October 1, 1911.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



39 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 



By a Resident Correspondent. 

 IT is the general opinion that business should be somewhat 

 * better than it is at the present time before it could be said to 

 be really good. There seems to be a steady, but not lively busi- 

 ness, and in spite of the fact that the merchants are not seriously 

 complaining they nevertheless would be pleased to see greater 

 industrial activity and a bigger demand for goods. It being just 

 prior to the mayoralty election in San Francisco, perhaps there 

 has been some checking of business activity on that account, and 

 if so, the cause will soon be removed, as the primary election will 

 be held this month. With that over, and the breaking of first 

 ground for the World's Fair of 1915 to take place next month, 

 there should be a rapid development of commercial activity from 



that time on. 



* * * 



The Good}-ear Rubber Co. report that they are busy now 

 getting out their fall orders of boots and shoes, and they 

 hope for plenty of rain so the trade can dispose of the stock 

 and re-order again. Nobody wants to see a repetition of last 

 year, when the rains held off until along in January. The rains 

 have already started in the northern counties and further up the 

 coast, and the firm confidentlj- looks for a good season there. 



R. H. Pease, Sr., president of the Goodyear Rubber Co., is 

 away on a yachting cruise with John D. Spreckles and part}', 

 in the fine steam yacht owned by Mr. Spreckles. The cruise 

 will include Santa Barbara, San Diego and all points of interest 

 along the southern coast. 



* * * 



Mr. Lewis, of the Pennsylvania Rubber Co., is expected to 

 arrive soon for a visit to the local house. 



si< * * 



The Panama Rubber Co., located on First street, near Howard, 

 which bought out the factory of the Phoenix Rubber Co., is now 

 contemplating selling out to a Los Angeles rubber merchant. 

 ^ ^ ^ 



The Quaker City Rubber Co.'s line, formerly handled by L. L. 

 Torrey, of San Francisco, is now carried by Mr. Harris, who 

 was sent out to San Francisco from the factory to succeed him. 

 Mr. Torrey was formerly manager for the Pennsylvania Rubber 



Co.'s San Francisco branch. 



* * * 



Much concern and sympathy is being expressed by the friends 



of Mr. W. R. Pierce, who is now lying quite sick in the East. 



Mr. Pierce is now with the Cleveland Mechanical Rubber Goods 



Co. He was formerly manager for the Revere Rubber Co.'s 



branch in San Francisco. 



^ ^ '^ 



Local houses are taking considerable interest in the fact that 

 Seattle, Washington, is now in the market for 20,000 feet of 

 hose. The specifications were such that the hose would go to 

 the lowest bidder. The bids were opened September 1, and were 

 as follows : The Fabric Fire Hose Co., net per foot, 75 cents ; 

 the American Rubber Co., 69.75 cents ; the Diamond Rubber 

 Company, 68 cents ; the Gorham-Revere Rubber Company, .679 

 cents; the Eureka Fire Hose Manufacturing Co., .67 cents; the 

 Caldwell JNIachinery Co., .61 cents ; the Bowers Rubber Works, 

 .59 cents; the Pacific Coast Fire Supply Co., .58 cents. After 

 due consideration, however, the board in charge decided to 

 reject all bids, and it is understood that they are going to so 

 ■word the next advertisement for bids as to admit of a better 

 quality of hose. It occurred to the officials in Seattle that they 

 have been buying a good deal of hose recently, and on compar- 

 ing notes with other large cities, they find that they have been 

 buying much more than other cities in proportion to their 

 needs. They decided that it might be their demands did not 

 permit of a hose that would have the desirable lasting qualities 

 and their next bids will be more in conformity with the quality 

 <3emanded by other large cities of the coast. 



Mr. A. H. Gregory, representing the New York Belting and 

 Packing Co., has just returned from an extensive trip through 

 Alaska. He found that the demand for rubber merchandise at 

 the present time is on the decline in that territory. Owing to 

 the fact that much of the mining country has been placered out, 

 there are vast areas of worked out and deserted claims, so that 

 the people have left many towns that were once thriving. In 

 Dawson he found 70 per cent, of the residence section deserted, 

 and the merchants leaving in large numbers. He gives Fair- 

 banks three years more probably before its placer mines are 

 worked out. Nome is in better condition, because preparations 

 are being made there for dredger mining. The fact that big 

 companies now control most of the mines has tended to reduce 

 the population, as they employ as few men as possible. On the 

 whole the rubber business in Alaska is on the decline. 



* * * 



The Bowers Rubber Works have just completed a new build- 

 ing at the factory for the moulded rubber hose. They have pur- 

 chased considerable new equipment, so that the capacity for 

 turning out moulded rubber hose will be increased SO per cent. 



this year. 



^ ^ -^ 



J. H. Russel, Jr.. representing the H. B. Sherman Manufactur- 

 ing Co., of Battle Creek, Mich., is now visiting the San Francisco 

 trade. 



* * * 



E. S. Allen, representing the W. D, Allen Manufacturing Co., 

 of Chicago is now visiting the merchants of this city. 



* * * 



W. L. Eaton, with the New York Belting and Packing Co., 

 is about to start for his vacation at Klamath Lake, where he ex- 

 pects to enjoy some fine sport at fishing. 

 ^ ^ ^ 



Mr. Rigdon, with the Gorham-Revere Rubber Co., has returned 

 from his tour of the eastern factories where he was studying 

 conditions and getting himself in touch with the newest things 



in the East. 



* * * 



The Pennsylvania Rubber Co. report that the vacuum cup tires 

 which they are now for the first time placing on the market for 

 bicycle and motorcycle use, are meeting with immediate success. 

 ^ * * 



The local rubber manufacturers' association has called a meet- 

 ing to be held tomorrow, more for the purpose of socially getting 

 together than anything else. 



The city of San Francisco, when it last purchased fire hose laid 

 down rules of its own as to how the hose should be built. All 

 but two of the rubber houses refused to bid according to the 

 requirements. Of the two, the lowest bidder got the order, and 

 it now develops after a test having been made of the hose he 

 produced, that 3,600 feet are defective and will have to be re- 

 placed. This is unsatisfactory business to all concerned. 



GETTING THE MOST OUT OF TIRES. 



A great many people will recall the straight shoes they used 

 to wear in childhood that were worn on the left foot one day 

 and on the right foot the next, so as to get the greatest pos- 

 sible amount of wear out of the shoe. There are a great many 

 straight-last rubber boots worn today for the same reason ; 

 and it appears that the same principle works equally well in 

 tire service. It has been found that the tires on the right side 

 of the machine are worn out more rapidly than those on the 

 left side, owing to the fact that the right side tires strike the 

 curb more frequently, and on country roads have to run over 

 the rough ruts when the machine is turning out to pass another 

 conveyance. So if the right side tires, after they become some- 

 what worn, are shifted to the left side the wear is equalized. 

 A further distribution of wear can be effected by changing the 

 front and rear tires, as the greater weight falls on the rear 

 tires. 



