March 1, 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



315 



CABLES 14 Y£ABS OLD AKD AS GOOD AS ETEB. 



An interesting test of cable endurance has recently come to 

 light. Fourteen years ago the Commercial Cable Co. wished to 

 connect its New York office by underground conduits with its 

 trans-Atlantic and other deep-sea cables, converging at a point 

 at the eastern end of Coney Island — some 18 miles from the 

 office. The order for these cables was given to The Okonite Co., 

 of New York, and three cables of four conductors were laid at 

 that time. Four years later, in 1904, three other cables of four 

 conductors were also laid by the same company. This connection 

 from New York to Coney Island traversed Jamaica Bay. 



Not long ago the United States Government decided to dredge 

 the channel in this bay, and the Commercial Cable Co. was asked 

 to remove its lines — which it did, selecting a new station at Far 

 Rockaway. The Okonite Co. provided the cables for this new 

 connection — a distance of 22 miles — and after the work was done 

 the cable company concluded to use the old Jamaica Bay cables 

 as extra conductors for the Far Rockaway line. After com- 

 pleting a considerable part of this work the general manager 

 wrote to The Okonite Co. as follows : 



"I am pleased to state that all of the cables which we have thus 

 far withdrawn (about 18 miles in length) have proved to be in 

 excellent condition, so much so that we are relaying them between 

 New York and Far Rockaway, and judging from their condition, 

 I have every reason to hope that they will still last many years, 

 as from their appearance the time elapsed since they were laid 

 does not seem to have affected the insulation at all." 



THE B. F. GOODRICH CO. REPORT FOR 1913. 



On February 24 the annual report of the B. F. Goodrich Co. 

 for the year ending December 31. 1913, was made public. It 

 shows net profits of $2,599,747, which equals .83 of 1 per cent, 

 on the $60,000,000 common stock, after the payment of 7 per cent, 

 on the preferred stock— which calls for $2,100,000. President 

 B. G. Work recites briefly several reasons for the falling off in 

 net profits of the company. One is the fact that crude plantation 

 rubber, which at the beginning of the year was valued at a dollar 

 a pound, fell to .SS cents a pound before the end of the year. He 

 also cites the labor troubles that occurred in .Akron early in the 

 year, and the general decline in trade all over the country, which 

 affected the manufacturers of tires in common with other manu- 

 facturers. 



He then goes on to mention various advantages which Ihi- 

 company now has over its situation in former years — advantages 

 arising from econnniies made possible by the unification of xhv 

 Goodrich and Diamond plants. 



The figures of the report are as follows : 



Year ended Nine nios. enil. 



Dec. 31. '13. Dec. 31,'IJ. 



Net sales $39,509,347 $37,533,861 



Manufacturing, selling and general admin, expen- 

 ditures 36,451.234 33,814,527 



Net profit from operation 3,058,113 3,719.334 



Miscellaneous income 491,317 571,845 



Total income $3,549,429 $4,291,179 



Depreciation 541,358 440,852 



'Reduction of preferred stock 168,417 



Interest and bills payable 239,907 327,838 



Net profit $2,599,747 $3,522,489 



•Reduction of treasury preferred stock from cost to par value. 



The consolidated balance sheet as of December 31. 1913. com- 

 pares as follows : 



ASSETS. 1913. 1912. 



Real estate, buildings, plant, good will, etc $71,060,802 $70,685,722 



Investments in other companies 1.197.058 1,635,958 



Preferred stock in treasury 2.058.700 2,227,117 



.Societe Francaise B. F. Goodrich 570,987 



Current assets 19,401,460 24,007,698 



Deferred charges to operation 222,950 229,619 



Total $94,51 1,957 $98,786,114 



LI.^BILITIES. 



Common stock $60,000,000 $60,000,000 



Preferred stock 30.000.000 30.000.000 



Current liabilities 3.505,974 7,679,879 



Reserve for contingencies 300,000 300.000 



Surplus 705,983 806,235 



Total $94,511,957 $98,786,114 



ANMUAL MEETING OF UNITED STATES RUBBER CO. 



The twenty-second annual meeting of the stockholders of the 

 United States Rubber Co. will be held in New Brunswick, New 

 Jersey, at its main office, on Tuesday, March 17. at 12 o'clock 

 noon. 



THE LOEWENTHAL COUFANT NOT INTERESTED. 



.-\ recent issue of the "India Rubber Journal," published in Lon- 

 don, contained a description of a new reclaiming process which, 

 according to the article, had just been patented in England by 

 O. A. Wheeler, E. D. Loewenthal and B. Loewenthal. In con- 

 nection with this story in the English paper the Loewenthal Co. 

 makes the following statement : 



"An article appearing in a recent issue oi an F.nglish rubber 

 journal seems to have created the impression that this company 

 is interested in a certain reclaiming process. We deem it im- 

 portant to correct this impression by advising the trade in gen- 

 eral that we have not had nor have we at present any connec- 

 tion whatsoever w'ith the process in question." 



This process — which is called the Vulcalose process — was in- 

 vented by O. .\. Wheeler, of the Vulcalose Co., Hessville, 

 Indiana. 



CONVEYOR BELTS. 



f he accompanying illustration shows a 14,000 pound "Longlife" 

 conveyor belt made by the B. F. Goodrich Co. in its factory at 

 Akron, Ohio. This company not only has the largest single rub- 

 ber factory in the world but states that it also has the largest 

 belt room, with a capacity for turning out belts ranging from 

 the smallest transmission to immense 72-inch conveyors, at the 

 rate of four miles per day. This particular belt is for use in 



.\ "Lu.nglife" Conveyor Belt, Weighing 14,000 Pounds. 



handling coal, is 36 inches wide and l,322j/< feet in length and 

 is made of seven-ply construction with a 3/16-inch rubber cover. 

 In order to facilitate shipment it was divided into two sections, 

 as shown, tho it will be used on one conveyor. Goodrich belts 

 are known and in use in almost every part of the world, not 

 only in the United States and Canada but on all the continents 

 and other subdivisions of the earth where mines and factories 

 are located. 



Other conveyor belts of enormous size are now being made 

 by the Perdriau Rubber Co., Ltd., of Sydney, N. S. W., for a 

 coal loading plant at Fort Kembla, Australia. These belts are 

 to be approximately 1,650 feet each in length and will weigh in 

 the neighborhood of 24,000 pounds, being made of seven-ply 

 rubber and cotton, in one continuous length, without joints, 36 

 inches wide. The conveyor on which these belts are to be used 

 will carry coal a distance of about 1,600 feet at a rate of 1,000 

 tons an hour. 



