August 1, 1921 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



851 



The Rubber Trade in Great Britain 



By Our Regular Correspondent 



FROM the Government's reply to tlie representations of rubber- 

 growing interests in the Far East, it is clear that no im- 

 perial assistance or support is to be expected with regard to 

 rubber production control. Like the coal and other home indus- 

 tries, it is obvious that the rubber-growing industry will have to 

 work out its own salvation. Meanwhile, the passing of dividends 

 is a somewhat serious matter to numerous shareholders who 

 bought the shares as investments and it is natural that uneasiness 

 as to the future is widely prevalent. Shares generally are about 

 at their worst and it is difficult to justify any material recovery. 



In some of the papers too much is being made of the failure of 

 the United Malaysian Rubber Co., Limited, with liabilities of 

 about £2,000,000. It will be remembered, however, that this is 

 not a rubber-growing company but one of the rubber boom flota- 

 tions for deresinating jelutong, and was chiefly remarkable for 

 the presence on its board of a Vandcrbilt and a Goelet. 



COAL STRIKE AT AN END 



The coal strike has at last come to an end, though it will be 

 a few weeks before supplies are normal. The lifting of the 

 dockers' ban against handling foreign coal on June 1 led to the 

 immediate discharge of some American coal vessels, chiefly 

 gas coal, at our northern ports, and the arrival of several more 

 cargoes has eased the position appreciably. 



It would be foolish, however, to imagine that the end of the 

 coal strike, coupled with the fall in the bank rate, will cause any 

 real revival in the rubber trade. This no doubt will come, but 

 there are no signs of its imminence. With regard to the water- 

 proof trade, the general absence of rain during the first half of 

 the year has added another adverse factor to those already 

 existing. 



EFFECT OF THE UNITED STATES TARIFF BILL 



The United States Emergency Tariff Bill, as far as its anti- 

 dumping section is concerned, has been somewhat severely criti- 

 cized on this side by anti-protectional interests. It is all very 

 well to talk about cost of production, sale price and so on, but 

 these are only relative and cannot be closely defined. The opin- 

 ion has been expressed that the act will either become a dead 

 letter after having served its electioneering purpose or it will 

 put an end to a large volume of trade with the United States. 



The fact is that the only reason a country imports any 

 article is that it is cheaper or better than the home-made article 

 and the whole of international trade and exchange rests on this 

 basis. A straight tariff is workable, but one depending on relative 

 and fluctuating prices seems on the face of it to be an absurdity 

 in international trade. Of course, England proposes to do much 

 the same thing and the proposals are meeting with a good deal 

 more opposition in Parliament than appears to have been the 

 case in America. 



POSITION OF BRITISH TIRE MANUFACTURERS 



With regard to the British tire manufacturers' position a memo- 

 randum has been circulated by the .\ssociation, drawing atten- 

 tion to the parlous position of the industry, this being largely 

 attributed to the import of foreign, mainly .American, tires duty 

 free. It is stated that the capital involved in the industry is about 

 £25,000,000 and direct employment is given to 30,000 work people, 

 many others also being dependent on it in subsidiary industries. 

 It is urged that unless immediate protective steps are taken the 

 future of the industry will be most precarious. It seems to be 

 the fact that the continental business done this year has not been a 

 financial success, owing to the adverse exchanges, while with 

 regard to .America where the exchange favors England, the inabil- 



ity of British tire manufacturers to supply cord tires has been 

 against an increase of business. 



ONAZOTE 



This seems to have attracted a good deal of attention at the 

 Rubber Exhibition on account of its being a complete novelty. 

 With regard to the origin of the name, this may be derived from 

 "ezote," the old name for nitrogen. The substance is an expanded 

 or cellular rubber made under high pressure, and the gas 

 appears to be kept in by a vulcanized external skin of ordinary 

 rubber. It is patented by C. L. Marshall, British patent No. 

 162,176. Unlike the manufacturers of unburstable balls, Mr. Mar- 

 shall has patented his invention and the ball manufac- 

 turers are in a position to see how near his formula and pro- 

 cedure resemble their own. A company has been formed with 

 the not excessive capital of £25,000 to work the process under 

 license, the new works being situated at 38 Harlesden Road, 

 Willesden Green, N. W. 10. 



HARD RUBBER CARBOYS 



Among the new goods and specialties referred to in the June 

 issue of The India Rubber World, there is an illustration of a 

 29-gallon carboy of hard rubber made by a prominent .\merican 

 hard rubber company. It is stated that such carboys have been 

 used successfully for the conveyance of corrosive acids and alka- 

 lies, and it would seem that their wider adoption would add to the 

 public safety. There have been at least two cases quite recently 

 in England where a collision has caused carboys of vitriol to be 

 broken and to cause serious damage to people in the vicinity. 

 .\lthough glass has gone up in price and rubber down, it is pre- 

 sumed that the hard rubber carboy would still cost a great deal 

 more than its present competitor, but this is a matter that might 

 right itself where compensating advantages are duly recognized. 

 However, the matter is of sufficient importance to English car- 

 boy users to warrant the hope that the publicity given to the 

 new carboy in England is not limited to the circulation of The 

 Indi.\ Rubber World. 



the rubber club of great britain 



After a good deal more delay than the original promoters an- 

 ticipated the Rubber Club has been formed, the deciding meet- 

 ing having been held at the Rubber Exhibition. By the poor 

 response from the trade it was clear that the subscriptions for 

 the diff'erent classes of members were considered too high, and 

 it is generally admitted to have been a wise move to reduce 

 them to the following scale: full members (manufacturers) i5/5s. 

 Orf. ; merchant members, £2/12,?. 6rf . ; associate members, il/ls. 

 Od. ; and student members under 21 years of age. lO.t. 6H. These 

 subscriptions will no doubt be considered quite high enough for 

 those who live at a distance from the two proposed centers of 

 activity, London and Manchester. 



.\n eminent rubber chemist whose business premises are lo- 

 cated a mile or so away from the Rubber Exhibition mentioned 

 with a tone of regret that H. C. Pearson, and various others 

 who live at a greater or lesser distance, failed to put in an appear- 

 ance. Londoners do not always appreciate to the full the great 

 advantage they enjoy in having international exhibitions and the 

 lieadquarters of all societies of importance so easy of access. 

 Compared with their country cousins, they are in a highly favored 

 position and the thought occurs that, to a great extent, the 

 Rubber Club of Great Britain will be the Rubber Club of London 

 as far as attendance at meetings is concerned. 



Passing to another topic, it now seems to be openly acknowl- 

 edged that the leading rubber manufacturers, for reasons I am 



