May 1, 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



417 



and told what efforts had been made, with the co-operation of 

 prominent scrap dealers, to suppress this exceedingly annoying 

 practice ; and he asked all the members of the trade to commu- 

 nicate any information regarding the stealing of rubber that 

 might come to their knowledge to the secretary of the club. 



He told what had been done in the way of establishing in the 

 rubber trade a system of arbitration, under the auspices of the 

 Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, and men- 

 tioned that a number of disputes rehitive to the quality of rub- 

 ber had been arbitrated with a vast saving of time and expense 

 and to the great advantage of both sides. He then took up sev- 

 eral very interesting topics, including rubber statistics and a new 

 grouping of club membership and continued as follows : 

 UriMUCR SIATISTICS. 



"The fact that tliere have been no reliable statistics collected 

 showing the extent and importance of the rubber industry in our 

 country, prompted the Executive Committee to make an attempt 

 to secure such statistics for the year 1912, believing that such a 

 record, if it could be secured, would show that the manufacture 

 and .sale of rubber goods had reached total proportions which 

 were not actually realized, and would place our industry in its 

 proper position among the great industries of the country. The 

 statistics furnished through the Census Bureau at long intervals 

 are not complete in many ways. It was therefore decided to 

 submit an information blank to all the rubber manufacturers 

 who could be reached, asking their co-operation. . . . \ list 

 was prepared, and statistical Ijlanks were sent out. This being 

 a new departure, the number of responses received up to date 

 has been very gratifying, although it was necessary to send out 

 a second letter, attempting to explain more fully the situation, 

 and to point out that all the replies were kept absolutely con- 

 fidential, owing to the fact that no manufacturer was required 

 to sign the blank sent to him, as it had a number only, and the 

 replies were to be seen by our secretary only, who as you know 

 has no connection with the rubber trade except as secretary of 

 our club. 



"In spite of this, however, some manufacturers secined to feel 

 that we were asking them to divulge private information which 

 might become public, but these are a very few in number in com- 

 parison with those who have replied, and I am glad to say 

 among the latter arc the largest concerns in the country. .-Xl- 

 though these statistics when collected may not be complete, ow- 

 ing to the number of smaller manufacturers who have not re- 

 sponded, they will at least give a fair idea of the extent of our 

 industry, and will be of great interest, and may residt in point- 

 ing out that in certain lines there is now an over-production, and 

 prevent the inauguration of new enterprises, which may desire to 

 enter certain lines of the rubber business under the impression, 

 which I believe has existed, that any new manufacturer of rub- 

 ber goods would find a large and profitable market for his 

 product. 



GROUP MEMBERSHIP. 



"It is one of the fond hopes and expectations of your presi- 

 dent that the Rubber Club may in the near future extend its 

 sphere of usefulness by having its membership sub-divided into 

 groups, each representing the particular line of business in which 

 our members are engaged. This has been done very success- 

 fully by the Silk .Association, which is one of the strongest trade 

 organizations in existence today, and whose membership to a 

 large extent is divided into organized and classified divisions, 

 such as importers, manufacturers of yarns, sewing silks, dress 

 silks, ribbons, etc., and I see no reason why our organization 

 cannot have its own classified divisions or groups." 



He then enumerated 16 groups into which the rubber trade 

 might logically be divided, and continued : 



"It is not likely at first that all of these groups would be pos- 

 sible, but at least there could be formed groups of seven or ei.ght 

 of the more important branches of our trade. Those of our 



members who would be included in these divisions, in addition 

 to their regular membership in the club, could have their sep- 

 arate organizations, and do special work for the interest of their 

 l)ranch of the industry, but all would co-operate with the main 

 organization in matters of general interest and benefit, and all 

 of these organizations should have their office with the office of' 

 the Rubber Club, with the secretary of the Rubber Club as their' 

 secretary. One or two organizations already in existence are 

 Considering this matter favorably, and when the plan has been 

 fully matured it will be presented to our membership, with sug- 

 gestion as to the amendment of our constitution to permit this 

 change if it is considered an advantageous plan." 

 'lARIEF AND LEGISLATION. 



He spoke of the changed conditions of the American rublicr 

 manufacturing industry under the new tariff and urged that all 

 the club members and others interested in this industry should 

 watch for undervaluations on imported goods and communicate 

 any such case to Mr. Vorhis, the secretary. He also dwelt on 

 the necessity of watching Federal legislation, and spoke of the 

 Lindquist Bill, popularly known as the Pure Fabric Bill, which. 

 if passed, would be most detrimental to the footwear manufac- 

 turers ; and he continued : 



"We have decided to ally ourselves with the Chamber of Com- 

 merce of the United States of .America, an organization whose 

 headquarters are in Washington, and whose particular function 

 is to protect the rights and further the interests of American 

 manufacturers, and through this source we will be able to learn 

 of any proposed legislative actions which may affect our 

 interests." 



He stated that the growing activities of the club had made it 

 absolutely essential that the secretary should devote his entire 

 lime and energy to this work and added that after the 1st of 

 May Mr. Vorhis would occupy all of his time, instead of part 

 of his time, as during the past year, with the work of the club. 

 He then concluded his address as follows: 



IXFORMI.\G THE PUBLIC REGARDING RUBBER GOODS 



"It seems to me that there is too little knowledge of the proper 

 sort on the part of the public at the present time concerning, 

 rubber goods and their uses. The manufacture of rubber goods, 

 appears to many people to be something surrounded with more 

 or less mystery, but this does not prevent these same people, in 

 their use of our various products, from e.xpccting service far , 

 l)eyond what some articles were intended, or it is possible, to 

 give for the prices which they are willing to pay. 



"I believe that a properly and conservatively conducted cam- ■ 

 paign of publicity as to the nature of rubber goods, and edu- 

 cation as to their proper use, would appeal to thoughtful people, 

 and could be conducted through our club at little expense and . 

 with much profit. People are always ready to read what is in- 

 teresting, and this subject has possibilities of interest which, if 

 treated properly, should give it wide publicity. 



THE CLUE'S SOCIAL SIDE. 



"The .social activities of our club have by no means been lost 

 sight of on account of our having devoted more energy to the 

 business side. Our summer outing at the Belmont Springs Coun- 

 try Club last July was well attended and was a very enjoyable 

 occasion. Our annual banquet in January of this year in New 

 York had a record attendance, and I believe that all of us who 

 were able to be present enjoyed the opportunity for good fellow- 

 ship, and the interesting addresses which were given by our 

 distinguished guests. 



"It is the intention of the oflicers of the club also to make our 

 annual meetings of more general interest by having an informal 

 dinner at these times, such as is being given this evening. We 

 realize that our club was formed originally to promote sociability 

 and good fellowship among its members, and that we must not 

 lose sight of this important feature, for it is by getting together 

 on these occasions that we become better acquainted, and our 



