852 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



August 1, 1921 



unacquainted with, have not sent in applications for membership 

 and it remains to be seen how the project will succeed without 

 their support. Times certainly are bad but this abstention cannot 

 be attributed solely to a desire to save the amount of the sub- 

 scription and it may be permissible to hazard the conjecture that 

 the altruistic ideals of the promoters have not met with uni- 

 versal acceptance in the minds of business men. 

 THE PROFITEERING ACT 

 .Although this act is now deceased, interesting sidelights in the 

 conduct of various business are now' appearing as the result of 

 the labors of various sub-committees. In contradistinction to what 

 was found in the case of soap, woolen clothing, etc., it is recorded 

 that the rise in prices of the products of the Cable Makers' Asso- 

 ciation was not unwarrantable under the existing circumstances. 

 As an offset to the fall of SO per cent in rubber, metals, paper, 

 etc., showed a large rise in price and then, of course, there is 

 labor now about 200 per cent above what it was in 1914. In 

 addition to the Cable Makers' Association, there are the Tele- 

 phone Cable Makers' Association and the High Conductivity Cop- 

 per Association, all of whom are in league to a certain extent. 

 The report testifies that they have not abused their monopolistic 

 position though this may be due to some extent to the fact that 

 some old-established firms still remain outside the Cable Mak- 

 ers' Association and can charge their own prices which would 

 appear to be, as a rule, somewhere about 10 per cent below those 

 of members of the .Association, the goods, of course, not bearing 

 the special guaranty of the Association. 



FIRESTONE'S EUROPEAN MANAGER 



FEW more romantic situations can be conceived of than that 

 of Colonel Speaks who, a short time ago was traversing 

 the war-torn fields of France in the Quartermaster's Department of 



the United States Army, but at 

 present is covering the same dis- 

 trict as European manager for 

 the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 

 with headquarters in London, 

 England. 



In 1915 Mr. Speaks was ap- 

 pointed manager of the Firestone 

 motorcycle tire department, and 

 two jears later was made man- 

 ager of truck tire sales. From 

 this post he went into his coun- 

 try's service and was advanced 

 from captain to colonel in the 

 short span of two years. .At- 

 tached from the first to the 

 transportation divisions, he was 

 in charge of the operations con- 

 nected with getting supplies to 

 the troops. Later, as repair problems and depots of supply 

 forced themselves upon the general staff, Colonel Speaks assumed 

 even more important duties, assisting in the rehabilitation of the 

 devastated country. 



Following his return to his former position in the Firestone 

 organization, the value of his experience in France was recog- 

 nized and he has been given important duties in the furtherance 

 of peace-time commerce and will make a study of selling goods 

 in the more important European nations. 



RUBBEJl GROWERS PLAN FIFTY PER CENT REDUCTION 



At a recent meeting of the Rubber Growers' Association, 38 

 Eastcheap, London, E.C.3, England, the following resolutions were 

 carried : 



Cll.\RLES E. SpE.'NKS 



(1) That the revised draft scheme for a "Rubber Pro- 

 ducers Corporation" submitted to this meeting be adopted 

 as the proposal of this Council and that the Output Con- 

 trol Committee be empowered to take steps with all 

 speed to secure the support necessary to make the scheme 

 effective, with discretion to make such amendments in 

 the scheme as may be found necessary. 



(2) That in view of the imperative necessity for an 

 immediate reduction of output by at least 50 per cent and 

 having regard to the delay which will necessarily ensue 

 before the scheme for a "Rubber Producers Corporation" 

 can become operative the Council recommend all pro- 

 ■ducers of plantation rubber, who have not already done 



so, to takt the necessary steps to bring such reduction 

 of output into effect immediately. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN EUROPE 

 By a Special Correspondent 



FRANCE 



THE Societe Commerciale du Caoutchouc, Paris, reports that net 

 profits for 1920 were 670,864 francs against 853,036 francs 

 the year before. A dividend of 8 per cent was proposed as 

 compared with the dividend of IS per cent for 1919. 



Etablissements Isol, 78 rue de Wattignies, Paris, is a new firm 

 which will manufacture and sell all kinds of insulating materials, 

 including those with a base of rubber, particularly molded goods 

 in soft or hard rubber. The capital has been fixed at 700,000 

 francs. The first directors are Henri Lejeune, Romano Scheu, 

 Maurice Abenheimer and Edouard Moreau, all of Paris, and 

 Jacques Mirault, of Chatillon-sur-Indre (Indre). 



Under the name of Herteaux et Cie., a new company has been 

 formed with headquarters at 17 rue Lannois, Levallois-Perret, to 

 manufacture and represent all kinds of rubber goods for automo- 

 biles. The capital is 200,000 francs. 



P. Lacollonge, Lyon, is a new firm which will operate a factory 

 at Villeurbanne where all kinds of rubber goods will be produced. 



It is reported that at an extraordinary general meeting of the 

 Manufacture Parisienne de Caoutchouc, recently held, the liquida- 

 tion of the company was decided upon. M. Jehan Pettier has 

 been designated liquidator and all necessary powers have been 

 given him, especially for the purpose of bringing over a part of 

 the assets to a new company. 



An international investment trust dealing in rubber enterprises 

 is the Societe Financiere des Caoutchoucs (capital 40,000,000 

 francs), in which are involved the Banque de I'Union Parisienne, 

 the Union Financiere de Geneve, Bungc and Co. of Antwerp, and 

 other Dutch and British firms. This company has itself organized 

 twelve subsidiary companies, and holds stock in some thirty 

 others. 



.Another investment trust of colonial interests and international 

 scope, organized under Relt;ian Ltw and directed by Eolgian initia- 

 tive, is the Societe Internationale de Plantations et de Finance 

 (Sipef), with which the Bunge and Grisar groups at .Antwerp 

 are closely connected. Its capital of 25.000,000 francs is held 

 largely in Belgium, though Swiss and Dutch banks were also 

 subscribers. The company controls, among others, such important 

 enterprises as the Federated Malay States Rubber Co. and the 

 Kuala Lumpur Rubber Co. 



LYON SAMPLE FAIR TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER 



An excellent opportunity for American rubber manufacturers to 

 reach foreign customers, and to keep in touch with new develop- 

 ments will be afforded by the Lyon Sample Fair, which will be 

 held October 1-15, inclusive. At the spring fair held in March, 

 1921, fourteen countries were represented, while the daily attend- 

 ance was very large. Information as to details can be obtained 

 from Emile Garden, official delegate for the L'nited States, ISO 

 Nassau street. Xew York, N*. Y. 



