Febrvary. 1. 1921 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



367 



The Rubber Trade in Great Britain 



H\ Our Rffiiilar Correspoiideiil 



ANEINT LOW RUBBER PRICES 



Ai.Tiioi i;ii rubber manufacture generally is not Ijrisk, and 

 some ilepartments are on short time, it cannot be said that 

 the manufacturers show signs of worry and anxiety. This 

 condition seems to appertain more particularly to the directors 

 of rubber plantation companies who regard themselves as the 

 victims of malign providence. Many of tliem can recall rubber 

 at 12.f. per pound, and they sadly refer to the good old times 

 when two or three hundred per cent dividends could be paid. 

 Of course, in this matter of shilling-a-pound rubber all producing 

 companies are not in the same position and therefore some di- 

 rectors arc more cheerful than others. This cheerfulness is 

 largely limited to the companies which still -have rubber to deliver 

 at 2s. 6rf. per pound for months ahead. To the suggestion that 

 this may prove rather hard on the rubber manufacturers when 

 they have to compete with tirms buying at present prices the 

 answer is that the manufacturers have had good earnings during 

 the war and are not objects for commiseration. Of course, the 

 manufacturers might reply to the effect that many of the rubber 

 companies have also had their good times in tlie past. 



There is an increasing tendency to reduce the price of rubber 

 goods so as to fall in line with what is going on in so many other 

 liranches of trade, thougli it is onl> where such reductions are 

 considerable that increased business is likely to result at the 

 moment because everyone seems to l)e obsessed with the idea 

 that the fall in the prices of goods generally has only begun and 

 they are holding ofif luitil it has developed further. 



The suggestion has been put forward in certain quarters that 

 rubber plantation shareholders should form a sort of bank with 

 i5,0(X),000 capital. presumal)ly all paid up, to piircliase the stocks 

 of rubber in existence and thus force up the price. However. 

 in view of the criticisins which have been leveled against the 

 proposal, it is unlikely to mature. So far there has been no 

 tendency on the part of buyers of forward rubber at what is now 

 considered a high price to endeavor to get out of their commit- 

 ments, though we may yet see something of the sort. In the 

 light of what has been going on in certain .\merican circles in 

 regard to Lancashire cotton contracts, there seems room in many 

 directions and in several branches of trade for emphasizing the 

 importance of the sanctity of contracts if tr.idc i< tn lio conducted 

 on a .sound basis. 



DUNLOP RUBBER CO.. LIMITED 



With regard to the sliares of the Dunloj) ccjnipany, it will be 

 remembered that a reorganization with increase of capital took 

 place not long ago. This was largely the work of a well-known 

 London financier. What has caused so much comment and con- 

 sternation is that within a week or so of the allotment of the 

 .^hares quoted at 3Qs. each the market price has fallen to about 

 I7s., representing a paper loss of £10,000,000. Naturally rumors 

 have been flying about as to the cause, about which more will 

 probably be known before this is in print. On December 9 the 

 Dunlop coinpany's new .shares issued at 30.r. and 22s. 6rf. paid 

 were quotetl at S.v.. while the ordinarv shares have droppo<l from 

 30 to \5s. 



Dunlop sharis arc affected by other factors than the rubber 

 market, as the recent developments and ramil'ications come into 

 consideration. The shares of the Dunlop Rubber Cotton Mills 

 in Lancashire, part of the Amalgamated Cotton Mills, have fallen 

 a good deal lately, and then there seems to be a little bother 

 about the American Dunlop company. The British Dunlop com- 

 pany has recently been called upon to assume the responsibility 

 of providing the additional finances required to place the .Ameri- 

 can company in .-i position to complete llie construction of its 



factory and to provide working capital. At the time of writing, 

 the directors of the British company have not acceded to this 

 request for aid, as they feel that the money should be found in 

 America. However, it is understood that £1.000.000 have been 

 remitted and further negotiations are pending. 



FINANCIAL NOTES 



Although the net profit of the India Rubber. Gutta Percha & 

 Telegraph Works Co., Limited, stood at £73,299, rather more than 

 a year ago, the Imal dividend has been passed for the time being. 

 owing to the stringency of the cash position. .'Vn interim divi- 

 dend of I'/i per cent has been paid and shareholders had every 

 reason to expect that a final distribution would make 10 per cent 

 for the year as in the five previous years. This withholding of 

 the dividend, of course, means a greatly augmented carry-over, 

 but it will have the efifect of making shareholders in similar con- 

 cerns apprehensive. Palmer Tyres, Limited, which is atfiliated 

 with the Silvertowii company, though showing a reduction m 

 profits, maintains its dividend of 12;/. per cent. W. & A. Bates, 

 Limited, of Leicester, with profits of £42,249, almost the same as 

 a year ago, again pays 10 per cent. 



The long deferred report of Vickers', Limited, covering the 

 four years to the end of 1919, was issued on December 21. By 

 amalgamation with other concerns the capital has risen from 

 £7,000,000 to £20,000.000. A former, statement promised an in- 

 terim dividend announcement in the report, but to general surprise 

 there is i>o mention nf a dividend for 1920. In 1919, IIJS per 

 cent was paid. 



CATALPO 



Thi-- is the trade name given to a colloidal form of Cornish 

 china clay, this being the ordinary china clay prepared in a 

 special way instead of the usual method of elutriation or wash- 

 ing by which the admixed particles of mica settle out by gravi- 

 tation. The first patent was in the name of W. Keldenheimer, 

 now of Catalpo, Limited, of 20 Holborn V'iadtict, London, E. C, 

 and a more recent specification. No. 153,343, is in the names of 

 Dr. P. Schidrowitz, W. Feldenheimer and W. W. Plowman. In 

 this case the clay is dried in the deflocculated condition, the dried 

 purified clay being mixed to a paste with water containing 3 per 

 cent by weight of anhydrous sodium carbonate. The water is 

 then evaporated, leaving a clay which is said to possess special 

 properties of. accelerating the cure and improving the tensile 

 liroperties of the rubber in which it is used. China clay has never 

 been popular with British rubber inanufacturers, though the 

 "silicate" which came from .America during the war period with 

 a high reputation as a zinc oxide .substitute was used to a con- 

 siderable extent. The action of alkali as an accelerator now 

 seems to be generally recognized, as the old u.se of lime and 

 magnesia has been followed by patents utilizing caustic soda 

 (Twiss) and ut,\y su'linni c.Trlxm.itr, 



OTHER CHEIVIICALS FOR THE RUBBER TRADE 



Before the war there was only a very limited number of chemi- 

 cal firms which specialized in clumicals for rubber manufacture, 

 though there were many more which supplied some particular 

 chemical. Now, however, many new firms have entered the field, 

 though they have but a superficial knowledge of the requirements 

 of the trade. In striving to get business they probably resort to 

 the usual procedure of cutting prices in order to oust the man 

 who is in. When anything goes wrong with the manufactured 

 goods the new dealer is adamant in his opinion that he has noth- 

 ing to answer for and naturally in his ignorance he cannot make 

 any suggestion of value whereby the harassed manufacturer can 

 .set at the root of his trouble. Of course, the particular chemical 

 looked at with suspicion may In- entirely guiltless, but the mann- 



