August 1, 1921 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



843 



Conservative estimates on the part of employment managers 

 indicate that in May, June and July 8,000 men were placed in the 

 factories. Much of the increased production, however, has been 

 the result of longer hours, as well as increased efficiency of the 

 plants as a whole. 



Railroads already show the effects of the increased production. 

 Outbound tonnage has increased more than 20 per cent and is 

 close to 70 per cent of last year. The increased business has 

 come from dealers in every part of the United States except the 

 South and automobile manufacturers who have returned to more 

 normal production. Many dealers' and manufacturers' orders 

 have been held up because stocks were exhausted and the tires 

 have had to be built. 



It must be borne in mind that while other industries were shut 

 down because ot the depression, 9,000,000 automobiles and 1,000,- 

 000 trucks continued to wear out tires. This replacement on old 

 cars explains the disappearance of the huge stocks in the ware- 

 liouses when the depression came. From time to time The India 

 Rubber World has stated that the stocks were gradually dis- 

 appearing but the sales and shipments were made so quietly that 

 when the dealers finally came to actually buy they were confronted 

 with the fact that before the tires could be shipped they had 

 to be manufactured. Since Akron factories are today making 

 tires only for actual orders there is reason to believe that ware- 

 house stocks will be small this summer. 



Regarding factory efficiency, the plants have increased per 

 capita production more than 30 per cent. Thousands of so- 

 called non-producers and thousands not actually connected with 

 production have left and the chances are they will not return. 

 Paper work has been decreased 75 per cent ; tire building has 

 increased in efficiency ; every employe is doing necessary work ; 

 departments which do not relate directly to the production, sell- 

 ing and shipping of manufactured goods have been wiped out and 

 only the essential departments remain. This has been the case 

 in practically every factory ; other overhead has been similarly 

 decreased ; welfare work has been cut to the bone ; departments 

 duplicated in factory and general offices have been combined ; 

 and every effort is being bent towards the efficient production of 

 manufactured products. 



Another factor is that every man in the factory knows his job. 

 This has cut the immense turnover and cost of breaking in new 

 men. Today when a man is hired, the office records tell exactly 

 what he can do by the records of his past performance. Another 

 result of increased efficiency is the decrease in losses due to 

 oversights on the part of workmen. In the old days inspection 

 became lax and seconds were turned out in large numbers. To- 

 day when a tire leaves the mold it is a tire in every sense of the 

 word and few are returned for adjustment. 



During the worst days Akron rubber men never lust hope 

 and perhaps no city in the United States remained as consist- 

 ently optimistic. Plans for better housing, better streets, more 

 paved roads and better facilities were never dropped. The men 

 of Akron looked to the future, not blindly, but upon the basis 

 of hard facts. They knew the tire business and what stocks 

 were on hand and how rapidly they were being depleted; know- 

 ing that, they could prepare for the better day which was never 

 far distant in their minds. The depression was a bitter pill, 

 perhaps, but it was the only manner in which .\kron could 

 be brought back to a safe and normal basis. The inflated struc- 

 ture of the war and post-war period had to be torn down so that 

 rebuilding could be started upon the solid foundation of con- 

 servative business methods. 



With the entrance into the second half of tlie year it is be- 

 Meved in banking and business circles that a period of operating 

 profit has been entered. That dividend payments will be resumed 

 in the near future is not looked for because the companies will 

 probably desire to pay off as much indebtedness as possible and 

 build up a surplus before beginning again to disburse profits. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN OHIO 



By Our Regular Correspondent 



AKRON— FOURTEENTH INDUSTRIAL CITY OF AMERICA 



IK it were possible, the rubber industry would have been given 

 additional importance in the commercial world by a report of 

 the Akron Chamber of Commerce in which it is shown that 

 .'Kkron, making 65 per cent of the world's tires and at least 40 

 per cent of all the rubber goods of the world, is the fourteenth 

 .\merican industrial city, with a total industrial output in 1920 of 

 more than $640,000,000, of which more than three-fourths was of 

 rubber goods. 



Philadelphia, for instance, with a population nine times that 

 of Akron, produced only slightly over three times as much as 

 was produced in Akron in 1920. Detroit, with five times the 

 population of ."Xkron, shows an industrial output of only two and 

 one-third times that of Akron. 



In Ohio, Akron ranks third in the list, although Chamber of 

 Commerce officials have expressed the opinion that if tlie Cin- 

 cinnati figures were accurately available it would be found that 

 Akron outranked it. 



The growth of the automotive industry during the past ten 

 years is also apparent in the Akron industrial figures. In 1915, 

 the first year for which figures were available, the total output 

 amounted to $156,000,000, and the pay-roll of the industries 

 amounted to little more than $25,000,000. The output as shown 

 by the table last year was $640,000,000 and the industrial pay-roll 

 amounted to $145,000,000. 



These figures include all industries, but during that period the 

 rubber industry has become so predominant that the increase is 

 really indicative of the rubber industry growth. In 1910 a total 

 of 23,000 were employed in the .^kron factories. 



RUBBER MEN OPPOSE TARIFF 



E, G. Wilmer, president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 

 sent a telegram to Ohio senators, stating that the prohibitive 

 tariff on foreign merchandise will work a hardship upon Amer- 

 ican companies who are making strenuous efforts to obtain a 

 foothold in foreign fields. This telegram was the first expression 

 from any of the leaders of the Akron rubber industry against 

 the proposed tariff. Most of the rubber men in .-Xkron, al- 

 though regarded as Republican in their sentiment, are said to 

 have privately expressed themselves as of the opinion that pro- 

 hibitive tariffs would react by closing foreign markets to -Amer- 

 ican goods. 



The matter of foreign trade has assumed large proportions in 

 .\kron during tJie past year, as is shown by the number of Akron 

 rubber company rcpresentatixes who have gone abroad and the 

 manner in which meetings regarding foreign trade are at- 

 tended. 



MAKE RECORD IN HEEL PRODUCTION 



The production of rubber heels during the past year was the 

 largest in the history of the .-Xkron rubber industry. More than 

 100,000,000 pairs of heels were produced in .-Xkron during the 

 twelve months. Tlie Miller Rubber Co. led all other companies 

 with production of 40,000.000 pairs. Goodyear came second with 

 30,000,000 pairs and Goodrich, it is estimated, produced approx- 

 imately 22,000,000 pairs. The smaller companies made up the 

 remaining 8.000.000 pairs. One pair of heels was produced for 

 every man, woman, and grown child in the United States. 



These heels applied at the average Ohio prices cost the .-Xmer- 

 ican people approximately $60,000,000 during the year, it is 

 estimated. The June heel production at Goodyear was 3.500,000 

 pairs. 



Although definite figures have not been given out, the sole 

 business increased materially during the year. The Goodyear 

 Tire & Rubber Co. alone received early in June one order amount- 

 ing to 440.000 from a chain store company in the East. 



