January i, 1910.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



141 



in their branch, which is hard rubber goods. They have added 

 a new line the past season, the making of hard rubber parts of 

 automobiles, and it is proving successful. The outlook in this 

 line, Mr. Boyer says, is very good, as there is every indication 

 that the automobile business will see a pronounced boom. 



J. Russell Kelso, manager of the Woven Steel Hose and Rub- 

 ber Co., joins in the general opinion that 1910 will bring big 

 business to the rubber mills. He says the railroads and big con- 

 tractors all over the country are planning to extend their busi- 

 ness, witli the result that orders are already coming in and there 

 is every promise of increased trade. Mr. Kelso says tin demand 

 i"i armored hose, which is one of the main lines of this com- 

 pany, is increasing. The company has added a complete line of 

 packings in which the business has been quite successful, and the 

 prospects for this are also bright. 



Horace M. Royal, secretary of the Home Rubber Co., said 

 when interviewed: "In so far as we are concerned the trade 

 outlook for 1910 is very promising. Dialers arc coming in well 

 for the hrst six months of the year, and our salesmen are writing 

 letters which are encouraging as to the prospects for the entire 

 year." 



"The rubber business certainly is improving." declared Harry 

 E. Evans, manager of the Consolidated Rubber Co. "We are 

 looking for a better season during 191,0 than we have bad for 

 several years." Mr. Evans had just returned from an extended 

 trip through the west and northwest, and be said he had found 

 trade conditions in excellent shape. He said that on the Pacific 

 coast the railroads were finding it almost impossible to handle 

 the traffic. 



Wilson H. Harding, president of the Union Rubber Co., also 

 thought the trade outlook good. His company handles the prod- 

 ucts of the Trenton Oilcloth and Linoleum Works, owned largely 

 by the Cooks of the Hamilton and Acme Rubber companies, and 

 its business in this line has outstripped that of the rubber goods. 



William L. Blodgett, secretary of the Hamilton Rubber Manu- 

 facturing Co., says his concern has all the business it can handle, 

 and the outlook is for a very busy year. They have completed 

 several improvements to their factory during the year. 



General C. Edward Murray had just returned from a two 

 weeks" hunting trip in North Carolina when he was asked for an 

 opinion as to the trade outlook for 1910. He replied : "We are 

 looking for more business than we will know how to handle." 

 Then he outlined how preparations are being made to care for 

 increased trade. He said the Empire Rubber Manufacturing Co. 

 contemplate doubling the capacity of their mill room ; while the 

 Crescent Insulated Wire and Cable Co. have placed an order for 

 300 additional spindles. This concern and the plant of the 

 Crescent Belting and Packing Co. are being operated until 10 

 o'clock each evening. General Murray is one of the heads of 

 the three companies. Incidentally he said he had a fine hunting 

 trip. 



"Trade for 1910 looks very encouraging to us," declared John 

 A. Lambert, secretary of the Acme Rubber Manufacturing Co. 

 He said the high price of crude rubber would cut into the 

 profits, but notwithstanding that the business outlook was good. 



JAR RING PATENT CASE DECIDED. 



Judge Joseph Cross filed in the United States circuit court at 

 Trenton December 18 an opinion deciding in favor of the Em- 

 pire Rubber Manufacturing Co. in the two suits brought against 

 it by William P. Coldren on the charge of infringements of 

 patents for the manufacture of lipped rubber fruit jar sealing- 

 rings. Judge Cross dismissed both suits with costs on the com- 

 plainant. He held that both patents were invalid because they 

 did not embody any new principle. The patents were No. 

 "38,295 (September 3, 1903,) for the apparatus for making the 

 rings, and No. 738,885 (September 15. 1903.) for the process of 

 the manufacture. 



The two suits were heard and decided together. Judge Cross, 



discussing the first patent, said that it involved no more invention 

 than if a person having a machine in which was inserted a die for 

 stamping square pieces from steel metal should substitute a round 

 die for the square one. The judge quoted from the defendant's 

 expert: 



"The prior patented art shows that the Coldren machine was 

 old and well known except, possibly for the particular form of 



his die the form of ring produced by this machine was 



common property many years before Coldren entered the field ; 



it was a common expedient to make packing rings for any 



desired purpose by cutting the same from lengths of tubing. 



Reduced to its lowest terms, it would appear that the Coldren in- 

 vention, as far as the machine patent is concerned, resides solely 

 in the form of the die to produce a rib or projection longitudi- 

 nally of and on the side of the tube." 



The expert then proceeded to show that tubing with longitu- 

 dinal projections or flutings had been produced many times before. 



Taking up the other patent — for the lipped ring itself — Judge 

 Cross decided : 'There was nothing new in the described process. 

 Sealing rings and like articles were always formed by first 

 taking a piece of tubing and then cutting it cross sectionally into 

 lengths to form rings. The process is essentially the same what- 

 ever the shape or configuration of the tubing from which the 

 rings are cut. Tubes of various forms and shapes were old in 

 the plastic art, and so, too, was the method of cutting them into 

 rings for use. The complainant's patent disclosed nothing new 

 in the art, and is invalid." 



RUBBER MEN IN PUBLIC OFFICE. 



\h; William J. P,. Stokes, president of the Home Rubber 

 Co., treasurer of the Thermoid Rubber Co.. and an officer of the 

 Joseph Stokes Rubber Co., retires as treasurer of the City of 

 Trenton on January 1. after having held the office continuously 

 since June 1, 1894. or 15 years and 6 months. No other treasurer 

 of the city ever held the office so long. Mr. Stokes was born in 

 1856 and is the son of Joseph Stokes, for many years superin- 

 tendent of the plant of the New Jersey Steel and Iron Co., at 

 Trenton, founded by Cooper, Hewitt & Co., of New York. Not 

 "illy has Mr. Stokes been one of the leaders in building up the 

 Trenton rubber industry but he has also had an important part 

 in the municipal progress. From 1886 to 1891 he was a member 

 of the common council of the city, and during the six years took 

 an active part in the direction of city affairs. During the time 

 Mr. Stokes was city treasurer about $25,000,000 in city funds 

 passed through his hands, besides which he attended to many 

 other fiscal duties of the municipality. 



It is very likely that for the next three years another rubber 

 man will hold the office of city treasurer, as Harry E. Evans, 

 manager of the Consolidated Rubber Co. and a director in the 

 Empire Rubber Manufacturing Co., is the choice of the Repub- 

 licans to succeed Mr. Stokes. The city administration will 

 remain in the hands of the Republicans in 1910 and so Mr. Evans 

 will undoubtedly be elected by common council. Mr. Evans was 

 born in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, but has resided in Trenton 

 25 years. For the past ~y 2 years he lias been manager of the 

 Consolidated Rubber Co. Mr. Evans is a member of the board 

 of park commissionhers of Trenton, but will resign that place to 

 take the treasurership. He is president of the National Union 

 in the L T nited States. 



THE ACME COMPANY MAKE ADDITIONS. 



The Acme Rubber Manufacturing Co. have just completed 

 an addition to their plant, and are equipping it with machinery. 

 Additional machinery is also being placed in the other depart- 

 ments, about $30.oco worth having been ordered. The addition 

 is a substantial brick structure 250 x 55 feet, three stories high. 

 About one-half of the new floor space will be devoted to their 

 tire line, which is greatly increasing with this concern. The bal- 

 ance of the new mill will be used for needed expansions in other 

 departments. When the new wing is in operation the company 



