SEriE.MBER 1, 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



<.67 



FRANCIS H. APPLETON, JR. 



Few nu'ii in tlif nilil)i'r trade have aceoniplisheil mure in their 

 own chosen line than I'Vancis H. Appleton, Jr.. the secretary- 

 treasurer of the well-known rubber reclaiming concern of F. H. 

 Appleton & Son, Inc., of Boston and Franklin, Massachusetts. 



Mr. Appleton is the son of Francis H. Appleton and Ida Cook 

 Appleton, the latter a daughter of Martin Cook, of the old firm 

 of W. II. Jackson & Co., manufacturers of grates and fenders, 

 of New >'ork City. Born in 1875 in Union Square, young Ap- 

 pleton was educated at Trinity School, and later took a very 

 thorough technical course under private tutorship. 



W'lun liis father started reclaiming rubber from scrap in 1898, 

 yuung .Xiiplelou went into the factory. Being naturally an in- 

 vestigator, witli a good knowledge of chemistry and mechanics. 



I'"r.\ncis H. Apj'leton, Jk. 



he took upon himself tile task of improving the output of the 

 works, so that the stock would come out cleaner, and therefore 

 be more marketable. His success was complete, and the ma- 

 terial became so superior that the trade quickly alisorbed the 

 entire output. 



After having succeeded with scrap boots and shoes, Mr. Ap- 

 pleton turned his attention to the reclaiming of mechanical 

 scrap, and the result of a year's investigation and experiment 

 was the working out of a process for reclaiming all kinds of 

 mechanical stuflf, and carloads of the waste from different fac- 

 tories were taken, from which was extracted a fine quality of 

 workable rubber. He was the pioneer in this restoration, as he 

 was also, later, in producing a high-grade rubber from worn 

 automobile tires. 



Mr. .Appleton has proved himself thorough in investigation, 

 apt in invention and most resourceful. He succeeded in giving 

 to the rubber trade a high-grade stock which has always been 

 marketable at a price commensurate with its quality. 



Mr. .Appleton resides in Franklin, where the factory is situ- 

 ated. He married Miss Carrie Goodwin, and there is one son, 

 Francis H. .\ppleton. third, a name of which the little fellow 



is exceedingly proud. Mr. Appleton is a man of many attractive 

 (pialitics, which have made him a host of friends both in and 

 out of the rubber trade, lie has been a member of the Rubber 

 Club of .America since 1905. He stands high in masonic circles, 

 being Deputy High Priest in his district. He is also a member 

 of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery, of which his father is 

 an ex-commander. When that company went to London two 

 years ago, and, as guests of the parent company, were received 

 by King George V, three of the company bore the name of 

 b'rancis H. Appleton, father, son and grandson. The latter, 

 then eight years old, marching with the elders, clad in his Boy 

 Scout suit of khaki, created much favorable comment and news- 

 paper praise for his yoiubful. soldierlike Ijcaring, an inheritance 

 from his forbears 



AS TO RUBBER CARGOES AFLOAT WHEN THE WAR BROKE OUT. 



The secretary of the Rubber Club issued a circular letter on 

 .\ugust 8 to the firm members of the club inviting thcni to co- 

 operate with representative members of other industries in ap- 

 pealing to their respective senators and representatives to take 

 up with the State Department the matter of getting exemption 

 for cargoes of raw material (the members of this club of course 

 being particularly interested in rubber cargoes) that might be 

 alloat in ships that left their ports before the declaration of war. 



.As the State Department received a vast number of requests 

 for information on the subject of contraband cargoes as affected 

 by the President's declaration of neutrality, the solicitor of the 

 department, Mr. Johnson, prepared a statement for general 

 distriliution. This statement shows that contraband articles may 

 he shi|)ped but that they will be shipped at the owner's risk. Mr. 

 Johnson continues : 



"Vessels flying the flag of one of the belligerents are su1)ject 

 to seizure and confiscation by the opposing belligerents. Con- 

 traband of w^ar on board such vessels is, of course, subject to 

 confiscation, though the property is neutral. 



"Goods not contraband, belonging to a neutral aboard a cap- 

 tured vessel, are subject to delay and interruption consequent 

 upon the seizure of the vessel, but not to confiscation, upon mani- 

 festation of neutral ownership and the non-contraband character 

 of tile goods." 



THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RUBBER CLUB. 



On .August 11 the secretary of the Rubber Club sent out an 

 official announcement from the club to a number of the leading 

 papers of the country as to the condition of the crude rubber 

 market and also of manufactures as affected by the outbreak of 

 hostilities in Europe. 



THE FIFTEENTH YEAR BOOK OF THZ RUBBER CLUB. 



The fifteenth year book of the Rubber Club of .America, for 

 the current year, just issued by the secretary, is a much more 

 pretentious book than the club has hitherto prepared for its 

 memliers. The present issue is a book of 48 pages, size 6x9, 

 with 2 photographic inserts. It gives the present officers and 

 directors and members of the standing committees; the proceed- 

 ings of the last annual meeting, held in Boston in .April, and the 

 reports of the president, treasurer and secretary, submitted at 

 that time. A new and interesting feature of the book is a his- 

 torical sketch of the club and its predecessor, the New England 

 Rubber Club. The year book also contains the articles of asso- 

 ciation, the charter granted by the State of Massachusetts, the 

 officers of the club since its organization, its constitution and 

 revised by-laws and a list of its members; showing that it has 

 at present 3 honorary, 68 firm, 209 active and 58 associate mem- 

 bers—a total membership of 338. 



The two inserts consist of reproductions of the photographs of 

 the club group at the annual midsummer outing in July, 1913, and 

 of the annual midwinter dinner held in \ew York last January. 



