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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1, 1914. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN BOSTON. 



By a Kcsidcnl Conc.s-pi'iidciil. 



ACCORDING to reports in the tr;ulc, business lias not 

 opened up so briskly as might have been generally desired. 

 There is a feeling all along the line that the conservatism which 

 permeates nearly all lines of business is still to be observed in 

 the rubber business. The one exception seems to be rubber 

 clothing, the manufacturers of which are busy. Automobile 

 tire makers are not specially busy, and in some factories hands 

 have been laid off. In mechanical goods there is something do- 

 ing, but manufacturers are not boasting about it. Druggists' 

 goods are in fair demand, with some complaints of close prices 

 and competition. Rubber footwear producers have had their 

 troubles this season, as winter has been more than usually back- 

 ward, tho at present writing the weather is such that large 

 inroads will be made in retailers stocks, and this may later help 

 the manufacturers. 



♦ * » 



Speaking of rubber footwear, the trade looked forward with 

 some eagerness, not unmixed with anxiety, to the announcement 

 of prices and terms of the United States Rubber Co. Many in 

 the trade here would prefer to have such changes made March 

 1, nearer the end of the season, rather than in January, which 

 is the middle (and this year almost the beginning) of the retail 

 demand for rubbers. The announccnient was made promptly 

 January 1, and the changes in list prices were practically nil, a 

 cent reduction on a few lines. But the terms were changed, 

 the discount being increased from IS and 5 per cent, to 25 and 5 

 per cent., no change being made in the jobber's discounts. The 

 average reduction shown, therefore, was nearly 11 per cent, on the 

 net prices of last. year. 



As per their previous policy, the other rubber companies sent 

 out their new price Hsts. basing their net selling prices on those 

 of the United States Rubber Co. The prices and terms of the 

 Hood Rubber Co., the Apsley Rubber Co. and the Beacon Falls 

 Rubber Shoe Co. figure out about a 5 per cent, differential from 

 the United States company's prices, tho here and there a 

 difference of a cent or two is shown in certain items in the 



catalogs. 



* * * 



Nearly three years ago, or to be explicit, on the night of 

 February 2, 1911, the storehouse of the Converse Rubber Shoe 

 Co. at Maiden was set on fire, it is claimed, by sparks from a 

 locomotive of the Boston and Maine railroad. About the middle 

 of January the long delayed suit against the Boston & Maine 

 Railroad Co. for $90,000 damages was taken up by the court, 

 and on one day an extraordinary proceeding was introduced — 

 namely the transfer of the scene of the trial from the court 

 house to the fire station. The reason for this was the summon- 

 ing as witnesses of a large number of firemen. The chief en- 

 gineer demurred, however, against the absence of so many fire- 

 men from duty. Therefore the auditor and the attorneys for 

 both sides proceeded to the fire station, and the testimony was 

 taken without in any way crippling the fire service. The result 

 of the hearing had not been reported at the time this letter is 

 written. 



The Converse Rubber Shoe Co. is the defendant in an action 

 brought by Eugene Fuller, of Fall River, who claims that he 

 w^as granted a patent April 19, 1910, for a rubber shoe protector, 

 and that he entered into a contract with the Converse company 

 to allow it to manufacture the goods under the name of the 

 Fuller Rubber Shoe Protector, for which the company was to 

 pay him two and one-half cents a pair on men's shoes and two 

 cents a pair on women's shoes in which the invention was used. 

 His complaint is that the company did not use its best efforts 

 to dispose of goods so made, and that it never made returns to 

 him. He claims $50,000 in his action against the company. 



For a quarter of a century William F. Mayo & Co. have occu- 

 pied the big warehouse at 197 to 203 Congress street, doing an 

 immense rubber shoe jobbing business, their trade extending 

 over the entire country. That building now bears "To Let" 

 signs in the windows, and because of that, it has become known 

 that this old-established firm w^ill remove to the big nine-story 

 building 286 to 290 Summer street, which it has leased for a 

 long term of years. The new location is just beyond the bridge 

 in the new warehouse and manufacturing district, and not far 

 from the South Terminal Station. The building is of most ap- 

 proved construction and is excellently adapted for the business. 

 * * * 



A few months ago your Boston correspondent wrote an article 

 for The 1ni>ia Ruhher World on the Tango craze and its influ- 

 ence on footwear, especially the use of rubber in the soles of danc- 

 ing shoes. For a heading or title to the article a particularly ap- 

 propriate term was evolved, i. e., "Non-Skid Shoes for Dancing." 

 Whether a Haverhill shoe manufacturer reads The India Rub- 

 ber World, or whether it is an instance of "great minds run in 

 the same channels" your correspondent knoweth not, but the shoe 

 manufacturer has adopted the term and is advertising "Good- 

 rich 'Non-Skid' Footwear for all forms of dancing where sure 

 footing is a prime requisite." It is stated further that "the 

 stately minuet which they tell us is being revived can be danced 

 easily and gracefully with Goodrich 'Non-Skid' Footwear. In 

 the hesitation waltz the dancers hesitate at just the proper mo- 

 ment with 'Non-Skids,' and the fitting qualities are so excellent 

 that in tlie horse trot the wearers can cavort as much as they 

 please witli a perfect sense of security and not the least danger 

 of casting a shoe." 



He * * 



There are few men who have been in the rubber shoe business 

 for over a decade who are not acquainted with Chester J. Pike, 

 who for some years had charge of the United States Rubber 

 Co.'s business in Boston when it had its headquarters at the 

 corner of Bedford and Chauncy streets, where the Boylston 

 Bank is now situated. Mr. Pike is now connected with the ad- 

 vertising agency of A. W. Ellis Co., and in this connection he 

 has charge of the general advertising of the "Hubmark" rubbers, 

 manufactured at the Boston Rubber Shoe Co.'s factories. That 

 this advertising campaign has been so successful is due to Mr. 

 Pike's thorough knowledge of the rubber footwear business. 

 The novel and efficient local and general advertising, the window 

 cards and circulars were originated by him. 

 * * * 



.\ new company has been formed for the manufacture of rubber 

 heels and soles at Hanover, Massachusetts, under the title of 

 the Hanover Rubber Co. A new factory 50x100 feet is just 

 completed. Robert E. Parent is superintendent of the factory, 

 and George J. J. Clark is president. 



BOSTON WOVEN HOSE & RUBBER CO.'S NEW MILL ROOM NEARING 

 COMPLETION. 



The new building designed for mill and calender operations 

 and storage of raw materials, which represents the latest addi- 

 tion to the Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Co.'s plant at Cam- 

 liridge, Massachusetts, is now nearly finished. The work of in- 

 stallation is progressing rapidly, nine new 60-inch mills with 

 three 30-inch rotary refiners being already in operation ; and the 

 machines are being moved from the old buildings. One of the 

 features of the mill and calender room is the mastic flooring, 

 which is considered far superior to either cement or wood, 

 eliminating the possibility of dust, chips or other foreign material 

 getting into the compounds. 



Replete with information for rubber manufactjrers — Mr,. 

 Pearson's "Crude Rubber and Compounding Ingredients." 



