310 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1914. 



News of the American Rubber Trade. 



THE ■THED-LITE" HEEL WILL BE KNOWN AS THE ESSEX. 



Till'' ICssex Rubber Co., of Trenton, New Jersey, has been 

 manufacturing for some time a rubber heel known as the 

 "Tred-Lite." This heel has been very successful and has 

 readied a large sale, but the company lias concluded — wisely, it 

 would appear to the average man— to subordinate the word 

 Tred-Lite" and lay chief emphasis on the name "Essex" and 

 ihe trade-mark "S X," which appear on the greater part of the 

 goods sent out by this company, and which are consequently 

 widely known in the trade. So the "Tred-Lite" will hereafter 

 be known simply as the Esse.x heel. Incidentally, the company 

 calls attention to the new non-skid feature of the improved heel 

 and believes that a pair of these heels will outwear two pairs of 

 the ordinary kind, tho selling at no higher price. 



THE ASKAM RUBBER CO. 



The Askani Rubber Co., located at ^ililford, Connecticut, is a 

 new reclaiming company with a mill operated by William H. 

 Askam, widely known as an c.\pert on rubber reclaiming and 

 matters pertaining thereto. 



The new company, which will conlinc its operations to the 

 reclaiming of tire stocks, commences under particularly happy 

 auspices, so far as the plant and its equipment arc concerned, as 

 Mr. Askani personally superintended the construction, arrange- 

 ment and instalment of machinery ; the natural result of which 

 is a very complete and thoroughly modern reclaiming factory. 



It is eligibly located on 5 acres of land belonging to the com- 

 pany. The principal building contains the ofiSces, and also the 

 mill room, which is equipped with seven mills, one of the largest 

 types of vacuum dryers, a mammoth vulcanizer and a number of 

 strainers. The chemical building, devoted to the cleaning and 

 treatment of stocks, is fitted with the latest appliances. 



The power plant, to which is attached the pumping station, has 

 a 2S0-h. p. direct-connected Corliss Engine and two 250-h. p. 

 standard boilers. The company supplies its own light. 



The output will be known as the "Arco Grades" of reclaimed 

 rubber. Local transportation of stock will be handled by a three- 

 ton .Alco truck. 



CAPITAL INCREASES. 



The capital stock of Morgan & Wright, tire manufacturers, of 

 Detroit, Michigan, has been increased from $2,500,000 to $5,000,- 

 000, and a corresponding increase has been authorized in the 

 capital of the G. & J. Tire Co., of Indianapolis, Indiana— Doth 

 subsidiaries of the United States Rubber Co. 



The capital stock of A. G. Spalding & Brothers, the well known 

 sporting goods dealers, has been increased from $4,000,000 to 

 $6,000,000. 



RUBBER COMPANY DIVIDENDS. 



A quarterly dividend of l'/2 per cent, has been declared on 

 the preferred stock of the KcllySpringlield Tire Co., payable 

 April 2; and official announcement is made that a plan is under 

 consideration for taking care of accumulated back dividends of 

 this stock. The directors have also authorized the payment on 

 April 1 of 4 per cent, interest on the debenture bonds, and also 

 authorized the operation of the sinking fund by the payment of 

 4 per cent, on the outstanding debenture bonds to the Bankers' 

 Trust Co. on or before April 1. 1914. for the purpose of said sink- 

 ing fund. 



The B. F. Goodrich Co., of Akron. Ohio, has declared a regu- 

 lar quarterly dividend of 1)4 per cent, nn its preferred stock, 

 payable April 1 to stockholders of record on March 21. 



The Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Co. has declared a quarterly 

 dividend of $3.00 per share on its common stock, payable March 

 15 to stockholders of record on March 5. 



THE LOEWENTHAL CO. ON THE FUTURE OF SCRAP RUBBER. 



The Loewenthal Co., of New York, has recently issued and 

 distributed to its customers the following interesting circular in 

 regard to the outlook for the scrap rubber industry : 



"Many of our customers have asked us to give our opinion 

 as to the rubber market. The present situation being a very 

 unusual one, we feel justiiied in breaking our fixed rule not to 

 make market predictions, and we consider it our duty to advise 

 you regarding the situation as we see it. 



"The most important cause of the present condition is the 

 extremely low price of new (crude) rubber. Much larger quan- 

 tities of new rubber have come into the market than ever before 

 in the history of the business. Cheap new rubber means cheap 

 scrap rubber. From all information we can gather, there is no 

 prospect that new rubber will advance for a long time to come. 

 If such is the case, scrap rubber can not advance. 



"As soon as general business conditions revive, the rubber 

 business must naturally improve also. Rubber will be used to 

 as great an extent as ever before, but the manufacturer will buy 

 new rubber if he can not buy scrap at a proportionately low price. 



"It seems clear, therefore, that scrap rubber will remain at a 

 low level for an indefinite time, but that as much will be bought 

 by the mills as formerly, if the mills can buy scrap at a price 

 to compete with new rubber. If they can not get the scrap, they 

 naturally will buy the crude. It is up to the dealers, therefore. 

 to face the new conditions, and to commence as soon as pos- 

 sible to I)uy and sell in accordance with these conditions." 



THE LEE COMPANY'S NEW PLANT. 



The cut presented herewith shows the new plant of the Lee 

 Tire & Rubber Co., of Conshohockcn. Pennsylvania, which 

 has been described as "the aristocrat of the rubber mills" because 

 of its architectural beauty and the large acreage which sur- 

 rounds it. 



The new plant is most favorably located along the Schuylkill 

 river, and in close proximity to the stations of the Pennsylvania 

 and Reading Railways, which naturally affords excellent shipping 

 facilities. The buildings are of the most modern concrete con- 

 struction and fireproof throughout. All machinery in the plant 



1'l.\.\t ok Lek Tihk S: Kibber Co. 



is electrically-driven, thus dispensing with shaftings and belts. 

 The heating and ventilation — in fact, all Ihe equipment's of the 

 latest and best. The two main buildings are 400 feet long and 85 

 feet wide, one of them being four and the other two stories high. 

 The power plant is housed separately. The Lee factory specializes 

 in tires and druggists' sundries, and its product is favorably re- 

 garded and extensively sold. The company employs about 750 

 hands. an<l its weekly payroll exceeds $10,000. 



