328 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June 1, 1911. 



THE RUBBER TRADE AT AKRON. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



Tlll-1 tire departments of the various Akron rubber factories 

 are all running full force at least, and many overtime. 

 I'hc mechanical goods departments are running well, except 

 the various rubber goods that enter into railroad supplies, which 



arc working less than full time. 



* * * 



A little over a year ago, The B. F. Goodrich Co. started a 

 force of men out on the road placing a special guide post every 

 three miles along main highway roads, from Cleveland to New 

 York City. This was a beginning. Since then vans and crews 

 have been erecting markers in all of tlie Eastern states, through- 

 out the middle West, from the Mexican border the whole 

 length of the Pacific coast, in fact, everywhere in the United 

 States where automobiles are run. To do this, topographical 

 maps of the United States Geological Survey were used and 

 routes carefully planned in advance. Incidentally, the road 

 marking crews have each a card indexing system by which they 

 note road conditions, street and town accommodations, etc., etc. 

 This route marking enterprise is by far the most comprehensive 

 and original advertising campaign ever inaugurated. It also has 

 what very little advertising propaganda possesses— a distinct and 

 constant value to the public at large. 



As a test for the Goodrich wireless tires, a five-ton motor 

 truck with a three-ton load started in March from Denver for 

 San Francisco, with a return trip scheduled through Salt Lake 

 City, Chicago and New York. The tires are single in front and 

 twin in the rear. 



The moving pictures illustrating rubber gathering in South 

 America, which The B. F. Goodrich Co. (Akron, Ohio), are 

 showing all over the United States, are of the greatest educa- 

 tional value. They are most carefully prepared, are absolutely 

 true to life, and are explained by one of the bright young men 

 of the Goodrich staff. Needless to say crowds attend every 



e.\liil)itii>n. 



* * * 



A. II. Marks, general manager of the Diamond Rubber Co., 

 is building a beautiful summer cottage at Marblehcad, Mass. 



The Cord tire, the production of which by the Diamond Rub- 

 ber Co., has for a long time been discussed in automobile circles, 

 has made its appearance. The tire is made and sold under 

 exclusive rights obtained from the English manufacturers, whose 

 product is known as the Palmer Cord Tire. The owners of the 

 American rights will call their product the Diamond Silvertown 

 Cord Tire. 



E. L. Winipenny, formerly of New York, has gone to the 

 Baltimore office of the Diamond Rubber Co. as travelling sales- 

 man. F. T. Luth, of Cincinnati, has gone to the Minneapolis 

 office as travelling salesman. J. E. Ailes has resigned his position 

 in the operating department of the Diamond and is succeeded by 

 T. L. Lussen, of New York. J. H. Elgin has gone to the Phila- 

 delphia office to take charge of the credit and collection depart- 

 ment. C. S. Davis is the new Diamond adjuster at Cleveland. 

 W. A. Alexander has been transferred from the local adjusting 

 department to the Albany office as temporary manager. 



* * « 



Litigation which has been carried on almost continuously 

 during the last twelve years concerning the validity of the 

 Grant Patent is said to have resulted in placing the Goodyear 

 Tire and Rubber Co. in the unique position of not having to 

 pay a royalty to the Consolidated Rubber Tire Co. on tires 

 made under this patent. This is the result of a decision handed 

 down by the Federal Court of Appeals at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 

 May, 1902, which decision the United States Supreme Court, in 

 reviewing the decision of the Appellate Court, refused to re- 

 consider. 



Up to date the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. has 120 branches 

 and agencies in the United States and Canada, 15 of which have 

 been opened this year. * * • 



The Biggs Boiler Co., of .\kron, Ohio, is erecting a $50,000 

 factory addition. The new addition contains the boiler shop, 

 machine shop and power plant. The building will be equipped 

 with electric travelling cranes and hydraulic machinery. The 

 structure will be of brick, 120 feet by 225 feet. 



A leading manufacturer estimates "Akron's tire bill at $140,- 

 OOO.aX) annually: casings, $77,-500,000; tubes, $.M,320,000 ; solid 

 tires $28,600,000. This gives employment to 6,100 men, exclusive 

 of administrative and executive offices, and consumes at least 

 12,500 tons of fabric, and 37,500 tons of rubber composition. 



The various Akron rubber factories have taken on new life 

 in their different lines of social and athletic diversions. Each 

 company has its own star ball team, the Diamond Tire and Rub- 

 ber Co. having had during the last few years a strong amateur 

 team, Bill Swartz, manager of the Nashville Team with the 

 Southern League, being one of its members. 



The Lowenthal Co., of .^kron, Ohio, scrap rubber merchants, 

 has moved into its new warehouse at the corner of Broadway 

 and Exchange street. 



The latest Ohio corporation is the Knight Tire and Rubber 

 Co., of Canton. G. F. Knight, of the Knight Manufacturing 

 Co., is at the head of this new company. 



-Mexander Adamson, under dates of April 19, 1910, and April 

 4, 1911, has patented a new aiid improved vulcanizing press. It 

 is built of steel and the head is fitted with a self-sealing gasket. 

 The method of sealing the vulcanizer is claimed to be a time- 

 saving feature. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



AMONG the merchants in the rubber trade, the consensus 

 of opinion is that business is steady, but quiet. Conditions 

 are not as flourishing as they might be, nor as it is expected they 

 will be when work actually commences towards construction on 

 the world's fair site, but there is the usual and normal run of 

 business in the city, and the demand from all of the interior 

 points continues good. Things now are as they have been for 

 many months past, with the country in a more flourishing con- 

 dition than the cities. Taking the coast as a whole conditions 

 are very good in the southern part of the state, normal in San 

 Francisco and the north, and on through Portland and nearly 

 all of Oregon, but a little quiet in Seattle, and the major por- 

 tion of Washington, outside of Spokane, which is just now a 



very busy city. 



* * * 



F. V. Carey, one of the Sclangor, Federated Malay Stales, 

 rubber planters in the Far East, has been a recent guest at the 

 Palace Hotel. He is on liis way from the Orient to be present 

 in London during the coronation ceremonies. 



* * * 



C. E. Mathewson, Pacific coast manager of the Diamond Rub- 

 ber Co., announces the opening of a direct factory branch in 

 Sacramento, Cal., at No. 728 I street. His is the first tire factory 

 to recognize the importance of Sacramento as a coming center 

 for the automobile industry. The store is fully equipped with 

 automobile tires, and with a complete repair factory. 



* * * 



There is a strong demand for merchandise from Japan at 

 the present time, partially due to the tariff which goes into ef- 

 fect in July. R. H. Pease, Jr., of the Goodyear Rubber Co., 

 has returned from a trip to the Orient. He states that it was a 

 matter of surprise to hirtl to see'"liow extensively the Japanese 

 are now going in for the manufacture of rubber products. They 

 are especially active in the manufacture of packing. While at 



