May 1, 1921 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



609 



The Rubber Trade in Great Britain 



By Our Regular Correspondent 



THE TL'RN IN THE TIDE of depression is not yet apparent, and 

 it is difficult lo find anything of a really satisfactory nature 

 to report. Most of the rubber factories are working oidy 

 three days a week, and it would seem that the rubber workers 

 will Jiavc to fall in line with their fellows in other industries and 

 accept a reduction in wages if a betterment in trade conditions is 

 to be brought about. Foreign competition, the manufacturers say, 

 has now become a serious matter. In addition to the American 

 tires which are being "dumped" here, French, Belgian and Italian 

 goods are also coming in at prices below- the minimum the most 

 up-to-date home works can hope to reach. 



WAGES AND EMPLOYMENT 



In the waterproof garment industry — that is, the various 

 works which make up proofed cloth — notices have been posted of 

 a reduction of 17^2 per cent in wages to take effect on the first 

 pay day after March 28. This has not been agreed to by the 

 workers' unions so far because the reduction in wage is not ac- 

 companied by a guarantee of more work. In other sections of 

 the rubber trade seven days' notice has been given of 10 to 12 per 

 cent reduction in some districts. In the Manchester district, ex- 

 cept in one case of a 5 per cent reduction, the workers' unions 

 intend to resist the proposed cut in wages, this decision having 

 been reached at a mass meeting held just before Easter. It now 

 remains to be seen what the employes will do. 



It must not be overlooked that the position of affairs is the re- 

 verse of what existed when wage advances were willingly or 

 grudgingly conceded. Any stoppage of work then meant loss of 

 profit ; at the present time, if anything, it would mean cessation 

 of loss. Many employers who are finding work with difficulty 

 for two or three days a week would be by no means averse to a 

 complete stoppage for a time, as this would assist in clearing out 

 the accumulated stocks on hand. 



DYEING TEXTILES FOR THE PROOFING TRADE 



I have read with interest the report in The Indi.\ Rubbejj 

 World of the meeting of proofers and dyers held in New York 

 on January 5. The matters principally referred to would seem 

 to have reference only to the rubber proofer or mackintosh manu- 

 facturer and not to the rainproof trade, though in the report rf 

 the meeting, rubberizers and rainproof material manufacturers are 

 referred to as being equally affected or interested. In Great 

 Britain the two trades are entirely distinct, and I can call to mind 

 only two rubber proofing firms of importance which have a rain- 

 proofing plant on their premises. The points under discussion m 

 New York as to the a\'oidance of certain dyeing materials were 

 under consideration in England 20 to 30 years ago, Bradford 

 dyers and Manchester waterproofers having long worked on 

 lines which barred the use of copper and manganese salts. The 

 limit of 2 per cent of ether extract has also long been in use. The 

 case of chromium is interesting ; it has often been indicted, but 

 the evidence for the prosecution has aKvays seemed to me to be 

 weak, and I am glad to .see that a committee was appointed at 

 the New York meeting to make tests to determine the effect of 

 chromium compound upon rubberizing. I note that the effect of 

 iron is to be studied. I do not know how far the cold cure cf 

 proofed fabrics is being utilized in .\merica, but it has been gen- 

 erally recognized in England that the dyer's responsibilities are 

 much heavier in the case of the cold than of the hot cure. In 

 the former case the free acid produced may convert metallic 

 oxides into salts, whence in the hot cure they remain unaffected 

 With regard to iron, for instance, it is supposed that while ferric 

 oxide is harmless, ferric chloride is dangerous. Chromium has. 



of cpurse, been very largely used during the late war, as the 

 yellow of the khaki was due entirely to chromium salts and not 

 at all to organic coloring matters, .^s the dyeing is effected in 

 an acid bath, it is essential that the cloth should be put through 

 an alkaline bath to remove the last traces of acid. There has 

 been reason to suppose that tlie complete removal of acid has not 

 always been effected in cloth intended for rubberizing, and this 

 matter, with its possible consequences, might, I suggest, be added 

 to the agenda of the New York investigators. 



THE UNBURSTABLE BALL 



.\t first sight a child's playing ball, which is estimated to remain 

 in good condition for about a dozen years, does not seem a very 

 paying proposition. This, however, is not the view of the two 

 English concerns which have mastered the problem of making the 

 cellular rubber bouncing ball. The current demand for these 

 balls, which are produced and sold at an extremely satisfactory 

 profit, has outrun the maker's capacity of production. It seems 

 a matter for legitimate surmise as to what effect these balls will 

 have upon the ordinary hollow playing ball industry. There used 

 to be a hollow ball convention as to prices between the German 

 and British makers, but I believe that came to an end with the 

 war. As far as the English output is concerned, the only firm 

 which counts is the New Eccles Rubber Works, Limited, of Man- 

 chester, tlie original owners of Cox's machine. 



FINANCIAL NOTES 



The Dunlop Rubber Co., Limited, issue of £3,000,000 8 per 

 cent first mortgage debenture stock at 98 per cent was not large- 

 ly subscribed to by the public, the underwriters having had 73^2 

 per cent left on their hands. 



The Empire Waterproof Co., of Houndsditch, London, of 

 which Barnett Abrahams was sole proprietor, has failed with li- 

 abilities of £9,701 due to unsecured creditors, the largest claim 

 being that of the Express Rubber Co., Limited, of London, for 

 £5,503. 



The Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Co., Limited, has decided 

 not to pay the usual 5 per cent interim dividend, owing to the 

 present abnormal financial conditions and the extremely unsettled 

 state of all markets. 



The Chemical Engineering Corporation, Limited, interested in 

 artificial leather and tires, with a factory at Southhall, Middle- 

 sex, has failed for about £40,000, with practically no assets. The 

 corporation was concerned with the flotation of the Standard 

 Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers, Limited, now located in the Al- 

 perton factory, Wembley, near London. This company is not 

 directly concerned with the failure, though it figures as a large 

 creditor. 



The United Malaysian Rubber Co., Limited, is to be wound 

 up, hut the first meetings of creditors and contributories will not 

 be held until June 16 in London. 



The British Insulated & Ilelsby Cables, Limited, is paying IS 

 per cent for 1920, the same as in 1919, the profits amounting to 

 £340,713, as against £328,688 for 1919. The factories at Ilelsby 

 and Prescot are stated to have been worked at full capacity. This 

 report, taken in conjunction with that of the Telegraph Construc- 

 tion & Maintenance Co. and the Henley Telegraph Co., indicate 

 that the slump which affected the rubber trade in the second half 

 of last year was not shared by the electrical cable firms. 



The 'Victor Tyre Co., Limited, with which Sir W. Y. Jones has 

 been closely connected, has gone into liquidation, with liabilities 

 of £62,396. The works are at New Maiden, Surrey. 



