168 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January 1, 1914. 



alone amount to $50,000,000. No one doubts for a mo- 

 ment the lofty motives that actuate the President, or 

 the conservative statesmanship of his methods in his 

 treatment of the Mexican situation, but it is quite natural 

 that the American residents in that country — harassed 

 by the Federals and harried by the rebels — should look 

 upon their lot as a most unhappy one. 



THE CLERK CAN UNDO IT ALL 



A PERSPICACIOUS reporter on the "New York- 

 Times," having investigated the retail shoe trade 

 of the metropolis, recently discoursed on the great bur- 

 den the retailer bears in the multiplicity of shoe styles 

 which he is compelled to carry, particularly as this vast 

 variety of leather shoes makes it compulsory for him to 

 carry an equal variety of rubber shoes. The reporter 

 then continues : "Returns of rubbers to retail stores on 

 the ground of unsatisfactory wear have been almost as 

 numerous of late as the shoe styles. In a large majority 

 of cases they are said to be due to misfitting, which in 

 itself is due to the discrepancy in the number of rubber 

 styles carried when compared to the number of models 

 the shoe stock contains." 



This touches what might be called one of the strong 

 weaknesses of the rubber shoe situation. The manutac- 

 turer may do his work most devotedly, putting into his 

 shoes the finest Up-river Para, the best compound dis- 

 covered since rubber footwear was first made seventy 

 years ago : he may get the most skilful workmen obtain- 

 able and pay them extravagant wages, and every depart- 

 ment of his plant may be conducted without a flaw ; but 

 if the retailer's clerk, either from languor or indifference 

 or because he doesn't have the right shoe in stock, tries 

 to fit a Cuban-heel rubber over a broad, low-heeled shoe 

 and permits tlie customer to go forth thus misfitted, he is 

 not only laying up trouble for his own store, but is invit- 

 ing popular objurgation upon the innocent manufacturer 

 and upon the trade generally. If he has a rubber in his 

 store which will fit the customer's shoe he should get it, 

 tho he have to unearth the bottom-most carton of the 

 uttermost case; and if he has not a shoe that will fit he 

 should say so, thereby losing the sale but retaining his 

 self-respect and the customer's good will. 



WHAT THE AUTO SHOWS HAVE COST THE TIRE 

 MAKERS. 



THE large tire companies whose displays have been a 

 conspicuous and interesting feature of the automo- 

 bile shows for the past few years will be noticeable in the 

 exhibitions to be held in New York and Chicago and 

 other cities during the next few weeks by their absence. 

 To be sure there will be some exhibits of tires, but the 

 large companies that have made the chief displays — like 

 the United States Tire Co., the Goodrich, the Goodyear, 

 the Firestone — have decided not to take part in this 

 year's shows. 



The reasons for this withdrawal are not stated, but 

 there are certain reasons that are quite obvious. In the 



first place, these episodes are undoubtedly very disturb- 

 ing to the regular and orderly routine of the companies' 

 work ; but a more substantial reason for discontinuing 

 participation in these events lies in the very great ex- 

 pense that they entail. The mere cost of space is but a 

 trifle, probably not exceeding for any one company $300 

 or $400, nor does the display itself^ — the preparation, ar- 

 rangement and removal of exhibits — involve any con- 

 siderable outlay ; but when one surveys the usual con- 

 comitants it becomes evident that the expenditure must 

 reach a very formidable figure. For instance, there is 

 the handsome printed matter which has always been 

 handed out with lavish generosity, a large part of it going 

 to youngsters and other catalog collectors who by no pos- 

 siWlity could ever be classed among purchasers of auto- 

 mobiles or users of tires. In addition there is the large 

 volume of advertising usually placed in the local city 

 press calling attention to the display at the show. And 

 even exceeding these items is the expense of the enter- 

 tainment which is an inevitable part of an occasion where 

 good fellows get together and everyone wants to show 

 his friendliness to everybody else — and especially to a 

 potential buyer. 



It is safe to say that a number of companies have ex- 

 pended over $30,000 each on a single exhibition. It is 

 stated on good authority that the last New York show 

 involved an outlay among all the exhibitors of $1,000,000. 

 It would be a conservative estimate to place one-fifth of 

 this, or $200,000, among the tire men. To be sure, this 

 is not a very large figure, compared with the volume of 

 business transacted by the big tire companies, but it is 

 a large figure unless it is justified by the returns — and 

 evidently the tire people have decided that it is not. 



THE RUBBER TARIFFS OF OTHER COUNTRIES. 



ONE of the most legitimate as well as most effective 

 methods by which the American manufacturer can 

 make reprisals on foreign manufacturers who may seek 

 to invade his market is by a counter invasion of their 

 markets. To be sure, the great reduction in rubber 

 duties in the bill passed early in October has not vet re- 

 sulted in any conspicuous increase in importations, but 

 foreign manufacturers will certainly be disposed, sooner 

 or later, to try their fortune in the American market, and 

 the home manufacturer should be prepared for this event. 

 In order that he may be well informed as to what bar- 

 riers he will have to hurdle to get into foreign fields The 

 India Rubber World has prepared, and publishes in 

 this issue, a detailed table giving the rubber tariffs of all 

 of the eighteen countries which in the fiscal year of 1912 

 imported American rubber goods to the value of $100,- 

 000 and over. Some of these tariffs are high and some 

 are low ; some are general, applying to all countries alike, 

 and some are preferential, giving the United States cer- 

 tain advantages — but the American manufacturer who at 

 any time feels disposed to retaliate for any invasion of 

 his territory will be able to tell by this table just what 

 tariff' obstacles lie in his way. 



