March 1, 1912 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



301 



TRADE NEWS KOTES. 



The marble sky-bcraper of the United States Rubber Co., 

 which is being erected at the corner of 58th street and Broadway, 

 New York, is progressing rapidly, and the company hopes to be 

 in its new home by the llrst of July. The estimated cost of the 

 building, when the plans were made was $750,000, and the ground 

 lease, which runs for 21 years, is said to be $40,000 per year. 



Tlie sanitary drinking cup has invaded the ru!)ber factory. 

 The employes of the Fairlield Rubber Co., Fairfield, Connecticut, 

 have asked the company to provide individual drinking cups, 

 which has been done. Not a bad idea for other factories to 

 adopt. 



Rubber bumpers between the frame and body of an automobile 

 are being adopted by makers of high-grade cars. They prevent 

 body squeaks and other unnecessary noises, and these little 

 cushions of rubber not only produce silence, but reduce the shock 

 of impact in hitting holes, rails and rough spots, as well as 

 lessening the wear and tear of bodies imder prolonged hard 

 usage. 



A count of tires in cars displayed at the automobile shows gave 

 Firestone 47 sets at the New York shows and 25 sets at the 

 Philadelphia show. Many of these vehicles were equipped with 

 the Firestone quick-removable rim enabling the driver to make 

 tire changes on the spot. 



The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio, has a set of 

 tires which probably has been nearer the North Pole than any 

 other — considering the fact that neither Commander Perry nor 

 Dr. Cook made any profession of having approached the pole 

 in an auto-car. This set of tires was en a car used in a trip 

 from San Francisco to Klondike, and back to Denver. 



Officers of the Rubber Manufacturers' Mutual Insurance Co. 

 for 1912, are as follows: President, Arthur H. Lowe; vice- 

 president, E. B. Page; secretary and treasurer, Benjamin Taft ; 

 assistant secretary and treasurer, W. B. Brophy. The following 

 are directors : Arthur H. Lowe, E. B. Page, George H. Hood, 

 Marcus Beebe, C. C. Converse. E. H. Clapp, F. W. Pitcher, W. B. 

 Plunkett, C. E. Stevens. E. S. Williams. George B. Hodgman. 

 C. T. Plunkett, B. G. Work and Benjamin Taft. 



The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio, are about 

 to engage in the manufacture and sale of a complete line of 

 molded goods, balala belting and asbestos packing. 



SHARPENING THEIR WITS. 



The best help you can give a man is to lielp him to use his own 

 capacities. That is what the Republic Rubber Co., Youngstown, 

 Ohio, is doing with its employes. Last summer it ofifered four 

 cash prizes, aggregating $300, for ideas. First and second prizes 

 in class one were awarded on the best suggestions for improve- 

 ments in existing machines, processes or methods of manufac- 

 ture in use by the company. In class two, first and second prizes 

 were off'ered for the best original plans for new machines, proc- 

 esses or methods of manufacture. These contests were open to 

 any employe of the company except general officers. 



The awards were made in December, and so much interest 



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was shown by the employes that the company intends to hold 

 many more such contests. 



PROFESSIONAL FACTORY GUIDES. 



It is obvious that one of the best methods of advertising the 

 product of a factory, is to take people through the factory, and 

 let them see the product made — that is, where the people taken 

 through the factory are sufiiciently interested in that special 

 article to make it worth while ; but for the president or the 

 general manager to take his time every day or two to show 

 visitors through the plant is something of a burden. 



The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Akron. Ohio, has adopted 

 a plan which other manufacturers might very well follow. They 

 have selected two or three of their employes who are thoroughly 

 familiar with all the phases of manufacture, and wdio also have 

 the ability to explain the processes intelligibly, and they have 

 appointed them as official guides to escort visitors through their 

 factory. In this way, the visitors get all the attention they desire, 

 and the officials of the company are able to prosecute their more 

 important labors. 



A RUBBER MAYOR. 



John L. Fisk. mayor of Middletown, Connecticut, is a book- 

 keeper in the office oi the Goodyear Rubber Co. and his official 

 honors have not altered his efficiency as a bookkeeper. If any- 

 one should be inclined to inquire what special qualifications a 

 rubber bookkeeper had for the mayoralty for a city, the proper 

 answer would be that a dependable rubber bookkeeper ought to 

 make a vastly better mayor than the professional poHticians who 

 usually get those positions. 



HENRY BROWN. 



Henry Brow.n, an old employe of the National India Rubber 

 Co., at Bristol, Rhode Island, and father of James Brown, a fore- 

 man there, died at his home, 7 Collins street, Bristol, on February 

 10, after a long illness. He is survived by three sons, James, 

 John and Edward ; two daughters, and his widow. The funeral 

 was held at St. Mary's Church, Bristol. February 12. 



LARGEST DELIVERY OF RUBBER YET MADE. 



The accompanying photographic cut of a check, paid by 

 .August Belmont & Co. to the Rubber Trading Co., is interest- 

 ing as showing the largest commission ever paid on a sale of 

 rubber for a single delivery. This was for a lot of 1,238 cases — 

 about 188 tons — boight February 7 by The B. F. Goodrich Co., of 

 Akron, Ohio. There have been other sales of rubber of consid- 

 erably larger volume, but, in all of those cases, deliveries were to 

 extend over a period of time. This is said to have been the 

 largest sale of rubber for one delivery ever made in this country. 

 It came from the quantity, estimated at about 5,000 tons, 

 that was held by a syndicate in Brazil, generally referred to 

 as "valorized rubber." There are about 2,300 tons of this rubber 

 stili held back in Brazil and England, but the sale referred to 

 about clears out all the syndicate rubber held in this port. It is 

 believed to have cost the syndicate about $1.40 per pound. While 

 ihe selling price is not given out either by the buyer or the seller, 

 it is safe to say that it was not very far from $1.10 per pound. 

 That was a little higher than the market price on the day of sale, 

 but over against that must be taken the fact that this rubber has 

 been in storage since April, 1910, and 

 is considerably drier than new offer- 

 ings. 



There is some conjecture as to the 

 amount of loss suffered by the 

 syndicate, but it would be a good 

 Yankee guess, taking into considera- 

 tion all the features of the case — 

 the cost of the rubber when bought, 

 the shrinkage, expense of transpor- 

 tation, the banking expenses, and 

 deducting the export duty — that this 

 sale would represent a loss of be- 

 tween $50,000 and $60,000. 



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