October 1, 1920.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



49 



SAN FRANCISCO NOTES 



At the recent convention of the National Traffic Officers' 

 Association in San Francisco, Fred S. Wilson, Pacific Coast 

 branch manager of the Thermoid Rubber Co., Trenton, New 

 Jersey, urged the importance of properly-lined brakes and 

 regular compulsory inspection in order to reduce the number 

 of automobile accidents. 



The Dutch ship "Arakan," bringing from Batavia a cargo of 

 Far Eastern products inohiding rultbcr valued at over $200,000, 

 all consigned to tlie Spreckels Importing Co., went upon a 

 sandspit in a fog off the Point Reyes beach near San Francisco 

 on August 29. The greater part of the rubber was jettisoned, 

 but salvage of the vessel had to be abandoned, as the pounding 

 seas buckled the vessel amidships. 



T. H. Wilkinson, manager of the San Francisco branch of 

 ihe United States Rublier Co., returned early last month from 

 a national conference of the company's branch managers at a 

 New Hampshire summer resort. On his return he attended 

 a conference here of the company's branch managers from 

 Seattle, Portland, Spokane, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles. 

 Much satisfaction with the present state of the trade in manu- 

 factured rubber goods in the West Coast territory was ex- 

 pressed by the sales heads. 



The Pioneer Rubber Mills, Pittsburg, California, is e.xtremely 

 busy trying to fill the domestic and foreign detiiand for its 

 mechanical rubber goods. It has been operating at full capacity 

 twenty- four hours a day for the past three years, and has just 

 completed another large extension to its plant. 



SOUTHWESTERN NOTES 



"Indian" Miller, a full-blooded Apache, veteran of the 

 Spanish-American war, artist and historian of the Southwest, 

 has joined the advertising department of the Spreckels "Savage" 

 Tire Co., of San Diego, California. 



.'\ Boston concern took the first lot of Pima long-staple cotton 

 grown in 1920, paying 85 cents a pound for 200 bales at a 

 recent sale in Phoenix, Arizona. The Arizona crop, which 

 has been almost wholly harvested, had been largely contracted 

 for long in advance by leading automobile tire manufacturers. 

 When cotton was tried out first in Arizona in 1912, only 400 

 acres were grown. Last year the acreage increased to 87,000, 

 and this year the cotton acreage is 230,000, much more attention 

 being given to Anglo-Egyptian than to short-staple cotton. The 

 average lint cotton yield for the past eight years has been 242 

 pounds per acre, or a trifle less than half a bale. 



That the Southwest cotton-growing district is not immune 

 from the attacks of the boll-weevil and the boll-worm was the 

 warning given by W. H. Robison, secretary of the .\rizona 

 Agriculture and Plorticulture Commission at a recent conference 

 of such commissions of Arizona and California held in Los 

 .\ngeles. Mr. Robison, in urging vigilance, said that, contrary 

 to many claims, there is no good reason for believing that the 

 pests which came from Mexico in 1893 and have caused such 

 havoc since in southern plantations may not attack the cotton 

 plants in the reclaimed desert sections of the Southwest. As 

 a result of the conference an active organization will be formed 

 to .standardize plant pest prevention and eliinination in Cali- 

 fornia, Arizona and New Mexico, as well as to promote the 

 extension of cotton and other areas. 



A Phoenix, Arizona, branch has been established, with C. W. 

 McKinlcy in charge, by the Pacific Rubber Co., of Los Angeles, 

 one of the largest tire distributors on the west coast. 



The Spreckels "Savage" Tire Corporation, of San Diego, reports 

 a steady increase in sales, as well as the establishment of several 

 new agencies in the West and Southwest during the past few 

 weeks. The employes of the big rubber concern made a notable 

 record in baseball games during the summer, and the company 

 is planning to aid its workers in a campaign of winter sports. 



NINTH ANNUAL SAFETY CONGRESS OF THE 

 NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL 



RTTBBER SECTION MEETING 



THE Ninth Annual Safety Congress of the National Safety 

 Council was held at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 27 

 to October 1, 1920, at which waj's and means for promoting 

 sanitation and freedom from accident, particularly to industrial 

 workers, were considered along many lines, through the medium 

 of sectional meetings devoted to individual branches of industry. 

 The Rubber Section, under the chairmanship of Sidney M. 

 Schott, held three sessions. Several interesting papers were pre- 

 sented Iiy the safety engineers of several leading rubber manu- 

 facturing companies containing much practical information 

 evolved from first-hand study and application of safety methods 

 and devices in actual factory practice. Brief abstracts of certain 

 of the papers are given in the following paragraphs. 



Present and Future of SaSety in the Rubber Industry 



The author summarized the work of the Rubber Section as 

 developing along the following lines: (1) Standardization of 

 accident statistics; (2) education of workmen by means of bul- 

 letins; (3) formulation of standard safety rules; (4) engineering 

 standards to ensure safety through construction of plant and 

 machinery; (5) interest and ideas resulting from good programs 

 to be presented at future meetings of the Rubber Section. — Sidney 

 M. Schott, chairman. Morgan & Wright, Detroit, Michigan. 



Safety and Sanitation for Rubber Mills and Calenders 



In addition to a valuable code of rules for the instruction of 

 mill and calender operatives the paper discussed the most ap- 

 proved practice in the 'matter of mechanical safeguards, such as 

 quick-stop devices, non-slip floors, proper lighting, ventilation 

 and cleanliness of machines and surroundings. — C. B. Mitchella, 

 The B. F. Goodrich Co., .\kron, Ohio. 



Vulcanizing Apparatus 



The importance of using only vulcanizers of approved modern 

 construction and setting was emphasized. The best practices in 

 their equipment and operation were referred to in detail, also the 

 importance of frequent inspection of all pressure vulcanizers. 

 Proper precautions were given relative to safe handling of car- 

 bonic acid gas when employed in the vulcanization process. — 

 F. Scott, superintendent of inspections, Hamlin & Co., New York 

 City. 



Industrial Sanitation 



The author discussed methods of securing light and pure air 

 as the prime essentials in efficient plant operation. Reference was 

 made in detail to drinking water, cuspidors, toilets, wash room, 

 showers, locker facilities and lunch room accommodations, — W. 

 N. Fitch. Department of Safety and Hygiene, The B. 'F. Goodrich 

 Co., .Akron, Ohio. 



SellinfT Safety in the Factory 



In this paper stress was laid on the value of safety to tlie in- 

 dividual, and the necessity for its consistent adoption through the 

 leadership of the plant manager, assisted by personal work on 

 the part of his department heads and foremen. Eflfective methods 

 of advertising the importance and value of safety to the indi- 

 vidual worker were treated at length. These include bulletins, 

 moving pictures, foremen's meetings, "No Accident" days, safety 

 contests and a court of inquiry on all accidents conducted by 

 the factory mana.ger. — H. T. Martin, manager. Health and Safety 

 Department, The Fisk Rubber Co., Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. 



A Broader Field for Safety Work 



The effective agencies for covering the field for safety work in 

 factoi-y operation include (1) the institution of good industrial 

 relations between the management and the employes, (2) main- 

 taining a clean plant, (3) a plant layout department for the stand- 

 ardization of plan, equipment, and internal transportation, (4) 

 industrial engineering department for the control of production 



