October 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



i7 



The India Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



RAW MATERIiVL AND THE TRADE. 



ALTHO trade generally is reported as good — except in the 

 waterproof branch, affected by the dry summer and the 

 poor colonial demand — there has been no exceptional 

 briskness. Continued weakness in raw material has had the effect 

 lit inducing large contractors to defer placing their contracts, 

 in the hope of getting still better terms. The very informative 

 summary of the prospects of raw rubber during the next few 

 years, by Mr. Malet, in the Straits papers, "Financier," etc., has 

 been read with interest by manufacturers. Among the comments 

 1 have heard arc many expressing the opinion that Mr. Malet 

 has somewhat underestimated the probable output from the plan- 

 tation industry. With reference to limiting the output on the lines 

 of the American copper producers, this is regarded as an unwork- 

 able proposition, as the running costs will remain practically the 

 same. The rubber, manufacturers say, will all have to come on 

 the market for the best price it will fetch, which, of course, will 

 uiit their book and accentuate the present policy of buying from 

 hand to mouth. This expression may be taken as referring to 

 covering rciiuirements for about three months ahead, not three 

 days, as some purchasers of rubber goods seem to imagine when 

 they ask for a reduction in price the day after reading in the 

 paper that a slight fall has occurred in the raw material. 



This matter of reduction in price of goods is much to the fore 

 at the time of writing. During the last few months the manu- 

 facturers have undoubtedly been getting a bit of their own back, 

 but the general revision of price lists is a matter which can hardly 

 be further delayed. At the same time buyers of rubber goods 

 are apt to overlook the fact that the price cT .aw rubber is only 

 one factor in the position. Manufacturing costs generally are 

 higher than they were ; cotton is up, and many chemicals — notably 

 litharge — have risen in price. 



RECLAIMED RUBBER. 



The world's consumption of rubber having increased con- 

 siderably in the last few years, it goes without saying that there 

 is more raw material available for the reclaimers, who keep busily 

 employed despite the great drop in price of raw rubber. An 

 important occurrence of the past summer has been the falling in 

 of the Marks alkali patent, worked by the North Western Rubber 

 Co., at Liverpool. The other alkali patent — that of Price, worked 

 by The Rubber Regenerating Co., Limited, at Tratford Park, 

 Manchester — has still some years to run, and it will be re- 

 membered that two years ago a working arrangement between 

 the two companies as regards their patents was agreed upon. 

 The Trafford Park Co. is again enlarging its works, to cope 

 with increasing trade; and it has recently been announced that 

 the Xylos Rubber Co. — also an American undertaking — has ac- 

 quired between two and three acres for new works for regenerat- 

 ing rubber. The Xylos Rubber Co. is connected with the Fire- 

 stone Tire & Rubber Co. As an American company cannot hold 

 land in Trafford Park, an English company has been registered, 

 one of the directors being Mr. Marshall Stevens, the managing 

 director of the Traflford Park Estates Co.. Limited. 



I understand that the Mersey Reclaiming Co., whose works at 

 Stockport were burnt out in the spring, has decided not to re- 

 commence business. 



A new works, the Pomona Rubber Co., Limited, of City Road, 

 Manchester, is putting on the market reclaimed rubber made by 

 a new process. 



If we take into account G. H. Scott & Co., Anderson & Co., 

 The British Recovered Rubber Co.. Hallas & Co., and Alfred 

 Smith, it will be seen that the Manchester district is an important 



center for the production of reclaimed rubbers. With regard to 

 the price of waste rubber, the reclaimers raw material, it is 

 noteworthy that prices do not rise and fall in sympathy with the 

 raw rubber market, changes of moment in values taking some 

 time to mature ; and it is therefore not to be expected that re- 

 claimers can make weekly or monthly alterations in their price 

 lists. 



I have not seen any of the "Fish rubber" which, I understand, 

 is being made in Holland, but have had inquiries on the subject 

 from fishing ports in England, as to whether there is money in it. 

 My own opinion on the project is supported by the dictum of 

 the Henriques Laboratory of Berlin — that it is worthless. 



MR. J. CARTER BELL. 

 Mr. J. Carter Bell, a well-known public analyst, died recently 

 at Manchester, after a somewhat lengthy period of ill-health. 

 Thirty years ago — before rubber chemists were as connnon as 

 they are now — he specialized to some extent in rubber analysis, 

 and in more than one legal case gave evidence in opposition to 

 Dr. Burghardt, the other Manchester rubber analyst of the day. 

 It was this association which led to his son, Mr. P. Carter Bell, 

 becoming connected with rubber, first in England and sub- 

 sequently in New York, where his business in substitutes, etc., 

 has for many years been brought before the readers of the India 

 Rubber World through the medium of the advertising pages. 



MR. H. P. MOORHOUSE. 



]\Ir. H. P. Moorhouse, who died recently, was an American 

 who had long been settled in Paris as the representative of the 

 Revere Rubber Co. and the Philadelphia Rubber Works. It was 

 in the elastic thread trade that he was perhaps best known, cer- 

 tainly in England, where he made frequent visits to Leicester, 

 the headquarters of the elastic fabric industry, to superintend the 

 business carried on there by a resident agent. In 1906 I had the 

 pleasure of meeting Mr. Moorhouse in Paris and heard from him 

 that he imported the first lot of reclaimed rubber that was sent 

 from America. This Mitchell rubber, as it was then called, was 

 used in the manufacture of steamship valves. It is understood 

 that the thread business of the Revere Company will be carried on 

 by Mons. J. Clerc, Mr. Moorhouse's assistant, at the old address, 

 while the reclaimed rubber business will be done by the Phila- 

 delphia Co. at an office of its own at No. 29 Rue des Petites 

 Ecuries. 



ADMIRALTY CONTRACTS. 



Questions having been asked in Parliament as to why Brazilian 

 rubber was stipulated for, the secretary to the Admiralty replied 

 that this stipulation had been removed in 1907. the best rubber 

 only being mentioned. It was further said that Fine Hard Para 

 was only mentioned in connection with one or two small items. 

 As some interest has been evinced as to what these items are, I 

 may say that in the latest Admiralty specifications Fine Hard 

 Para is only required for electrical tape ; therefore the plaints 

 of the plantation magnates have no foundation, or at any rate, 

 but ver\' little. 



LAMP BLACK. 



I have read the digest of Mr. Cabot's paper as given in the 

 India Rubber World for August with interest. The nomencla- 

 ture of blacks as used in the rubber trade has always been in a 

 state of confusion, different dealers using the terms — "lamp," 

 "carbon." "vegetable," etc., without any particular reference to 

 their origin. The American carbon black of high coloring power 

 has now largely ousted the various blacks of highly differing 

 coloring power which were sold to the British rubber trade 20 



