June 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



437 



The United States Rubber Co.'s Annual Report. 



THE twentieth annual report of the United States Rublier 

 Co. was dated and distributed on May 6, two weeks ahead 

 of the annual meeting, which occurred on May 21, at 

 New Brunswick, Xew Jersey. The reports of the president and 

 treasurer are given below, 



KEPORT OF PRESIDENT COLT. 



To THE Stockholders of the United St.\tes Rubber Co. : — 



Notwithstanding certain unsettled trade conditions, the re- 

 sult of the operations of the company and of its subsidiary 

 companies during the past year, both in the volume of sales 

 and profits, has been satisfactory. 



The report of the treasurer appended hereto gives the Con- 

 solidated General Balance 

 Sheet and the Consolidated In- 

 come Statement of the United 

 States Rubber Co., for the fis- 

 cal year ending March 31. 1912. 

 This Consolidated Statement 

 does not include the operations 

 of the Rubber Goods Manu- 

 facturing Co., the Canadian 

 Consolidated Rubber Co., Lim- 

 ited, or the General Rubber 

 Co., there being stock of each 

 of said companies not owned 

 by the United States Rubber 

 Co. This statement therefore 

 includes only the dividends 

 derived from the United States 

 Rubber Co.'s stock holdings in 

 those companies. The share 

 of the undivided earnings of 

 those companies for the year, 

 applicable to the stock inter- 

 ests of this company, is com- 

 puted to be $1,333,024.39. 



VOLUME OF BUSINESS. 



The volume of business of 

 the United States Rubber Co. 

 proper for the year was $36,- 

 775,947.58 as against $40,888,- 

 724.25 the previous year. This 

 volume of business, however, 

 is confined largely to rubber 

 footwear. The tire and mechanical business of the company 

 appears chiefly in the operations of the Rubber Goods Manu- 

 facturing Co., whose sales the past year amounted to $34,587,- 

 269.15. The sales of the Canadian company for the year were 

 $5,418,681.49. The selling prices in each case were lower than 

 in the previous year. 



PROFITS. 



The net profits for the year ending March 31, 1912, w'ere 

 $5,376,306.86 as against $4,349,825.73 the previous year, the 

 greater part of this increase coming from the larger dividends 

 received from our holdings of stock in the Rubber Goods com- 

 pany. Adding to these profits the share of the undivided profits 

 of the Rubber Goods, Canadian and General Rubber companies 

 appertaining to this company's stock interest therein amount- 

 ing to $1,335,024.39. the total gain for the year would be $6,711,- 

 331.25, as against $5,661,991.84 last year. 



Colonel Samuel P. Colt. 



[President United States Rubber Co.] 



.As heretofore, all interest paid by the company upon both 

 its funded debt and its floating debt is deducted before the net 

 profit is shown. 



CRUDE RUBBER— IXVESTMEXTS IX FAR EAST, 



During the past year the course of the crude rubber market 

 has been steadier than it was in the two previous years, the 

 extreme prices for fine Para being $1,43 on April 1, 1911, and 

 94 cents in June, 1911. The price April 1, 1912, was $1.18. 



The development of our plantations in the Far East has 

 progressed favorably. Last year we purchased about 80,000 

 acres in the Island of Sumatra. Much of it had been planted 

 in tobacco. In place thereof we proceeded to plant rubber 



trees. Having the advantage 

 of a large tract of cleared land 

 and a good working organiza- 

 tion, we have now over 20,000 

 acres planted with more than 

 2,500,000 rubber trees, being al- 

 ready the largest rubber plan- 

 tation in the world. We have 

 over 10,000 coolies at work, 

 and the enterprise is proceed- 

 ing most satisfactorily. We 

 have good reason to believe 

 that the complete success of 

 this undertaking is assured and 

 tliat with the increasing de- 

 velopment of that plantation 

 we will have secured a very 

 large portion of our future re- 

 quirements of crude rubber at 

 a minimum cost. 



EXPAXSIOX OF BUSIXESS. 



During the past few years 

 the business of the company 

 has expanded out of propor- 

 tion to the increase in its cap- 

 italization and the outlook is 

 for still greater business ex- 

 pansion in the future. This is 

 true especially of the auto- 

 mobile and other tire industry, 

 of which the United States 

 Rubber Co. in conjunction 

 with the United States Tire Co. is the world's largest single 

 manufacturer and distributor of tires, notwithstanding its pro- 

 portion of the entire tire business of the country is only about 

 25 per cent. To meet this continuous growth of business, to 

 keep pace with the times and to be always at the highest point 

 of development with respect to securing our supplies of crude 

 rubber as well with respect to manufacturing and distribution, 

 your president hopes that the directors in the near future will 

 consider the adoption of some comprehensive plan whereby ad- 

 ditional funds may be available as required. The rubber manu- 

 facturing business is an expanding business and the United 

 States Rubber Co. has to meet aggressive competition in all 

 its lines of goods. Other large manufacturers have recently 

 increased their capitalization materially and the increasing com- 

 petition renders it all the more important that our company 

 shall provide for further capital in order that it may continue 

 to maintain its position in the rubber trade. 



.As an illustration of the close competition that we are 



