May i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



289 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN AKRON. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



TO the Editor of The India Rubber World : "Very 

 few tire manufacturers are making money on their tires 

 at this time," said a prominent manufacturer to your corre- 

 spondent. " Most of the tire contracts for 1904 were made with 

 no thought of the present high price of washed rubber in view, 

 and as a result the companies which did not have a large sup- 

 ply on hand before the price went up have been caught. If the 

 present price continues throughout the season, next year will 

 see a general advance all along the line, not only in tires, but in 

 other lines. We simply cannot make tires at present prices 

 and make money. There must be an increase in the finished 

 product. 



" In this connection it is asserted that the tariff is responsible 

 for the large number of tires which are made in this country. 

 It is well known that Americans were not the originators of 

 automobile tires. The first ones were made in France, and had 

 it not been for the tariff, the United States would have been 

 flooded with French tires, and the manufacturers here wouldn't 

 have had the opportunity they had to perfect their inventions 

 along this line. As matters now stand, the American made tire 

 compares favorably, and there are many who claim that it is 

 superior, to the French tire. Akron probably sends out more 

 tires than any other American city. At the last nine automo- 

 bile shows two companies of this city had 100 per cent, more 

 tires on the machines exhibited than all other manufacturers 

 combined. This is proof that the bulk of the automobile tires 

 used in America are made in Akron." 



While much has been written about the selling pool for auto- 

 mobile tire manufacturers, very few people outside of the com- 

 panies interested have any idea of its practical workings. It is 

 known in a general way that the pool dictates what kind of 

 tires shall be fitted to the various rims allowed by the pool, but 

 very few know how this is accomplished. The selling pool 

 have inspectors who inspect every standard rim made, and un- 

 less the rims bear the stamp of the pool the manufacturers' 

 guarantee is no good. For instance, if an automobile owner 

 should return a poorly made tire to a manufacturer upon a rim 

 which did not bear the mark of the selling pool, the manufac- 

 turers would refuse to replace the tire, no matter how poorly 

 the tire had worn. In this manner the manufacturers are 

 assured that their tires are fitted to the proper kinds of rims, 

 and their tires are given a chance to show their merits. 



* * * 



The Pure Gum Specialty Co., of Barberton, have begun suit 

 in common pleas against Harvey Mitzel and George M. Eby, 

 a partnership doing business in Akron as the Mitzel Rubber 

 Co., asking that they be restrained from using the name 

 "Mitzel" as a trademark. It is alleged that Mitzel was the 

 former owner of the Pure Gum Specialty Co., during which 

 time the trademark " Mitzel " was used upon goods manu- 

 factured by them. The trademark is registered, the petition 



avers, and is a valuable asset of the company. 



* * * 



The American Hard Rubber Co. are putting out a three- 

 holed hard rubber bowling ball, patterned after the ball used 

 by Charles Mountain, the famous Milwaukee bowler, and it is 

 meeting with the approval of bowlers very widely. Experi- 

 ments are also being made with fiber finger holes, some bowl- 

 ers claiming that the hard rubber makes an unsatisfactory grip, 

 and the company are endeavoring to meet every objection that 

 may be made against the ball. 



The American Hard Rubber Co. are getting out souvenirs 



for the Akron City Bowling Association in the shape of a min- 

 iature bowling ball attached to a pin. The Akron association 

 is trying to capture the state tournament and meeting of the 

 Ohio State Bowling Association, and the delegation from 

 Akron will flood the convention in Columbus in May with 



hundreds of the little balls. 



* * * 



The B. F. Goodrich Co. are engaging in the manufacture of 

 hard rubber specialties needed in their work. Formerly they 

 were engaged extensively in the manufacture of hard rubber 

 goods, for which they maintained a separate plant. This was 

 sold in 189S to the American Hard Rubber Co., who still oper- 

 ate it. The Goodrich company thereafter bought their hard 

 rubber requirements of the American company, but of late 

 have begun to make them in their own factory. The Diamond 

 Rubber Co., as has been mentioned in The India Rubber 

 World, also make hard rubber goods, for which they have an 

 extensive plant. 



Mr. E. C. Shaw, superintendent of The B. F. Goodrich Co., 

 is slowly recovering from an attack of sickness in a New York 

 hospital. In his absence Mr. C. C. Goodrich has been in 

 charge of his office. 



The officers of the Second National Bank presented Colonel 

 George T. Perkins, president of The B. F. Goodrich Co., and 

 for a number of years president of the bank, with a solid silver 

 loving cup, at the regular monthly meeting of the board of di- 

 rectors held on April 4. This meeting marked the end of Mr. 

 Perkins's connection with the bank as president, although he 



is still retained on the official board. 



» * * 



Will Christy, president of the Firestone Tire and Rubber 

 Company, has become interested in the American Engineering 

 and Reduction Co., and at a recent meeting of the shareholders 

 was made a director, and later elected president of the com- 

 pany. J. R. Nutt, a partner of Mr. Christy and one of the pro- 

 moters of the People's Hard Rubber Co., is also a director in 

 the company. 



Dr. L. E. Sisler, secretary and treasurer of the Firestone Tire 

 and Rubber Co., is being boomed by his friends as delegate 

 from the Akron district to the Republican national convention, 

 and there is reason to believe that he will secure the place. 



Mr. H. S. Riddle, mechanical engineer of the Diamond Rub- 

 ber Co., has resigned. It is understood that he will accept a 

 lucrative position with another company. 



Mr. I. R. Bailey has been made general manager of the 

 mechanical department of the Diamond Rubber Co., compris- 

 ing the belting, packing, hose, and molded goods departments, 

 which heretofore have been under different heads. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN TRENTON. 



BY A RESIDENT CORRESPONDENT. 



TO the Editor of The India Rubber World: The 

 strike inaugurated January 18, by Trenton Local, No. 4, 

 of the Amalgamated Rubber Workers' Union of America, was 

 formally declared off by the union at a special meeting held on 

 April 3. There were 147 rubber workers present at the meet- 

 ing and the vote showed 89 in favor of going back to work 

 without conditions, and 58 against it. 



James E. O'Donovan, secretary of the union, who was the 

 leader of the strike, said to The India Rubber World cor- 

 respondent : " Primarily the strike failed because of a lack of 

 financial support. While other causes contributed, the need 

 of funds was the weak point in the fight. The union started 

 the strike with barely more than $1000 in the treasury, in the 



