Mav 1, 1912.J 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



397 



at Fort Dalhousie, a Canadian town near Niagara Falls. This 

 factory manufactured rubber boots and shoes and a general line 

 of mechanical rubber goods. Mr. Mcllroy being offered what he 

 considered a satisfactory price for his interest in the Toronto 

 Rubber Co. sold out some fifteen years ago and became interested 

 in the Gandy Belting Co. of Baltimore. Mr. Mcllroy traveled 

 throughout the entire world in the interests of that company, 

 establishing selling agencies in Egypt, India, South Africa, China, 

 Japan, Australia, the Philippine Islands and in all European 

 cities. 



Last j'ear he spent several months in South America, but he 

 was not in robust health, and the climate of that section was 

 too severe for him. Upon his return to Baltimore last fall he 

 uas in a weakened condition ; but, not withstanding his ill hea'th, 

 he insisted on going to Havana, Cuba, in January. He returned 

 via New Orleans and was passing through San Antonio, with 

 the intention of visiting Pacific Coast cities, when he was com- 

 pelled to take a rest. He failed very rapidly. His wife, son and 

 his brother Frank, president of The Mcllroy Belting & Hose 

 Co. of Chicago, Illinois, were with him when he died. He 

 leaves a widow and three children. 



WILLIAM H. niaBEK. 



William H. Furber, for many years connected with the Boston 

 Belting Co., died at his home in Newton, Massachusetts, April 

 IS, aged 84 years. Mr. Furber was born in Boston in 1828, and 

 entered the employ of the Boston Belting Co. in 1852. In 1874, 

 after serving for several years on the Board of .\ldermen, he 

 was elected Mayor of the city of Somerville. After several years 

 in other lines of activity he returned to the Boston Belting Co., 

 and after the reorganization of that corporation was for several 

 years general manager and chief executive. Retiring irom that 

 position, he remained upon the board of directors, continuing to 

 hold that office until his death. Of late years he had lived with 

 his son, who, like his father, took an active interest in the affairs 

 of his residential town and served the city of Newton as Mayor. 

 Mr. Furber left a widow and a married daughter, besides the son, 

 who bore the same name, mentioned above. 



ALEXANDER STRAUSS. 



The sudden death of Alexander Strauss occurred .\pril 10, in 

 the New York office of the Braender Rubber and Tire Co., Ruther- 

 ford, New Jersey. He was engaged in dictating correspondence 

 when he fell back in his chair dead. 



Mr. Strauss had been connected with the rubber business for 

 many years. He was employed as a salesman by the New York 

 Belting and Packing Co. for about IS years. By profession he 

 was a mechanical engineer and was endowed with a strong in- 

 ventive faculty. While with the New York Belting and Packing 

 Co., he invented the Strauss tip tire and developed an emery 

 wheel, which proved particularly efficient and was extensively 

 sold. About IS years ago he left the above company and became 

 associated with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. Later he 

 entered the employ of the Braender Rubber and Tire Co., and 

 continued in that position until the time of his death. He was 

 60 years old. He left a wife, three sons and two daughters. 



WASHINGTON A. ROEBLING, 2nd. 



.Among the nearly 1,700 victims of the horrible Titanic dis- 

 aster was Washington A. Roebling, 2nd, son of Charles G. Roeb- 

 ling, and grandson of John A. Roebling, who founded the firm 

 of John A, Roebling Sons' Co., Trenton, New Jersey. 



Washington A. Roebling 2nd was only 31 years of age. 

 but he had already given promise of exceptional capacity. He 

 possessed pronounced mechanical ability, and had given a great 

 deal of attention to the development of motor engines. He asso- 

 ciated himself with the Mercer Auto Co. and the Mercer .''LUto 

 Tire Co., in both of which he was an officer. He w-as credited 

 with tlie invention of an automobile engine of a new and valuable 



type. He had marked athletic tendencies and was famous as a 

 golf and tennis player, and in his school days had an inter- 

 scholastic reputation as a ball player. While naturally quiet and 

 reserved, he had a most attractive personality, and was exceed- 

 ingly popular in a wide circle of friends. 



RUBBERIZED AUTO TOPS. 



uT^HE HLIB" discourses as follows on the construction of tops 



■'■ for automobiles and the necessity of rubberized material 

 if the tops are to withstand all kinds of weather : 



The materials used in top manufacture are cotton twill, mohair, 

 leather and imitation leathers. The twill and mohair combina- 

 tions are largely used for tops for cars larger than a demi-tonneau, 

 while for high-grade runabouts and victorias leathers and imita- 

 tion leathers are often used. The class of goods that sometimes 

 finds its way into cheap tops is not waterproof, and, in the case 

 of a heavy downpour or of exposure for any length of time in 

 the rain, will permit the moisture to penetrate and leak through 

 into the car. 



The usual material employed is made of two layers of fabric 

 cemented or vulcanized together with a rubber compound. This 

 makes the two layers as solid as if of one piece and renders them 

 waterproof. The rubbering or vulcanizing process is the most 

 important. Upon the manner in which it is carried out, the 

 amount of rubber used and the quality of the rubber, will depend 

 its serviceability. The exterior and interior layers of fabric often 

 differ in quality, and where mohair is employed the exterior layer 

 is mohair while the backing is usually cotton twill. A cheaper 

 class of material is plain twill, where two layers of the twill are 

 vulcanized together. 



The appearance of a top made of mohair is superior to that 

 made of ordinary fabrics. It has a luster and is non-absorbent; 

 consequently the rain runs off it easily. Mohair is goat hair, and 

 is a good deal coarser than cotton; consequently the meshes of 

 the weaving are larger than those found in cotton twill. There 

 are several imitations of mohair which are in reality made from 

 cotton, with a little silk added in the manufacture, to give the 

 required luster. In these, the silk very soon wears off, leaving 

 the material ragged. The mohair stratum is very thin and when 

 seen in the unsolutioned state has the appearance of a thick veil. 

 For this reason it is inclined to wear and fray if the slightest 

 friction is allowed while the top is folded. Mohair requires very 

 careful handling in the manufacture, and only the best quality of 

 rubber solution should be used with it; otherwise it will become 

 detached from the foundation and fray. 



Gray is popular in top manufacture. It is composed of alter- 

 nate strands of gray and black hair, but can be varied in many 

 ways to give the requisite shade. The color of the material used 

 is no indication of the quality, although if a special shade is 

 desired that does not come through in the ordinary course of 

 manufacture, it w^ill probably cost more to have the material 

 specially dyed. 



Where a leather effect is desired a material known as auto 

 leather is largely employed. It has the appearance of leather, but 

 is in reality a composition that is mounted on suitable backing, 

 either of cotton, wool or mohair. Cotton is often used, owing 

 to the fine mesh and its ability to more readily absorb the water- 

 proofing material. Any type of leather can be imitated nowadays, 

 ranging from a delicate morocco to the ordinary hide variety. 

 Sun, heat and damp are the enemies of this material, as it is liable 

 to crack, in which case the rain will find an easy path through 

 the cracks and in time it will rot the backing. 



It is stated that the Society of Automobile Engineers has leased 

 a suite of offices in the new United States Rubber Co. building at 

 Broadway and Fifty-eighth street. It is expected that the build- 

 ing will be ready for occupancy by the middle of the summer. 



