662 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September 1, 1914. 



ihc light of the intirmary. This land wa.^ a -< -il by the city 

 ;it $140,600. Mr. Foss was willing to sell at what the land orig- 

 inally cost him, and the taxes and interest since its purchase, in 

 all $108,000. This Mayor Curley was unwilling to pay, and he 

 ordered the seizure of the land by right of eminent domain, the 

 award to be not over $125,000. Before proper legislation to 

 this end was pas.sed. however, the mayor sent a substitute order 

 to the council to l)uy the land at the assessed value, to wliich 

 the ex-governor agreed. 



Then a surprise was the giving to the city of a piece of prop- 

 erty adjoining the Foss land and the infirmary. This plot, with 

 apartment houses upon it, the property of Elizabeth Glendower 

 Evans, is assessed at $48,000. By agreement between Mrs. 

 Evans and Mr. Thomas Forsyth, the apartment houses will be 

 razed, and the land be turned over to the city for park pur- 

 poses at no expense to the city. This is a most substantial ad- 

 dition to the individual donations for the benefit of humanity 



by these practical philanthropists. 



* * * 



The selling agents and traveling salesmen of the Revere Rub- 

 ber Co. were congregated in Boston the middle of the month, 

 when a four days' business convention was held at the Copley- 

 Plaza Hotel, and plans were mapped out for the coming sea- 

 son's campaign. Some eighty or more salesmen were in at- 

 tendance at the business conferences, and a much larger num- 

 lier. including several of the officers of the company, were 

 present at the banquet given as a wind-up to the convention. 

 One day was spent in thoroughly inspecting the factory at 

 Chelsea, where the salesmen were given every opportunity of 

 familiarizing themselves with the manufacture of the goods. 



Mention was made last month of the remarkable mat ex- 

 hibited by the Revere Rubber Co. at the Shoe and Leather 

 ilarket I'air in this city. The mat was composed of a great 

 number of Spring Step rubber heels, and a prize was offered 

 for the nearest guess to the exact number. Naturally this 

 created much interest, and over 1,500 people sent in their guesses 

 or estimates, and these estimates ran from 700 up to 71,000. 

 The exact number was 6,002 heels. The nearest guesses were 

 both made by shoe salesmen, William F. Nye, southern sales- 

 man for the Whitcomb Shoe Co., of Haverhilll. and Gordon 

 P. Eager, of Rice & Hutchins. Each guessed 6.001 heels. 

 Under these circumstances the Revere Rubber Co. decided to 

 split the first and second prizes, and sent to each a twenty-dollar 

 gold piece, with a congratulatory letter. 



* * * 



The Rhody Boot Co.. of Providence, manufacturers of leather 

 sole rubber boots and overshoes, will move their business to 

 Rockland, Massachusetts, about the first of September, having 

 secured the factory on North Union street formerly occupied 

 by the Burdette Co. This company is a Rhode Island corpora- 

 tion, with an authorized capital of $50,000. The name will be 

 changed to The South Shore Shoe Co. Its specialties in rubber 

 boots and overshoes have a rubber upper, a vulcanized rubber 

 welt-sole, and an oak or chrome leather outsole sewed by the 

 Goodyear welt process. This enables the boot to be resoled, 

 thus insuring it a much longer life. Besides these specialties, 

 the company will add lines of athletic, outing and school shoes. 

 * * * 



Just as a curiosity, I send you a small advertisement clipped 

 from a Portland, Maine, daily paper. It reads: 



JOIN THE CROWD and brin? al! vour coupons, tags, and old rubbers 

 to the Green Stamp Co., 24 Forest avenue. Handsome premiums given in 

 exchange. 



The connection between coupons, tags, green stamps and 

 worn-out rubbers seems rather remote. Premiums for scrap 

 rubber, however, may be popular way down east. 



* • * * 



The Danversport Rubber Co. at a recent meeting electeil 

 Frederick Barlow president, and A. Barlow treasurer. Mr. .\. 

 Barlo%v, who was the founder of the business, has his office 



at 79 Milk street. J. W. Kumph is superintendent of the mill at 

 Danversport, where an extensive reclaiming plant is located. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN RHODE ISLAND. 



!iy L>nr Rciiiitar Correspondcitl. 



THE rubber companies throughout this state are finding that 

 the European situation has caused them more inconvenience 

 than it has caused any other industry, these concerns being 

 among tiie first to report any ill effects from the Continental 

 war. Most of the local plants have been doing a good business 

 and have found ready sale for their products, which consist of 

 nearly everything that is made of rubber. The great difficulty 

 being experienced by the companies is to secure the necessary 

 supply of crude rubber to conduct their operations. 



The Revere Rubber Co., Valley street, Providence, which is 

 owned by the United States Tire Co., posted the following notice 

 on August 6: "Owing to conditions caused by tlie European 

 situation, which make it difficult for us to get our principal 

 crude material, we are temporarily curtailing our production." 

 The company has been running double time for more than a 

 year, manufacturing automobile tires and rubber thread. The 

 night shift finished out that week and was then stopped, accord- 

 ing to Harlow Waite. the general manager of the plant. The 

 day shift has been gradually reduced throughout the works and 

 will be continued on a curtailed schedule imtil the situation 

 clears, with the possibility, if crude rubber continues to be tied 



up, of the plant closing entirely. 



* * * 



The American Wringer Co., of Woonsocket, beginning .\ugust 

 7, went on a five-days schedule in the rubber department, and 

 i( is expected to make a general curtailment within a compara- 

 tively short time. This step was taken, it was said, on account 

 of the effect of the European war on export trade. By this 

 order approximately 125 men are affected. The concern has a 

 large quantity of rubber on hand, but, it is pointed out, it can- 

 not afford to use it all up in a few months, not knowing how 

 long it may be before it can replenish. The American Wringer 

 Co. does a big export business with Germany and England, be- 

 sides shipping goods to all parts of the world. To fill imme- 

 diate orders the company will draw from its surplus stock. If 

 any changes are made necessary along curtailment lines, an an- 

 nouncement to that effect will be made by the company. 



* * * 



The Bourn Rubber Co., Warren street, which has been liaving 

 a large run on tennis shoes this year, reports that it has on hand 

 a sufficient stock of crude rubber to last several months. 



* * * 



LeBaron C. Colt, of Bristol, vice-president of the National 

 India Rubber Co., takes an optimistic view of the situation and 

 in an nitervicw a few days ago said that there was no expecta- 

 tion of the company gomg short of crude rubber on account of 

 the European war. There is an ample supply, he said, and the 

 possibility of interference with the sources of supply is extremely 

 remote. Mr. Colt stated that the rubber interests anticipated no 

 serious trouble whatever, giving his reasons for this by adding 

 that there are several large supplies of stored rubber in this 

 country, one of which is at the plant of the National India Rub- 

 ber Co.. at Bristol, a quantity sufficient for many months. 



Mr. Colt then referred to the great stores of crude material 

 provided by the I.'nited States Rubber Co., the parent corpora- 

 tion, which looks after such matters years in advance. But the 

 most important factor of all is the great rubber producing center 

 of Ceylon. Referring to this Mr. Colt says that inasmuch as 

 Ceylon is a British possession, and England being expected to 

 maintain her prestige on the seas, matters in Ceylon will re- 

 main undisturbed and the production and distribution of crude 

 rubber will go on without interruption as it has in the past. 



* * * 



.\t the .Mice and Millville mills of the Woonsocket Rubber 



