March 1, 1912.; 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



279 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 



Bv a Resident Correspoiident. 



IF it does not begin to rain pretty shortly, this season will 

 develop into one of those dry ones which were so much feared 

 in the early days. So far there has been only about half of the 

 normal rainfall, and if there is the same shortage in the future, 

 there will soon be much complaint among the footwear dealers. 

 It has been a long time since there has been a genuine dry year 

 in California, although in early days they were quite common. 

 Extensive cultivation, however, has done away with the vast 

 vacant tracts of land which formerly became barren wastes 

 during droughts and this same growth of verdure preserves the 

 moisture, so that droughts are not so severe. Moreover the 

 gigantic irrigating systems supply water to such an extent that a 

 dry year would hardly be felt. 



* * :): 



The Pacific Coast Rubber Manufacturers' Association has 

 issued the following letter : "San Francisco, February 10, 1912. 

 To Manufacturers and Jobbers of Mechanical Rubber Goods and 

 Druggists Sundries ; This is to advise you that the City of San 

 Francisco is desirous of having befofe them a set of specifications 

 covering various mechanical rubber goods, druggists' rubber sun- 

 dries, and that those specifications may be so worded as not to 

 exclude any of the manufacturers or jobbers from bidding on 

 the same. These specifications are to be placed before the 

 Purchasing Department of the Board of Supervisors, and it is 

 desired by them that all manufacturers agree upon a set of speci- 

 fications that will meet the requirements of the city This applies 

 to all lines of mechanical rubber goods, druggists' rubber sun- 

 dries, etc. To provide for this contingency a meeting will be 

 called at the Palace Hotel at 12:30 o'clock Tuesday, February 

 13, 1912, and you are invited to attend and join in the discussion 

 as to what will best serve the city's interests. Joseph V. Selby, 

 President Pacific Coast Rubber Manufacturers' Association." 

 A meeting was held on the 13th and a committee selected to sug- 

 gest a line of tests, and this will undoubtedly take some little 

 time. The merchants are all pleased at this unusual attitude on 

 the part of the present progressive administration. It indicates 

 that the city officials are desirous of closing all possible avenues 

 of graft. They admit that men in the rubber business know- 

 more about it than political experts, and they ask the rubber 

 interests to suggest a line of practical tests that will enable the 

 city to select a line of suitable goods for the various departments 

 intelligently. 



* * * 



Tlie trade has learned with regret of the recent death of Mr. 

 Huflf, bookkeeper for the Gutta Percha and Rubber Mamifactur- 

 ing Co., of this city. Mr. Hufif had been bookkeeper with this 

 firm for a period of nearly 50 years, and he was well and favor- 

 ably known to the entire trade. 



* * * 



Work nn the new buildings at the factory of the American 

 Rubber Manufacturing Co. is progressing favorably. The 

 superintendent at the factory, Mr. Oliver, recently resigned from 



that position. 



* * * 



The Gorham-Revere Rubber Co. has just completed the 

 second month of marketing the new Revere tire and has met 

 with marked success. So far the tire department has not re- 

 ceived a single complaint. The advertising, done by a well- 

 known artgraver of New York, has made a decided hit. Mr. 

 Brady, of this company, reports that business is improving 

 steadily, and that reports from the sawmill counties are now 

 much more favorable than they have been for a year or more. 

 This company held a salesmen's convention at Seattle, Washing- 

 ton, February 23 and 24. The salesmen from the Portland, 

 Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane branches were present. Each man 



was presented with a very handsome stick pin as a memento of 

 the banquet which was held at the Ranier Club. The business 

 meetings were held in the Washington Hotel. This convention, 

 like the one held in January in San Francisco, was a pronounced 

 success. 



E. H. Parrish, of the Gorham-Revere Rubber Co., left San 

 Francisco in February for a tour of the Orient, taking in China, 

 Corea. Northeastern Russia, Japan and possibly Australia. 



* * * 



The Bowers Rubber Works report that January was the best 

 month for business in profit and amount done, that they ever had 



in the history of the company. 



* * * 



Johnson & Dunnagan, auto tire dealers in Portland, Oregon, 



have sold out their mechanical department. 



* -t * 



The Diamond Rubber Co. is still making further changes and 

 improvements with its branches on this coast, notwithstanding 

 that the company has put its seven branches into full working 

 order in the coast cities within the past few years. The branch 

 at Los Angeles is to have a fine new home in the new building 

 which is nearly completed at 11th and Olive streets. This will 

 be one of the finest of the stores on the coast, and the plans are 

 generally along the line of the rest of the branch stores. 



* + * 



A company known as "The National Rubber Substitute Co.," 

 has been incorporated in San Francisco. 



* 4: :i: 



It is reported that the Taft Vulcanizing W'orks, at Taft, Cali- 

 fornia, a partnership concern, has recently dissolved. 



* * * 



The National Pacific Rubber Co., which proposes to manu- 

 facture crude rubber, fertilizer and iodine potash from sea kelp, 

 has leased the buildings and holdings of the San Pedro Canning 

 Co,, at Terminal, California, for 15 years. Machinery for their 

 purposes, will be installed at an estimated cost of $75,000. 



* * * 



A. S. Rhoades, manager of the specifications department of 

 the Diamond Rubber Co., and L. G. Lehouse, city salesman for 

 the company, are both leaving for Manila, Philippine Islands, 

 where they will take important positions with the Bachrach 

 Garage and Livery Co., of that city. 



* * * 



G. E. Robert, a rubber merchant from New Zealand, has i)een 

 a recent visitor in San Francisco. 



* * * 



Phil H. Lyon, of Los Angeles, manager of the Southern 

 branch of Chanslor and Lyon, and W. A. Avery, manager of the 

 Seattle branch, are in San Francisco for a conference with Henry 

 D. McCoy, manager of the local branch. 



ASBESTOS SHOE SOIEi,. 



This paragraph has been going 'round the newspapers : 

 "Rubber and asbestos mixed has been utilized successfully for 

 the manufacture of soles for outing shoes. The material has the 

 appearance of a thick, close felt, without odor, and without any 

 discomfort to the feet. These will be extensively introduced 

 next season." 



Inquiry among the manufacturers of rubber shoes — and es- 

 pecially of outing shoes — fails to disclose anyone in this country 

 who has embarked upon the manufacture of shoes with asbestos 

 soles, although something of this sort has been tried abroad. On 

 the face of it, it is not especially obvious why outing shoes should 

 require asbestos soles as, ordinarily, the conditions under which 

 they are worn — for instance, on tennis courts and golf fields — 

 are not such as to endanger the soles of the wearer's feet from 

 excessive heat. Possibly they might be useful for politicians to 

 wear when invading the enemy's country in a hot compaign. 



