378 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1920. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN RHODE ISLAND. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 

 'T'he kudber mills throughout the stale have been handicapped 

 *■ during the past month by the heavy snow-fall, ice and 

 other weather conditions. All were hampered through the in- 

 ability of employes getting to the plants on account of the im- 

 passable highways and by the freight embargoes which curtailed 

 the shipping of materials and production. 



The difficulty in moving supplies reached llie clima.x in the 

 great storm at the beginning of February and most of the plants 

 were hard pressed for raw material. The National India Rub- 

 ber Co. at Bristol was obliged to close its rubber shoe division 

 for about a week, laying off more than 3,500 hands, naphtha 

 being the principal commodity needed. But use was made of 

 the men in clearing the highways between the plant and Warren, 

 a distance of about five miles, to afford an outlet for the com- 

 pany's freight. 



Besides these the general outbreak of influenza throughout the 

 state was responsible for many employes not reporting for work. 

 In several departments in some of the plants as high as 50 per 

 cent were out at the height of the outbreak, and a number of 

 deaths were recorded. 



The Mount Hope Spinning Co., which manufactures fine yarns 

 for tire fabric, at Warren, Rhode Island, is going to build a 

 new mill in that town and work will be started as soon as the 

 weather conditions permit. The new mill, which is to be lo- 

 cated alongside the company's present plant on Cutler street, 

 will be 200 feet in length and 110 wide and two stories in 

 height. 



The Mount Hope Spinning Co. a few years ago purchased one 

 of the mills with storehouses and other mill buildings from the 

 Cutler Mills Co., completely renovating all the property, and 

 installed new machinery throughout. It has' prospered from the 

 start and for more than a year now the plant has been operated 

 at capacity both night and day. When the new mill is com- 

 pleted the company will be in a position to double its output. 

 This company also controls mills in Taunton, Massachusetts, and 

 other places. 



The Lynn Rubber Co., Warren, has absorbed the Morrison 

 Brothers Heel Co., Boston, and in the future will manufacture 

 not only rubber heels but other articles, such as arch supporters, 

 etc. The consolidation of these two plants will double the 

 capacity of the Lynn Rubber Co., and preparations are being 

 made so that the plant can be operated day and night. 



The annual meeting of the stockholders of the Lynn Rubber 

 Co. was held at Warren, February 7, when the following di- 

 rectors were elected : Elmer K. Watson, J. William Long, Wal- 

 ter J. Howland, Clarence H. Seymour and Leonard P. Bos- 

 worth. At a .subsequent meeting of the directors, J. William 

 Long was elected president and Elmer K. Watson, treasurer. 

 William Wheeler and F. M. Cartland, former president and 

 treasurer, respectively, will in the future represent the company 

 on the road and also serve in advisory capacities. .\o dividend 

 was declared at the meeting. 



The offices of the Lynn Rubber Co. will for the present re- 

 main in the Wilmarth building, on Main street, Warren, but in 

 the near future accommodations will be made for the offices of 

 the concern at the plant on Cutler street. Mr. Long, the new 

 president, has a thorough knowledge of the business coming 

 from Stoughton, Massachusetts, where he has been employed 

 for several years as superintendent and head chemist with the 

 Panther Rubber Co. 



John F. Sweeney, who has been acting plant manager of the 

 American Wringer Co.'s factory, Woonsocket, since the resigna- 

 tion of W. Maxwell Reed, some time ago, w^as made plant man- 

 ager early the past month at the meeting of the directors. Mr. 

 Sweeney has been with the American Wringer Co. since 1889. 

 when he entered the employ of the concern as office boy and 



gradually worked his way up to his present position. He states 

 •.hat the plant is facing the most phenomenal year of its exist- 

 ence. Last year 500,000 wringers were turned out and this year 

 it will be no surprise if 1,000,000 are made. 



Henry C. Wagner, factory manager of the Woonsocket Rub- 

 ber Co.'s plants in Woonsocket (the Alice Mill) and of the Man- 

 ville Mills, at Manvillc, has been appointed general assistant to 

 Myron H. Clark, general footwear factory manager of the foot- 

 wear division of the United States Rubber Co. Mr. Wagner 

 assumes his new duties March 1. Henry S. Marlor, now super- 

 intendent of the Lycoming Rubber Co. at Williamsport, Pennsyl- 

 vania, will succeed Mr. Wagner as the factory manager of the 

 Woonsocket Rubber Co. 



Mr. Wagner started with the Meyer Rubber Co., at Milltown, 

 New Jersey, and then went to Bristol, Rhode Island, where he 

 occupied an executive position with the National India Rubber 

 Co. He remained there three years and then went to Woon- 

 socket, where he has been a resident for 15 years. He has 

 served as superintendent at the Millville rubber boot mill at 

 Millville and as superintendent of the .'Mice rubber shoe mill 

 at Woonsocket at different times, and for a number of years has 

 been factory manager and has been in charge of both of the 

 Woonsocket Rubber Co.'s mills. 



It is understood that The Ninigret Co., Pawtucket, manufac- 

 turers of fabric for automobile tires, contemplates the erection 

 of a large addition to its present plant which was purchased 

 about six months ago from the Greene & Daniels Co., since which 

 time it has been running night and day to fill its orders which 

 are said to be accumulating faster than they can be filled. 



Employes of the Davol Rubber Co., Providence, have formed 

 a mutual benefit association under the direction of the welfare 

 department of the company, and a fund of $500 has been ap- 

 propriated by the company in order that the association may 

 5tart in a prosperous condition. Although membership is not 

 compulsory, it is expected that a majority of the employes will 

 join. Sick benefits will be paid at the rate of $1.25 per day for 

 a period not exceeding 13 weeks and the death benefit will be 

 $100. Group insurance was instituted by the company nearly 

 two years ago. 



The trade certificate of the Elliott Tire Shop, 143 High street, 

 Pawtucket. has been filed at the city clerk's office, giving the 

 name of Walter E. Elliott as owner. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN NEW JERSEY. 



By Our Regular Corresfondent. 



■"Phe will of Alfred Whitehead, secretary of the Whitehead 

 •'■ Brothers Rubber Co., Trenton, has been admitted to probate 

 in the office of the surrogate at Trenton. He left his entire 

 estate to his widow. The real estate is valued at $20,000 and no 

 inventory of the personal estate was filed. 



The Empire Rubber & Tire Co., Trenton, has elected W. G. 

 Heath and F. I. Reynolds to fill the vacancies on its board of 

 directors caused by the resignations of J. E. Baum and J. Cor- 

 nell Murray. W. M. Pepper has been elected president, succeed- 

 ing Mr. Baum; F. I. Reynolds, vice-president; C. Edward Mur- 

 ray, Jr., vice-president and treasurer; H. R. Nason, secretary. 

 The board of directors is as follows : General C. Edward Murray, 

 chairman; W. D. Campbell, W. M. Pepper, W. G. Heath, C. 

 Edward Murray, Jr., J. Frazier and F. I. Reynolds. 



.\ssociatcd with Mr Reynolds are : W. A. Reynolds, former 

 sales engineer of the mechanical rubber goods division of the 

 United States Rubber Co. ; J. Baker Taylor, former general east- 

 ern district sales manager of the tire jobbing department of the 

 United States Rubber Co., and R. V. Dickinson, who formerly 

 occupied a similar position in the West for the same company. 



S. H. Smith, formerly factory manager of the Gillette Rubber 



