338 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1920, 



is the sizes in between those from I'/z to 3J^ tons capacity, 

 which furnish the ground for debate. It is here that the 

 purchaser must carefully weigh the conditions under 

 which he will operate his trucks and make the decision. 

 To help him reach his decision the manufacturer should 

 equip his sales force with a mass of figures covering all 

 phases of transportation, or the purchaser will be left 

 very much at sea on a most important problem. 



Furthermore, the matter is of the utmost importance 

 to the truck manufacturer, because it will affect his design. 

 If a large percentage of the trucks between IJ/2 and 3 

 tons capacity will require pneumatics, it is evident that 

 new designs are required immediately, as tire manufac- 

 turers and others assert that there are few if any trucks 

 in that capacity range really adapted to' pneumatics. 



The problem of design of a pneumatic-tired truck is 

 altogether different from that of designing a vehicle for 

 solids. Higher engine speeds and different gear reduc- 

 tions are necessary for these fleet freight carriers which 

 are capable of 30 miles an hour and move across the 

 relatively uninhabited sections of the country. It is with 

 these vehicles that the ship-by-truck movement has been 

 made a reality and considering the characteristics de- 

 manded of the truck the design reverts back very closely 

 to passenger car practice in engine speeds and gear ratios. 



A true picture of the situation will not be gained until 

 we have complete statistics regarding costs in all the 

 standard lines of transportation in which the trucks in 

 the debatable class, between lyi and 314 tons, are used, 

 and until recommendations made on the basis of observa- 

 tions of trucks in operation show what changes are de- 

 sirable with the pneumatics. The. invention of new rim 

 types for the easy removal and replacement of the giant 

 pneumatic, is a big step in rendering the large pneumatic 

 truck more serviceable, but a collection of unbiased 

 cost, speed and efficiency figures is needed to help the 

 bewildered purchaser reach a positive conchision he- 

 fore he selects his truck. 



RUBBER RAINBOWS. 



ACCORDING TO ST.\Ti.sTici.\xs, ninetv-nine and eight- 

 tenths of those who own a few dollars are unable to 

 retain them. They are rainbow chasers : gold, copper, 

 oil, rubber, anything that sounds big. Just now it is 

 rubber. New companies are floated overnight, or. a small 

 company gets a letter of this sort: 



"The smaller companies cannot compete with the 

 big ones. Why ? Lack of capital. I can dispose of 

 any amount of stock you may have to sell in thirty 

 to ninety days. Please communicate at once." etc.. 

 etc. 

 Accompanying this is a chart headed, "Do you want 

 $423,000 for $1,000," with the following figures: 



Goodrich, original investment of $1,000, is worth 

 $696,000. 



Firestone, original investment of $1,000. is worth 

 $150,000. 

 This of course is for the prospective investor, and it is 

 unfortunately very effective. 



Of course it is all true enough, that is. as far as the 

 big companies named are concerned. It, however, does 

 not take mto consideration the long years of preparatory 

 work before the original thousand was anything but a 

 loss. No word of warning is given as to the necessity 



for building a solid foundation for the projected colossus. 

 Nothing is hinted as to the need of experienced and 

 brilliant managers, organizers and financiers. Nor does 

 it enter into the head of the investor that the big boom 

 is over, and from now on it is to be the steady grind of 

 every-day, careful, cheese-paring business, with con- 

 stantly decreasing profits. Not that the rubber business 

 will not continue to grow and prosper. It will. But 

 mushroom companies, no matter what their capitalization, 

 are almost sure to come to grief, for the promoter is not 

 trying for success, but simply for his commissions. 



RUBBER LEADERS ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. 



THE L\uusTKi.\L Co.MMiTTEE of the Merchants' Asso- 

 ciation of New York of which Frederic G. .'\chelis 

 of the American Hard Rubber Co., J. Newton Gunn. 

 president of the United States Tire Co., and other rubber 

 men are members, formulates the following excellent ad- 

 vice : "The recognition by both employers and employes 

 that the determination to achieve national prosperity 

 rather than to enforce maximum selfish returns, should 

 be the controlling motive in industry. The community, 

 as such, has a right to insist that industry be carried on in 

 the interest of all citizens rather than for the sole benefit 

 of those directly engaged in it. The permanent welfare 

 of all citizens depends on national prosperity which 

 is impossible unless there is maximum production at min- 

 imum 'per unit' cost without impairment either of proper 

 living standards of employes or the ability of the em- 

 ployers to earn a reasonable return on their invest- 

 ment." 



It is urged that a permanent method of conference 

 between the employer and his employes be recognized 

 with a definite arrangement— satisfactory to both em- 

 ployers and employes — whereby employes can collectively 

 take up disputes or matters of common interest with 

 employers. The following matters, it is declared, should 

 be handled in such conferences : "Wages and working 

 conditions including steps to promote continuous and 

 permanent employment, especially in the case of intro- 

 duction of new machinery and new processes ; plant con- 

 ditions aft'ecting health and general welfare of the 

 workers." .\ fair day's wage and continuous employ- 

 ment are urged as essentials to a harmonious understand- 

 ing. 



The old-time mill settle.ment was .\n aggregation 

 of barrack-tenements, squalid half-cottages and big 

 jail-like factories. The factory village of to-day is made 

 up of pleasant houses, gardens, parks, recreation grounds, 

 club houses, hospitals, libraries, and factories where light, 

 comfort, and health are prime requisites. Indeed, a new 

 industrial project to-day begins with homes for the 

 workers. In all of this transformation, the rubber trade 

 has been a pioneer. It is claimed, furthermore, that nO' 

 industry can show as large a proportion of well-to-do 

 workers who own their homes. This in itself is the best 

 possible insurance against unrest, strikes and Soviets. 



