122 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January i, 1904. 



RUBBER NOTES FROM EUROPE. 



MOTOR TIRES FOR ENGLAND MADE IN FRANCE. 



A DECISION has been rendered in the English courts in 

 re Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co., Limited, v. North British 

 Rubber Co., Limited. The former company purchased from 

 the latter, in 1896, for ,£200,000, the Bartlett patent, under 

 which they had manufactured the "Clincher" tire. At the 

 same time the Danlop company licensed the North British 

 company to continue the manufacture of the " Clincher " tire, 

 under said patent, on the payment of a royalty of 5 shillings 

 per pair, but stipulating that the North British company should 

 not manufacture any tire which might infringe the Welsh pat- 

 ent, also owned by the Dunlop company. In January, 1903, the 

 North British company entered into an agreement with Mich- 

 elin et Cie. (Clermont-Ferrand, France), whereby the latter 

 should manufacture such " Clincher " motor tires as the North 

 British Rubber Co. might require for their trade in Great 

 Britain. The French company were not to supply such tires 

 to any other firm in Great Britain, and the North British, com- 

 pany were not to have such tires made by any other company, 

 though reserving the right to make in their own works not 

 more than 5000 tires per year. The tire so produced was la- 

 belled " The Clincher-Michelin Tyre, Bartlett 's patent." 



The plaintiffs in this case charge the North British Rubber 

 Co. with violation of the terms of their license in subletting 

 the license to Michelin et Cie. The court, however, held that 

 in this transaction Michelin et Cie. were merely agents of the 

 North British Rubber Co., who are, in the eye of the law, the 

 manufacturers of " Clincher-Michelin " tires ; there had been 

 no assignment of the license held from the Dunlop company. 

 As to the second point involved— the claim that the tires so 

 made had, by the inclusion of features not in the original 

 " Clincher " tire, infringed the Welsh patent— the court held 

 that further evidence would have to be presented. 



A GOOD YEAR FOR THE DUNLOP COMPANY. 

 The Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co., Limited, have been able to 

 present to their shareholders, for the seventh business year, the 

 most favorable report for some time past. Despite the contin- 

 ued decline in the price of tires, and the liberal writing off of 

 their patent accounts, the company were able during the year 

 to retire debentures amounting to ,£132,000, to increase the 

 dividend on ordinary shares from 5 to 6 per cent., and carry for- 

 ward a balance larger than last year's by ,£57.519 5s. id. The 

 financial statement for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1903, 

 may be thus summarized : 



Dr. 

 Carried forward, September 30, 1902.. £177,922 o o 



Profits from trading. 1902-03 145. 46S 9 II 



Income from investments* 84,540 19 3 ,£407,921 9 2 



Cr. 



Interest on debentures £ 17,270 o o 



Preference dividends — 10 per cent.. . . 49,749 10 o 

 Ordinary dividends — 6 percent.. .. 59,999 ■' 7 

 Written off patents account 45,371 2 6 .£172,3904 1 



Carried forward, September 30, 1903 £235,541 5 1 



[* Including subsidiary companies.] 



The directors report: "With regard to the quality of the 

 automobile tires manufactured by the company, a great deal of 

 interested misrepresentation has taken place. The efforts of 

 the directors to safeguard the patent rights of the shareholders 

 conflict with the large importation of automobiles fitted with 

 tires made abroad. Users do not always understand that mo- 

 tor tires made in Germany and France are manufactured ac- 

 cording to purely English inventions (the property of your 



company) but which a.re not recognized in Germany or France. 

 Such tires, when improperly imported to England, constitute 

 an infringement of your rights, and the efforts made in defense 

 of those rights cause certain prejudice, of which foreign com- 

 petitors do not hesitate to avail. The extended sale and prac- 

 tical use of Dunlop motor tires are, however, proving the 

 strongest factors in establishing the superiority of tires made 

 at home under the original patents to which they owe their ex- 

 istence." 



REPORT OF THE SILVERTOWN COMPANY. 



At the fortieth annual meeting of shareholders of the India- 

 Rubber, Gutta-Percha, and Telegraph Works Co., Limited 

 (London, December 15), the accounts presented showed a net 

 profit for the fiscal year ended September 30 of ,£54.568 \6s. $d. 

 [=$265,559.23], against a profit of £57. 554 3*. \d. and .£56,057 

 is. id. for the two preceding years, respectively. The general 

 business showed a falling off as compared with last year, due 

 to a general depression in trade, as a result of which compe- 

 tition has been, if anything, keener than usual. The usual 

 dividend of 10 per cent, was paid for the year. The amount 

 carried forward is ,£66,930 ys. iod., against ,£62,361 us. yd. car- 

 ried forward from the preceding year. 



PALMER TIRE PROFITS- 

 The last yearly report of The Palmer Tyre, Limited — in 

 which company the Silvertown company hold an important in- 

 terest — showed profits of ,£7558, as against ,£6971 for the year 

 ended September 30, 1902. The dividend this year is 10 per 

 cent. The company are quite hopeful with regard to their new 

 motor tire, described elsewhere in this Journal. 



GERMANY. 



The Continental Caoutchouc- und Guttapercha- Compagnie 

 (Hannover) have completed a new building, intended princi- 

 pally for the extension of their export facilities, which fills the 

 last remaining space available on their premises on the Vah- 

 renwalderstrasse. 



= The Continental company announce that Manfield & Berg- 

 er have been appointed their representatives at Diesden (at 

 Palmstrasse, 1), to succeed G. & A. Thoenes, their representa- 

 tives for many years. 



= In a circular to the trade Messrs. Thoenes give expression 

 to their regret at terminating the relations with the Continen- 

 tal company, so pleasantly maintained for 25 years, but they 

 have decided upon this step on account of the advancing years 

 of the heads ot the firm, and the growth of their own manufac- 

 turing business. G. & A. Thoenes became established as man- 

 ufacturers of packings — rubber, asbestos, and other — at Rade- 

 beul-Dresden, in 1878, and on December 5 celebrated the 

 twenty filth anniversary of the founding of their business. 



=The Gummi-Zeitung hears that negotiations for the forma- 

 tion of a combination of elastic webbing factories of Germany 

 and Austria are nearing completion. 



THE GERMAN RUBBER INDUSTRY HONORED. 

 Herr Senator Carl Maret, Harburg, director of the Ver- 

 einigte Gummiwaren-Fabriken, Harburg-Wien, has been ap- 

 pointed by his Majesty, the Emperor of Germany, an Imperial 

 Prussian Counsellor of Commerce. This distinction honors 

 alike the whole branch of our industry, because Herr Senator 

 Maret is the nestor of the German rubber industry, and pre- 

 siding officer of the Central Society of German Rubber Goods 

 Factories. Great satisfaction and congratulations pervade the 

 large circle in which Herr Counsellor of Commerce Maret is 

 held in the highest esteem on the news of this conferred dis- 

 tinction. — Gummi-Zeituns;. 



