380 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1920. 



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THE RUBBER TRADE IN OHIO. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



COVENTHY— AKRON'S NEW INDUSTBIAI. CITY. 



A N INTERESTING EXAMPLE of Systematic and intelligent town 

 ** planning is being carried out in the heart of the rubber dis- 

 trict of Ohio, midway between the cities of Akron and Bar- 

 berton, in the region known as "Greater Akron." It cannot 

 be called an experiment because William A. Johnston, president 

 of the Rubber Products Co., for many years has been developing 

 the land in the vicinity of the Portage lakes into residential and 

 industrial settlements, with the assistance of experienced land- 

 scape architects and of other experts, and already has Allenside 

 and other communities to his credit. 



For the pres- 

 ent enter- 

 prise Mr. John 

 ston bought 

 tract of 350 acn 

 of level grouiiii 

 lying between tli 

 yards of tli> 

 Pennsylvania and 

 of the Erie rail- 

 roads that serve 

 the great rubber 

 factories of the 

 Akron district, 

 together with the 

 Belt line, on the 

 one hand, and the 

 bend of the Tus- 

 carawas river on 

 the other, and 

 named the place 

 Coventry. Across 

 the river lies Al- 

 lenside. 



The industrial 

 end of Coventry 

 has two miles of 

 double portage 

 on the Belt line, 

 and is within 

 easy walking dis- 

 tance of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.'s immense plant, of the 

 Miller Rubber Co.'s reservation for new buildings, and of that 

 of the Akron Rubber Mold & Machine Co. The Rubber Products 

 Co.'s buildings are across the railroad track. The plan provides 

 for mills and factories, schoolhouses, churches, motion picture 

 theaters, a community center, business streets with restrictions 

 on the buildings, a stadium, streets, sewers, water and all mod- 

 ern conveniences, and 1,500 house lots. 



The accompanying aeroview shows not only the location of 

 the town in reference to the neighboring rubber centers and 

 to its own corner of Ohio, but also the astonishing number of 

 noted rubber establishments that are grouped about it. It will 

 be interesting to watch the career of the new-born Coventry. 



AKBON NOTES. 



Rubber manufacturing concerns in Akron are holding sur- 

 pluses amounting to approximately $125,000,000 from distribu- 

 tion until the Supreme Court decides whether stocks issued 

 against these surpluses are subject to the excess profits tax. If 

 the Supreme Court hands down a decision permitting the is- 

 suance of the stocks without making them taxable, most of 

 the rubber companies will issue stock. If the court holds they 

 are subject to taxation, no par value shares will be issued. 



Rubber manufacturers, builders and real estate men predict 

 that Akron will become a city of tents and barracks this sum- 



mer when the $40,000,000 construction program gets under way. 

 There is not a man in the city of Akron out of work now, and 

 there is scarcely a roum, not to speak of a house, vacant in the 

 city. 



If the work planned for this year, both in the rubber industry, 

 city building and the building of private residences is to be 

 undertaken at all, the men to do the work must be brought to 

 Akron from other cities and the only place for tlicm to live 

 while they are working will be in tents and barracks. 



The Coventry Land & Improvement Co., subsidiary to the 

 Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., will begin its building program 

 in Firestone Park this spring with 300 new homes. 



Rubber footwear factories have reported that a large number 

 of representatives from Europe are coming to Akron to make 



contracts for the 

 needs of their 

 countries. The 

 scarcity of leather 

 has made the 

 Europeans turn 

 tu rubber as the 

 host substitute. 

 Rubber heels and 

 sdles are espec- 

 ially in great de- 

 mand in Europe, 



@@@@ 





lER Akron, Center 



AvALON Rubber Co. 

 The Biltwell Tire & 



Rubber Co. 

 The Portage Rubber Co. 

 Rubber Products Co. 

 The Lincoln Rubber Co. 

 Lambert Rubber Co. 



Reserve Rub- 



Co. 



Fir 



Si.\'iL.s Rubber Industry 



The Goodyear Tire & 



Rubber Co. 

 The Mohawk Rubber Co. 

 Kelly-Springfield Tire 



Co. 

 The Phoenix Rubber Co. 

 American Hard Rubber 



Co. 



l-'xports to for- 

 ;■ i g n countries 

 from Akron are 

 iKHv at the rate 

 of approximately 

 $20,(100.000 a year. 

 I'.ut for the high 

 rate of exchange 

 the amount would 

 probably be 

 double this 

 figure. 



Announcement 

 has been made 

 that Plant No. 2 

 of The B. F. 

 Goodrich Co. will 

 thin 



be ready to produce 3,000 tires daily, of small d 

 the next few weeks. 



The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, is educating its 

 office employes by means of motion pictures. Sixteen films have 

 been produced by the Division of Films, including "Most Miles 

 Per Dollar," "The Rubber Industry in Malaysia," and "For the 

 Common Good." Each series consists of five reels. 



C. L. Mason, formerly western service manager, has been ap- 

 pointed manager of the north central district of the Firestone 

 Tire & Rubber Co., with headquarters at Akron. 



The General Tire & Rubber Co. is completing plans to take 

 over permanently the coal mine which it leased during the coal 

 strike and operated with rubber workers. Thirteen miles of 

 track must be laid to the company's plant in order to produce 

 and deliver coal economically. 



The stockholders of The Miller Rubber Co. have approved 

 the proposal of the directors that the capitalization of the com- 

 pany be raised from $20,000,000 to $60,000,000. The immediate 

 issuance of $10,000,000 worth of the preferred stock has been de- 

 cided upon. The business for the past year aggregated $26,- 

 495,482. Profits for the year amounted to $2,193,547." 



The Mohawk Rubber Co., Akron, has increased its capitaliza- 

 tion from $2,000,000 to $5,000,000. The purpose for which the 



