86 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November 1. 1911. 



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The Rubber Trade at Boston. 



(Ry a Resident Correspondent.) 



BOSTON is to be improved industrially, educationally, hygien- 

 ically and otherwise during the coming years, and by 1915 

 it is expected to be the very acme of all things a city should 

 be. The Chamber of Commerce is accomplishing much in this di- 

 rection, and the New England Industrial and Educational Exposi- 

 tion, which was held during the entire month just past, has 

 shown, in a measure, what has been done and is doing along 

 these lines. There are many working exhibits of leading indus- 

 tries, and a whole section showing what is being done in the 

 way of industrial education by the city schools and various insti- 

 tutions and by private enterprise. 



The rubber trade was not so fully represented as its importance 

 deserves. The Hood Rubber Co. had a most interesting work- 

 ing exhibit, and the Shawmut Tire Co. showed samples of its 

 goods, including sectional and partly made tires. The Foster 

 Rubber Co. exhibited its rubber heels and cushions, also its new 

 horseshoe cushions, and its giant black cat (with a man inside) 

 made periodical trips through the building. Hunt's composite 

 rubber heels were 

 shown in the 

 basement, and 

 Jenkins Brothers 

 exhibited their 

 sheet packing in 

 connection with 

 their valve dis- 

 play. 



The exhibit of 

 the Hood Rub- 

 ber Co. attracted 

 a great deal of 

 attention, as it 

 was one of the 

 unique features 

 of the exposi- 

 tion. In their 

 booth there was 

 a hut of the 

 shape and about 

 the size of those 

 usually occupied by the natives who gather the rubber along the 

 Amazon River. The posts of this rubber gatherer's hut were 

 hung with sheets of Para rubber, while the walls were made of 

 blocks of the cultivated Ceylon rubber. Inside the hut skillful 

 workmen were making rubber boots and shoes. This naturally 

 attracted a continuous crowd of spectators, and they seemed 

 chiefly impressed with the number of pieces that constitute the 

 usual articles of footwear, 32 separate pieces going into the boot 

 and 21 being combined to form a woman's croquet. These 

 rubbers were all made over the aluminum lasts used by the 

 Hood company. 



In addition to this working exhibit there was displayed a very 

 full line of the Hood output and large-sized photographs of the 

 different departments of the factory, which helped to give a 

 further idea of the size of their plant. The guessing contest, 

 referred to in another column, in which the visitors were asked 

 to guess the weight of a large biscuit of rubber, also attracted a 

 great many people. 



The exhibit of the Foster Rubber Co. dis- 

 played a full line of the "Cat's Paw" and 

 "Foster" rubber heels and soles. The "Cat's 

 Paw" heel has proved very popular and has 

 reached a production of about 30,000 pairs a 

 d.iy. This heel, by reason of the patented fric- 

 tion plug in the back, both prevents slipping 

 and gives extra wear. 



Hood Rubber Comp.\nv's Exhibit .■\t the New Engl.'^nd 1ndustri.\l F.mr. 



Down in the basement the Hunt composite rubber heel was 

 exhibited. This heel is made at the factory of the Boston Woven 

 Hose & Rubber Co., with which Mr. Hunt, the inventor, is con- 

 nected. The heel has a core or centre composed of rubber, in 

 which layers of cotton duck are introduced and around this an 

 edge of rubber without any fibrous admixture. The heel is a new 



one, but recently placed on the market. 

 * * * 



Work is progressing most favorably on the new Forsyth Dental 

 Infirmary, that splendid charity which has been previously men- 

 tioned in The Indi.\ Rubber World. The granite foundations 

 are now being laid, and within a few weeks the beautiful white 

 marble walls will begin to rise and the building show the results 

 of Architect Graham's care and study. 



This novel charity is the first of its kind in America. It is insti- 

 tuted to care for the mouths and teeth of the poor children of 

 this city. It will be a memorial to James Bennett Forsyth and 

 George Henry For^^yth, by Thomas A. and John H. For- 

 syth, all well- 

 known names in 

 the rubber trade. 

 This building 

 will be a notable 

 addition to the 

 many beautiful 

 i n s t i t u t i o nal 

 structures in the 

 Fenway district. 

 The original plot 

 of 51,000 feet has 

 been added to by 

 the acquisition of 

 6,000 feet of ad- 

 joining land, and 

 therefore this im- 

 posing and pala- 

 tial edifice will 

 have suitable sur- 

 roundings to set it 

 off appropriately 

 and attractively, and thus more fully carry out the founders' ideas. 

 Thomas A. Forsyth takes a great personal interest in the work 

 of building and is a very frequent visitor to the scene of opera- 

 tions. He attends every meeting of the trustees and is in con- 

 stant touch with the progress of the building and is looking for- 

 ward with pleasure to the time when the institution shall inaugu- 

 rate the noble work for which it is founded. 



9 CUSHION HCEL ,„■,! 



MOTORS BETTER THAN ARMY MTJLES. 



George T. E. Bliss, who has been in command of a divi- 

 sion of the brigade at San Diego, California, has made very 

 extensive tests as to the serviceability of the motor truck for 

 army use. He reports as follows : "From a military point of 

 view the advantages arising from shortening the line of march, 

 from the absence of horses, from the ability to send the trains 

 on long detours, thus insuring their safety and at the same 

 time with the certainty of their being on hand when wanted 

 are obvious. In my opinion the time has come for the adoption 

 of a motor truck specially designed for military service and its 

 gradual substitution for the greater part of the work done at 

 present by escort wagons." 



The motor truck was found to have a first cost advantage 

 of $664, as compared with the cost of an equivalent outfit of 

 three wagons, 12 mules and harnesses. In the cost of operation 

 the motor truck showed a saving of $372 in 93 days. It looks as 

 if the army mule might lose his occupation. 



