584 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1914. 



The Fourth International Rubber and Allied Industries Exhibition. 



HELD AT ROYAL AGRICULTURAL HALL, LONDON, 

 JUNE 24 TO JULY 9. 



THE I'Vmrtli liitt-rnatidnal Rubber and Allitd Incbistrics Kx- 

 hibitioii was opened at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Lsling- 

 ton, on June 24, by Prince Arthur of Connaught, and con- 

 tinued until July 9, which terminated what was beyond any ques- 

 tion the best of the four rubber expositions, from both a con- 

 structive and instructive standpoint. In calling upon Prince 

 Arthur to declare the exhibition open. Sir Henry Blake thanked 

 His Royal Highness for the honor done in consenting to open 

 the exhibition, stated its objects, and incidentally paid a well 

 deserved tribute to the organizing manager, Mr. A. Staines 

 Manders. 



After concluding his introductory remarks indicating that the 

 amount of capital invested in the rubber industry exceeds 

 i25O,00O,00O, that 54 governments were showing their various 

 products at the exhibition and dealing with its international 

 character, he introduced Prince Arthur, who expressed his appre- 



The Openixg Ceremony. 



ciation of having been invited to participate in an occasion of 

 such importance in the history of the rubber industry. He had 

 gladly acceded to the request to open the exhibition, being con- 

 vinced of the advantages of such meetings for the promotion 

 of branches of manufacture to which those present were de- 

 voting their energies and their lives. Consequently, he was 

 greatly pleased to welcome delegates from so many countries, 

 engaged in amicable rivalry. 



Paraphrasing the old saying that "every dog has his day," he 

 expressed the opinion that rubber is having, and will continue 

 to have, its day. The latter half of the nineteenth century was 

 essentially the gold mining era, but he thought that rubber, 

 found in trees in Africa, .\sia and Soulli .\merica. and one variety 

 of which has been introduced with such marked success into 

 Ceylon, the Malay States, the Straits Settlements, etc., would 

 in the future prove to be as profitable as the golden mineral. 

 While denying any personal interest in rubber shares, he felt 

 that a boom in some department of industry would be very 

 welcome; so why not another in rubber? 



After tracing the history of plantation rubber from its well- 

 known .sources to the record exports of 1913, His Royal High- 

 ness alluded to the fall in prices as having been caused by the 

 enormous production being in excess of immediate requirements. 

 Hence the reason of this exhibition, to show the variety of uses 

 to which rubber could be applied, thus offering a vast, untrodden 

 field for future commercial enterprise. 



rilE PRESS LUN'CIIEON. 



Un June 2i, the day preceding the formal opening of the 

 exhibition, the initial view, with luncheon, was afforded to 

 the press, delegates and exhibitors. Succeeding the discussion 

 of a most appetizing menu, the chairman — Sir Henry Blake — 

 proposed the customary toasts and made his usual happy intro- 

 ductions. The speaker succeeding Sir Henry was Mr. John Mc- 

 Ewan, of the Rubber Growers' Association, who dealt with the 

 various uses of rubber from the cradle to the grave, among other 

 tilings suggesting the highly useful character of an asbestos- 

 lined winding sheet, and very humorously paraphrasing the 

 "Seven Ages of Man," so as to make that famous passage fit 

 the varied utilities of rubber. 



He spoke of the work accomplished by the Rubber Growers' 

 Association with reference to the general availability of planta- 

 tion rubber. 



Among the other speakers were Mr. FitzGibbon, Dr. Ferrao. 

 and Mr. Theodore E. Smith. 



Incidentally, each member of the press was presented with a 

 package containing the following substantial and useful souvenirs: 

 Hot water bottle (best British make) and tobacco pouch, both 

 made of plantation rubber by the Leyland & Birmingham Ruli- 

 ber Co., Ltd. ; two beautiful wallets, given by the Continental 

 Caoutchouc & Gutta-percha Co. : two golf balls, given by the 

 Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd. : a box of high-grade combs, from the 

 North British Rubber Co-, Ltd., and an eraser in a hexagon box 

 from the Standard Asphalt & Rubber Co. 



MAXV HIC.IU.V ENJOYABLE RECEPTIONS. 



This 1914 exposition was prolific of social events, which, by 

 the way. have always been among the very pleasant features 

 of the rubber shows which have gone before. 



Succeeding the opening ceremony on June 24, Sir Henry Blake 

 g.Tve a reception and tea, wdiich was largely attended and a very 

 happy affair. Sir Henry was assisted in receiving by Lady 

 Blake. During the afternoon an exhibition tennis match be- 

 tween Messrs. Cowdray and Hierons, both professionals, was 

 played on the rubber court which was the special feature of 

 the exhibit of the Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Co. 



Probably no pleasanter reception than that given by the State 

 of Para and Para Commercial Association, which occurred on 

 Thursday, June 25, was given during the Exhibition. There 

 was a delightful tea, and "tea," by the way, is a comprehensive 

 term at a London rubber exhibition. There were no speeches 

 and general joy prevailed. This function was attended by 150 

 guests, among whom were many persons of distinction. 



The event of Friday, the 26th, was the visit of the Lord Mayor 

 and Sheriff's, who constituted a glittering and highly edifying 

 body. These distinguished gentlemen carefully inspected the 

 various features of the exhibition and expressed themselves as 

 being greatly pleased and much interested in what they saw. 



On the afternoon of the 26th (which, by the way, was British 

 Malaya Day) a reception was given by the British Malaya Com- 

 mittee, which was a largely attended and most successful event. 

 .-\mong those present were Sir John Anderson, G. C. M. G.. 

 late governor of the Straits Settlements; Sir William Taylor. 

 K. C. M. G. ; Sir Edward Ward, Sir Edward and Lady Birch, 

 and a number of other w-ell known people. 



t)n June 27 the exhibition w-as honored by the official visit of 

 the Belgian Minister to England and the Belgian Minister of the 

 Colonies. In the afternoon the Belgian reception, always a noted 

 event of rubber exhibitions, was held. The feature of this re- 



