



* * * 



The Chicago office of the Hamilton Rubber Manufacturing 

 Co. has removed from its old location at No. 161 Lake street, 

 which it occupied for over ten years, to larger quarters at No. 

 171 Randolph street. Elmer E. Bast, manager, states that the 

 new office will give them 6,400 square feet of floor space, which 

 is nearly twice as much as they had on Lake street. This has 

 been the biggest year the Chicago office has ever had, and Mr. 

 Bast believes next year's business will he even greater. 



* * * 



A Chicago manufacturer has brought out a patented leather 

 hose which he intends to start manufacturing in a few weeks. 

 The hose is made of chrome leather, which is impervious to 

 water and reasonably pliable. Chrome leather is put through 

 a mineral process instead of the usual bark tannage. It will 

 be made primarily for use on railway air brakes, but is said to be 

 convertible to almost every use to which rubber hose is put. 

 This new leather hose recalls the time when the Chicago fire 

 department used leather hose exclusively 25 years ago. 



INTERCONTINENTAL RUBBER CO. 



AT the annual meeting of the Intercontinental Rubber Co. 

 (Jersey City, New Jersey, October 3) the number of direc- 

 tors was increased from nine to eleven. The old directors 

 reelected are Edward B. Aldrich, Nelson W. Aldrich, Herman 

 B. Baruch, Henry A. Bingham, Daniel Guggenheim, S. B. Gug- 

 genheim, Paul Morton, Allan A. Ryan, and William Sproule. 

 The new directors are Charles H. Sabin, vice president of the 

 Guaranty Trust Co., and Walter Dutton, secretary of the com- 

 pany. Edward B. Aldrich has been reelected vice president and 

 treasurer, and Walter Dutton reelected secretary and assistant 

 treasurer. Willard T. Smith has been elected assistant secretary. 

 The office of president remains vacant. 



The financial statement submitted showed that on January i 

 last there was an accumulation of unpaid preferred stock divi- 

 dends amounting to $765,441.03, or about iS;4 per cent. These 

 have been paid, and in addition quarterly dividends at the rate 

 of 7 per cent, per year have since been paid on the preferred 

 stock. A first dividend of i per cent has been declared on the 

 common stock, payable on November I. During the year the 

 outstanding preferred shares of the company have been reduced 

 to $2,000,000, thereby reducing the dividend charge ahead of 

 the common stock to $140,000 per year. 



