366 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



i April 1, 1914. 



THE WASTE MATERIAL DEALERS DINE. 



WASTE material — often irreverently referred to as junk — 

 must be wholesome provender, for the National Asso- 

 ciation of Waste Material Dealers, which on March 17 cele- 

 brated its first birthday, is assuredly a very husky infant. 



This celebration took the form of a dinner at the Hotel .\stor, 

 Xcw York. The toastmaster was Mr. Theodore Hofeller, who 

 acted as president of the association during its first year. Mr. 

 Hofeller gave an admirable address full of information regard- 

 ing the work done by the waste material dealers of the United 

 States. He showed the value of the waste collected in the 

 different departments of this industry and quoted figures given 

 by some statistician who has devoted much attention to this 

 subject, showing that the aggregate value of the reclaimed waste 

 in the United States for the past year was $700,000,000. This 

 seems at first blush as a rather large figure, but probably it is 

 not very far out of the way. 



Mr. Hofeller then introduced, as the special guest of the 

 evening, the Honorable Curtis (niild, of Boston, who was three 



1 IIEODORE HOFELl.EK. 



times Governor of Massachusetts, once .Embassador to Mexico, 

 and more recently Ambassador to Russia — to say nothing about 

 future political honors that undoulitedly await him. Anybody 

 who has heard Mr. Guild speak knows what an excellent speaker 

 he is — as he well might be, from the years of extensive ex- 

 perience that he has had in the cultivation of this art. Inci- 

 dentally, he is the proprietor of the "Commercial Bulletin" of 

 Boston, which made his choice as chief speaker at this function 

 eminently appropriate. 



Mr. Guild began by reciting some humorous incidents con- 

 nected with his political campaigns, and particularly with the 

 campaign that he made with Mr. Roosevelt when the latter 

 was running for the presidency. He then took up the subject 

 of the evening, beginning as follows : 



"I congratulate you most heartily on the success of this thriv- 

 in.g organization, as well as on the eminent service that this 

 great industry renders to the business world and to American 

 industry. 



"H praise is to be 'given to those who conserve our water 

 powers, our forests and our natural deposits of minerals, praise 

 should also be given -to' those who, by the prevention of the 

 waste of raw material, add to our national wealth, reduce the 

 cost of living, provide new national industries and increase the 

 prosperity of our country. 



"Over forty years ago my beloved father was the pioneer in 



journalism to recognize the importance and the value of this 

 branch of national industry. l'~or years the paper which he 

 founded was the only one in the country to publish any general 

 market report covering the entire industry, yet so swift has 

 been your development that to-day there is scarcely a com- 

 mercial journal in the United States that docs not pay some 

 attention, at least, to a portion if not to tlie whole of the market 

 in which you are interested." 



In his exceedingly interesting address — which took up the 

 liistory from remote times of waste reclamation — he had this 

 to say about the rubber industry : "The increase in the use 

 of rubber and the corresponding failure in an equal increase 

 of supply, combined with the failure to invent a substitute, 

 would long ago have brought the cost of rublier to so lofty a 

 level that were it not for the reclaiming and utilization of waste 

 rubber, it would frankly be impossible for the poorer people 

 wlio live in inclement climates to be sheltered as they now are 

 sheltered by comparatively inexpensive waterproof shoes and 

 clothing." 



He cited the fact that the census of 1913 shows that while 

 the United States exported rubber scrap to the value of $1,- 

 600,000, it imported other rubber scrap to the value of $3,000,000, 

 proving that we were utilizing more of this material in this 

 country than we produce ourselves. 



Mr. Guild was followed by Mr. Louis Birkenstein, the newly 

 elected president of the association, who proved himself an enter- 

 taining story teller — a happy gift for a presiding officer. Not that 

 his address was all stories, because it had its serious side and 

 not only diverted but instructed the members of the association 

 and their friends. Captain F. H. .Appleton, who as president 

 of the Rubber Reclaimers' Club, represented that organization, 

 spoke of the relations existing between the reclaimer and the 

 waste materia! dealer. 



In the cabaret that followed (of a very proper and harmless 

 character) there was a magician who gave some fine examples 

 of converting waste material into various utilities, by extracting 

 greenbacks from a half-smoked cigaret. taking dollar bills from 

 the core of a red apple and filling one of the diner's pockets 

 with playing cards which he immediately took out again in the 

 form of a very much alive ami energetically kicking white 

 rabbit. 



The association, tho only a year old, has a substantial member- 

 ship which gives the organization promise of permanence and 

 great success. Its present officers are: President, Louis Birken- 

 stein; vice-presidents, Simon Weil, C. B. White. Edward Stone, 

 H. H. Cummings and William Buxton; treasurer, Mark Sher- 

 win ; secretarv, Charles M. Haskins. 



THE SCRAP RUBBER CLUB ELECTS OFFICERS. 



The Scrap Rubber Dealers' Cluli held its annual meeting in 

 \'ew York, March 17, at which the following officers were 

 elected : Theodore Hofeller, president ; Edwards Hers, treas- 

 urer; H. H. Cummings, secretary; Paul Loewenthal, first vice- 

 president, and .\aron Bers, second vice-president. 



SHALL we: throw AWAY OUR RUBBERS! 



A New Jersey chemical company invites the public to abandon 

 its rubbers. This company is advertising a certain liquid named 

 "Dri-Foot" which it says if applied to a leather shoe will make 

 it absolutely waterproof. It also states that after this water- 

 proof application the shoe is neither greasy nor sticky and that 

 it can be polished as readily as before. If this is true "Dri- 

 Foot" is certainly a desirable commodity; but in view of the 

 limg line of w'aterproofing liquids which have been marching 

 down the corridors of time — none of them in reality so very 

 waterproof — it is quite likely that the sixty million Americans 

 who annually buy rubbers will still continue to do so. 



