January i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



105 



CONDITION OF THE RUBBER TRADE. 



Wf^" 



Published on the 1st of each Month by 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING CO. 



Subscriptions: S3.00 peryear, $1.76 for six mouths, postpaid, for the United 

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 be sent by International Post order, payable as above. 



Discontinuances : Y' early orders for subscriptions and advertising are 

 regarded as permanent, and after the first twelve months they will 

 be discontinued only at the request of the subscriber or advertiser. 

 Bills are rendered promptly at the beginning of each period, and 

 thereby our patrons have due notice of continuance. 



COPYRIGHT, 1903, BY 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING CO. 



Entered at New York Post Office as mall matter of the second-class. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Editorial: 



Condition of the Rubber Trade ion 



The Control of Rubber Prices U6 



"Hevea" Rubberln Damp Locations 107 



Rubber in "First Hands" 107 



Minor Editorial 108 



The Rubber Tree Disease in Ceylon J. B Carruthers 109 



A Rubber Country and Its People Joseph B. Steere 110 



[Narrative of a Visit to Indian Tribes of the Punis River. Brazil.] 



Sulphur in Its Relation to Vulcanization 112 



Making Holded Goods in Rubber 114 



[With an Illustration.] 



Papers on Air Brake Hose-II 115 



[Hose Specifications and Tests. With five Illustrations.] 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain 



Our Regular Correspondent 118 



[The Cycle Shows. Rubber Heel Pads. Artificial Leather. A Ques- 

 tion of Policy. South African Trade. Dunlop Litigation. Our 

 Editor.] 



Official Statistics of India-Rubber and Gutta-Percha 120 



[For the United States Fiscal Year 1902-1903 ] 



Literature of India-Rubber 121 



Rubber Notes from Europe 122 



Recent Rubber Patents [American, English and German] 123 



Views of Rubber Manufacturers 125 



[State of Trade in the Past Year, and Future Prospects.] 



Death of Mrs. E. S. Converse 127 



[With a Portrait.] 



Canadian Imports of Rubber Goods 128 



The Rubber Tire Outlook for 1904 129 



[Review of the American Tire Situaton; with Six Illustrations.] 



Tires at the English Cycle Shows 131 



[With Nine Illustrations.]' 



The Textile Goods Market 133 



Miscellaneous : 



Rubber Works at Litherland (Illustrated) 108 



A Correction from Manchester. 108 



An Old Scheme Under A New Name 117 



Demand for Automobile Tires .. 119 



Mood Words for the Bicycle ! "... 1S6 



American Rubber Goods Exports ". ! 1% 



Rio Micbol Rubber Plantation Co isr, 



Hydrocarbons in Rubber Compounds 136 



The Situation on the Acre '.. hi 



News of the American Rubber Trade 136 



[With an Illustration.] 



The Trade in Akron , Our Correspondent 131 



Review of the Crude Rubber Market ... 141 



"THE year just closed witnessed a larger factory con- 

 -*■ sumption of India-rubber in the United States than 

 any former year, notwithstanding a generally upward tend- 

 ency of prices of all the raw materials used in the industry. 

 In consequence of the latter fact, the net result of the year's 

 trading has been a somewhat higher level of prices at the 

 factory. It is evident, therefore, that the legitimate de- 

 mand for products of the rubber factory is growing — that 

 an increasing number of such articles is becoming regarded 

 as necessaries by an increasing number of people. It is 

 evident, too, that the purchasing power of the people is 

 being steadily maintained, if not increased, for the exports 

 of rubber goods from the United States probably do not 

 yet exceed 3 per cent, in value of the total products of 

 the industry, and we are still importers of rubber goods. 



It has not yet been claimed for the rubber industry, as 

 for iron, that it is a barometer of general business condi- 

 tions ; it is not relatively large enough. But the well sus- 

 tained demand for rubber goods for the past year cannot 

 be regarded otherwise than as an indication of general 

 prosperity. During the year indications of another sort 

 have not been lacking, but it is worth nothing that those 

 proceeded mainly from the stock exchanges, where some 

 heavily " watered " stocks sold at a startling discount. 

 Such declines as this, however, do not lessen the nation's 

 wealth by one cent. They may lessen the buying capacity 

 of this or that individual or group or class, but not of the 

 people as a whole. Regardless of stock exchange returns, 

 there is little doubt that during the year more people have 

 been at work in this country than ever before, for returns 

 as liberal in any former year, with the result that more 

 people own their homes or have bank accounts, or have a 

 surplus in some form. The buying of goods of every clas^ 

 has been liberal, and the rubber goods manufacturer has 

 had his share in filling the general demand. 



The only note of complaint to be heard in the rubber 

 branch is that the trade of late has not afforded profits 

 commensurate with its volume. Buying raw materials at 

 higher prices calls for a larger investment of capital for a 

 given output of goods, and without a corresponding ad- 

 vance in selling prices the manufacturer may not feel as 

 cheerful as he might otherwise over an active condition of 

 trade. But in an era when the prices of so many manu- 

 factured products are tending downward, people very 

 naturally object to paying higher than the customary 

 prices for rubber articles of everyday use, no matter for 

 what reason an advance is asked. So while more people 

 than ever want rubber footwear, or garden hose, or rubber 

 belting, or what not, their demands swelling the total pro- 

 duction of such goods, they do not want to pay more than 

 such things cost a year ago, and part of the additional 

 cost of production comes out of the manufacturer's profits. 



At the same time, when there is a* pressure to buy, as 

 has happened during the year in some lines, the effect 

 upon prices is more favorable, from the manufacturers' 

 standpoint, than if it were a pressure to sell. Hence, by 

 and large, the trade of the year, if there could be a general 



