368 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1912. 



horticulturist, and he declared his belief that it would 

 make tires far more durable." 



We were interested to discover how nuich truth, if 

 any, there might lie at the bottom of these accounts. 

 Accordingly we wrote Mr. Burbank as follows: "You 

 are reported as having discovered a spineless cactus which 

 would serve as an excellent substitute for rubber in the 

 manufacture of automobile tires. We Vv-ould be very 

 glad indeed to get any information on this point or any 

 expression of your opinion as to the possibility of such 

 substitution." We immediately received his reply, which 

 we give below : 



"To THE Editor of The India Rubber World. 



"Dear Sir : The half crazy reporter of a daily paper is 

 responsible for the misinformation given out as coming 

 from here. In other countries, I judge a newspaper 

 publishing it would be a subject for legal suit, but here 

 it would only end in more blackmail. 



"Very little of the matter reported is true. I have 

 never said a word indicating that the cactus produced 

 anything suitable for automobile tires. 



"Regretting that insane reporters are allowed to be at 

 large, I remain, Respectfully yours, 



"Luther Burbank. 



"Santa Rosa, California." 



We sympathize heartily with Mr. Burbank in his regret 

 "that insane reporters are allowed to be at large," but 

 until some nieans can be discovered for curtailing their 

 activities, they will doubtless continue to attribute in- 

 credible discoveries to scientists of repute — to the great 

 annoyance of the scientist and to the constant increase 

 of the amount of misinformation that readers of the 

 daily press are called upon to absorb. For the scientist 

 there seems to be no redress ; but for the reader there is 

 this redress, that he can absolutely refuse credence to all 

 extraordinary "scientific" offerings in the dailv press, 

 until their verification shall reach him through more 

 serious channels. 



THE CALCULATION OF RUBBER GOODS. 



THIS YEAR'S MALAYAN PROGRESS. 



CABLE returns supplementing the figures to March 

 7, quoted in another column, indicate that tiie 

 first quarter of the current year shows rubber exports 

 from the Federated Malay States to have been almost 

 double those for the corresponding period of 1911, in 

 the same proportion as those of 1911 exceeded the 

 figures of 1910. The exact quantities as officially stated 

 by the Malay States Information .\gency, London, are: 



1910. 191L 1912 



Tanuarv ...pounds 768.743 1,329,170 2.730,576 



Februarv 728.4.S8 1,490.849 2.715,767 



March..' 899,383 1,916.219 3,089,583 



Total 2,396,584 4,736,238 8,535,926 



f.\ calculating the selling prices of goods, it is not 

 ■* merely necessary to provide for contingencies which 

 are likely to arise, but also to make allowances for claims 

 which, although not foreseen and perhaps not in them- 

 selves justified, it may be politic to allow, in view of 

 future business. 



'I'o such claims as these the rubber industry is spe- 

 cially liable ; ])articularly in cases where a certain effi- 

 ciency is guaranteed, such as the mileage of motor tires. 

 Although a prudent manufacturer will not guarantee 

 more than he knows by experience, his tires will stand, 

 he may be quite innocently confronted by a claim due to 

 overloading or to careless driving, but which he is not 

 in a position to prove was thus caused. Tires frequently 

 suffer by trucks being driven over freshly graveled sur- 

 faces, or from other avoidable sources of injury. 



Another difficulty is that mileage records are not in 

 all cases reliable. In some instances the mileage is fur- 

 nished by the chauff'eurs. In other cases, where auto- 

 matic registers are used, those appliances are liable to 

 get out of order through the oscillations and concussions 

 to wliicli the\' are subjected. Thus a margin for such 

 claims should form a part of any calculation. 



Whenever a penalty is stipulated for failure to deliver 

 punctually, a percentage should be included to represent 

 this ever-present risk. Apart from the dangers of fires. 

 strikes or the break-down of machinery, where the work 

 is done in one factory or department, there is the risk 

 of delay from those causes in the receipt of materials 

 from elsewhere. All these points need to be foreseen 

 and provided for. 



Nor are manufacturing operations free from unforeseen 

 risks. This is particularly the case with the waste in 

 manufacture: unexpected losses from that source equally 

 applying to hand and machine production. 



Each class of rubber goods, whether mechanical or 

 technical articles, tires, clothing, etc., has its special in- 

 herent risks. 



Rubber goods manufacturers, recognizing the fact 

 that however nuich in the right they may be, disputes 

 will cloud their reputation, often submit to unjust claims 

 in order to keep on good terms with customers whose 

 recommendation is valued. But, as Herr Alfred Lutz, 

 the German ruljlier expert, remarks, a manufacturer who 

 acts in a conciliatory spirit under such circumstances, 

 should get better prices than one who adopts a contrary 

 policy. This result can only be attained by making such 

 eventualities factors in the calculation of selling prices. 



