Makch I, 1914. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



301 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN AKRON. 



By a Resident Correspondent. 

 nPHE rubber industries in Akron are optimistic. The Miller, 

 ■'■ Firestone ami Buckeye plants are running full force, and 

 the other factories are taking on new men ; but the reputation 

 of the Akron factories for hiring all the labor they can get has 

 invited to the city in search of employment a great number of 

 people who, on account of the limited number required, liavc 



been disappointed. 



ii* * * 



A permit has been issued by the building depannu-nt lor 

 the erection of another building by the Firestone lire 

 & Rubber Co. The new structure is to be 44 x 60 foei, 

 of fireproof concrete and steel, and when completed will be 

 equipped with apparatus for purifying and softening the water 

 used by the company, before it goes into the boilers. It is 

 to be situated near the railroad, in the rear of the present 

 main buildings, and the cost is estimated at about $5,000. 



Literature recently distributed by the advertising depart- 

 ment of this company describes the manufacture of pneumatic 

 tires and inner tubes, as well as the solid rubber tire. A 

 pneumatic tire casing is made up of fabric, beads, side walls, 

 cushions, breaker strip and tread, and the importance ot 

 thorough inspection to see that each part is not only of itself 

 perfect but that no flaws shall appear in the finished com- 

 bination of the six parts, is dealt with in these instructive 

 circulars. That inner tubes — which are subjected to great 

 strain when inflated — should be of the Iiighest quality of rub- 

 ber and only the best of workmanship employed in their 

 construction, and that proper tests be made to guard against 

 leaks, air bubbles, imperfect joints, etc., is clearly explained, 

 as well as the process by which these tubes are made. .\ 

 later contribution goes into the details of the manufacture 

 of the soli4 rubber tire, the gum as it comes from the calendar 

 being wrapped, layer on layer , directly on the rim on which 

 it is to be- used, the tire trimmed to the right shape when 

 correct thickness has been reached, and then cured — aftvr 

 which the tread is cut by skilled workmen. 



The sales force of this company is using especially at- 

 tractive advance cards, the design of which is changed each 

 month. The February number showed a portrait of Abraham 

 Lincoln, combined with a calendar for the month, and a 

 former issue showed a very clear and attractive photograiih 

 of the company's tire plant, with a smaller oval view of its 

 rim factory. 



The electric car which Chicago friends of Pope Pius have 

 purchased for his use and are to present to him in Marcli, 

 will be equipped with Firestone tires. 



* * * 



Early in February 135 members of the Cleveland Engineer- 

 ing Co. visited the plant of the B. F. Goodrich Co. here, ex- 

 pressing at the termination of that visit appreciation of tile 

 courtesy extended by the company and of the extent and 

 importance of the work being carried on. 



This company has developed, after much study and experi- 

 ment, a new tube, known as the Goodrich Indian Tube. This 

 is said to be made of the cream of the finest rubber gathered 

 by Indians native to the richest rubber country. It is brown 

 in color, and tho only recently placed on the market, has 

 met with exceptional favor and heavy demand. 



* * * 



One of the main reasons for the centralizing of the rubber 

 industry in and about .-Hkron is that the plants are practically at 

 the door of the coal fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West 

 Virginia, and that the Ohio canal, fed by the Portage system of 

 lakes and reservoirs, furnishes ample water supply. 



The Northern Ohio Power Co., which is closely affiliated with 

 the Northern Ohio Traction & Light Co., has constructed at the 



edge of Akron, along the Cuyahoga river, the largest hydro- 

 electric plant between Niagara Falls and the Mississippi river — 

 at a cost of over $2,000,000. The drainage of the Cuyahoga river 

 above this point covers a very large area. The dam at the 

 breast is 66 feet high and somewhat over 120 yards wide. The 

 sides are embedded in sandstone rock which forms the sides of 



Irox Conduit Below Ci;v.\iiog.\ U.\m. 



the gorge of the Cuyahoga river. There are continuous riffles 

 and falls below this dairi, and a large iron conduit below the 

 breast of the dam gives an additional fall of over 40 feet, making 

 a total head of water of 106 feet. 



This supplies motive power at minimum cost, and the B. F. 

 Goodrich Co. is using power from this plant for its factory. 

 The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. is at present being connected 

 and expects to use this electric power, but it has taken con- 



Pl.\nt of the Northern Ohio Power Co. 



siderable time to lay the underground conduit for carrying the 

 electric wires, which are placed under 22 parallel railroad tracks 

 at considerable depth. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and 

 the Miller Rubber Co. are also installing high tension wires to 

 use this power. Notwithstanding that some of the factories 

 have already installed their own electric plants, the cost of this 

 power is found to be much less than that generated at their 



own plants. 



* * * 



During the first week in February more than 1,000 addi- 

 tional workmen were employed by the Goodyear Tire & Rub- 

 ber Co. at its Akron factory, increasing the force to 6,000 

 men and the automobile tire output to 1.000 per day. This 

 company's factory is capable of housing 10.000 men and of 



