418 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLB 



(June 1, 1912. 



the proposed new steamer line from Xew Orleans to Rio 

 de Janeiro, matters would he different. 



Tlie cour.se of American trade with Brazil in manufac- 

 tures of rubher, as indicated by the statistics published 

 annually by the India Rubber World, shows the follow- 

 ing results for the fiscal years ending June 30: 



1908. 1909. 1910, 1911. 

 Belting, hose and 



packing $11,861 $25,310 $17,470 $34,442 



Boots and shoes. 18,962 23,746 20,785 35,548 



All other 29,044 35,406 66,890 80,475 



^Exports of rub- 

 ber manufac- 

 tures $59,867 $84,462 $105,145 $150,465 



Imports of rub- 

 ber $19,284,856 $34,265,807 $47,321,181 $28,521,865 



The most recent statistics to March 31, 1912, show 



the following results for the first nine months of the 



current fiscal year: 



M.^NUF.XCTURE OF RUBBER NINE MONTHS ENDING MARCH. 



1911, 1912. 



Belting, hose and packing $26,027 $30,099 



Boots and shoes 25,153 34,728 



Tires for automobiles 4,642 9,349 



All other tires 5,490 3,738 



All other manufactures 46,806 59,439 



$108,118 $137,353 



While the ainount of rubber manufactures shipped 

 from this country to Brazil is still relatively small, and 

 naturally far below that of the rubber imported from 

 there, the fact of its having nearly doubled within the 

 last two years justifies the hope that with lower Brazilian 

 duties and improved steam communication, a still further 

 development would result. 



THE PERENNIAL INVENTION OF TIRES. 



this country each year, and the annual outlay is not far 

 from $100,000,000. It is not to be wondered at that, with 

 such a lure, the inventor persists in his work. Charles 

 Goodyear worked, first and last, about 14 years before 

 he found the correct solution of the practical treatment 

 of rubber ; and yet, financially speaking, the reward that 

 awaited him was not one hundredth part of the reward 

 that would fall to the man who should discover how to 

 make an easy, serviceable, low-cost tire. When Goodyear 

 died, in I860, 20 years after his discovery of vulcaniza- 

 tion, the whole rubber industry of the United States did 

 not amount to $6,000,000 in annual value, or 6 per cent of 

 the value of the present tire industry. 



After having become accustomed to riding on air, it 

 is safe to say that the automobile world will never be 

 satisfied with anything less buoyant and comfortable. The 

 inventor's problem, therefore, is to replace the present 

 pneumatic tire with something just as resilient and easy- 

 riding, but with a greater endurance, and at a marked 

 decrease in ex])ense. Will his problem be solved? In 

 the li,ght of past human experience it is quite safe to 

 say that it will be, if not wholly, at least in part; but 

 there is nothing in the present outlook to indicate that 

 that final solution will in any way dislodge rubber from 

 its present commanding position in the tire world. 



THE patent reports for the last twenty years show 

 that over 4,000 patents have been issued at the 

 Patent Office in Washington for tires — chiefly for the 

 automobile, and for tire auxiliaries and accessories. This 

 number does not include that great array of devices in 

 the way of substitutes for tires, as for instance various 

 metal springs to be placed around the hub of the wheel, 

 in the spokes, or in the rim. These 4,000 patents, averag- 

 ing 200 a year, have been issued simply for tires, or tire 

 parts — most of them for rubber tires. 



Surprise is occasionally expressed that inventors should 

 go on year after year applying their energies to this ques- 

 tion, when such a small percentage of these devices ever 

 meet with any recognition or success. The surprising 

 feature, however, is not that the number is so large, but 

 that it is not larger, in view of the transcendent reward 

 that awaits the successful inventor. At the present time 

 — including all kinds, automobile, motorcycle and 

 bicycle — about 5,000,000 tires are sold and consumed in 



BRAZILIAN LEGISLATION GOING INTO EFFECT. 



IT is satisfactory to note that the go\'ernment of 

 ■*■ Brazil ineans business. The provisions of the new 

 law (a full extract of which appears in this issue) are 

 not being allowed to lie dormant. 



Two-thirds of the surveys connected with the pro- 

 posed new railways will be finished by June 30, and 

 tlie completion of the surveys will follow shortly after- 

 wards. It is understood that the government is pre- 

 pared to spend the equivalent of about $92,000,000 on 

 the new lines, intended for the development of rubber 

 cultivation. 



A company is said to have been organized at Bahia 

 (with the co-operation of English capital) for the pur- 

 pose of establishing a rubber goods factory at that 

 point, under the encouragement afforded by the new 

 measure. 



With a view to improving the conditions of rubber 

 cultivation, the Brazilian government is said to be 

 importing a large number of drills of American manu- 

 facture. Experts in their use accompany the drills, 

 which are intended for the boring of artesian wells. 

 The government is taking steps to distribute these 

 drills among the various plantations standing in need 

 of them. 



