358 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April 1, 1914. 



branch; and Mr. ilurphy, assistant manager at the Philadelphia 

 branch, goes to Atlanta to succeed Mr. Price. 



:> * * 



W. E. Slabaugh has been appointed trustee in bankruptcy of 

 the .Akron Rubber Mold & Machine Co. 



The McNall .\uto Tire Co., of Toledo, Ohio, organized by 

 several .Vkron men, will engage in a general tire business. 



* * * 



Buchtcl College, which within the past si.x months has become 

 the University of Akron, is emphasizing technical and engineer- 

 ing lines, and especially those connected with tlie rubber industry ; 

 and no doubt the change from its former ownership to that of 

 the city will give it increased prestige, larger resources and 

 insure its future. Free tuition is granted by the city, and it 

 is kept up at tlie city's expense. It was opened in 1872. The 

 endowment and college buildings are valued at $300,000, free 

 from debt, and all were turned over to tlie city upon the con- 

 <iition that the university should be maintained as a municipal 

 institution. There are six acres in the campus, with an athletic 

 field of four acres. Thus Akron is one of the few- cities in the 

 •country where a college education can be secured by its resi- 

 dents free. 



.\kron's growth during the last two years necessitates the 

 erection of six large school buildings the coming summer. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN BOSTON. 



By (I Ri'sidciit t oi rcst>ondciil. 



B LSI NESS has not changed materially, one way or the other, 

 during the mouth. Weather influences are blamed for the 

 tardiness of spring activity. While Boston and New England 

 have not suffered so severely from the lingering wiiiter, still 

 there has been enough in the climatic conditions to give fairly 

 plausible excuse for a somewhat prolonged continuance of the 

 conservatism which has characterized nearly all trades for the 

 past few montlis. and the rubber trades have, to a considerable 

 extent, followed the fashion. 



The nptable exceptions are the. clothing and footwear lines, 

 which naturally have benetitcd l)y the many and severe storms 

 at the fag-end of the season. Clothing men report a brisk 

 demand for raincoats and ruljber garments, this demand being 

 noted for all qualities from the finest down to the very cheapest. 

 Perhaps the business in cheap garments is stimulated by the 

 various transient stores devoted to "fire sales" or "removal 

 sales,'' which are seldom absent from this or other large cities. 



Naturally the rubber footwear trade has been lively, and 

 stocks in retailers' hands have been greatly reduced, and in 

 many cases entirely depleted, because of the snow storms and 

 the thaws following. The rubber heel manufacturers all seem 

 to be busy, and their number does not grow less. Many of 

 them have added to their lines the manufacture of rubber soles 

 for shoe manufacturers. The fashion which started last year, of 

 leather or canvas shoes with stitched-on rubber soles, will 

 continue this coming summer at least, and the makers of rubber 

 soles have secured much extra business because of this demand. 

 Competition has been and continues keen, and shoe manu- 

 facturers have been able to liuy "rubber" soles at most any 

 price they were willing to pay. So many poor quality soles 

 were put on shoes last year, however, that some shoe manu- 

 facturers discontinued the making of these lines. This has dis- 

 couraged the making of too low a quality of soles, and most of 

 those produced today are of a better grade. 



Reports of the tire manufacturers are somewhat conflicting. 

 Some seem quite well satisfied, reporting business excellent. 

 while others state that business is dull, and not enough is doing 

 to warrant running their factories to full capacity. Possibly as 

 manv tires are being made and sold as in a corresponding 

 period of previous years ; perhaps more, but the trade is evi- 

 dentlv unevenlv divided. 



The Automobile Show last month was well attended, and 

 .some good business resulted for the manufacturers of motors 

 and cars. As per the agreement made previously, few tire 

 manufacturers exhibited, but it was noticed that the .Automobile 

 Show Program, a handsome book of 128 pages, contained ad- 

 vertisements of many of the leading tire agencies, calling 

 special attention to their Boston locations, and inviting visitors 

 to the fair to call upon them and examine their lines in a more 

 leisurely manner than would be possible at the exhibition hall. 



* * * 



.Among the surprises in automobile tire circles was the an- 

 nouncement about the middle of last month that Howard 

 Limric had resigned as local manager of the B. F. Goodrich 

 Co. in this city, and had become manager for New England 

 of the Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. Mr. Limric has been with 

 the lirst menti(med companj' many years, coming here from 

 .Akron fourteen years ago as assistant manager of the tire de- 

 partment, then located at 24 Kingston street, where three or 

 four men constituted the sales force. Later, when larger 

 ([uarters were established on Columbus avenue, he was made 

 manager, and as the business grew the new large building on 

 Boylston street was erected, planned and furnished under his 

 direction, the business having increased twenty to thirty fold 

 under his management. 



He now becomes New England manager for the Kelly- 

 Springfield Tire Co., with local offices and salesrooms on 

 Boylston street, near Exeter street, in the very heart of the 

 automobile district. Mr. Limric has made a host of business 

 and social friends in the fourteen years he has been here, and 

 they all wish him the same marked success in his new position 

 which he enjoyed with the Goodrich company. 



Mr. Liraric's retirement has resulted in the advancement to 

 the New England managership of the Goodrich company of 

 J. F. Moore, who has been with the company many years, and 

 was Mr. Limric's "right hand man" and understudy. It is 

 safe to predict that the business of the company in New Eng- 

 land will be continued much on the same lines as heretofore, 

 with only such changes as would naturally come from the 

 difference in the personalities of Mr. Moore and his predecessor. 

 Like Mr. Limric, he is a hustler for business, knows his com- 

 pany and its goods, has the confidence of his superiors at the 

 home office, and the good will of the hundred or more em- 

 ployes at the Boylston street store. 



* * ^ 



The clerks and salesmen of the Revere Rubber Co., Chelsea, 

 held a most enjoyable reunion and lianquct at the Boston City 

 Club early last month, at which nearly 100 were present. .Among 

 those who addressed the assembly on subjects pertinent to the 

 occasion, and appropriate to the business interests of the diners, 

 were C. W. Townsend, Samuel Walker, Frank B. Dickson, 



-Arthur M. Hope and Howard Irwin. 



* * * 



President Robert C. Harlow and Treasurer J. H. Stedman. 

 of the Monatiquot Rubber Works Co., of South Braintree, with 

 their wives, sailed Saturday, the 14th. for Bermuda, where they 

 will spend a few weeks. 



William F. Mayo, the head of the big rubber shoe concern 

 bearing his name, with his wife, is touring the western country. 

 They were in southern California during the excessive rains 

 of a month ago, and had somewhat strenuous experiences. The 

 train they were on was the last to cross one of the Iiridges 

 later carried away by the flooded river. The tourists are now- 

 proceeding on the return trip in a leisurely manner, making 

 stops at several of the more important sightseeing points. 



* * * 



Captain F. H. .Appleton. president of the Rubber Reclaimers' 

 Club, shared with the Honorable Curtis Guild, ex-governor of 

 Massachusetts, and former ambassador to Russia, the honor of 



