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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1920. 



Ri-XKiviNC. AM) SiiU'iMN'G : As the railroads cannot afford to 

 scrap their present freight car eciiiipmcnt to build new cars to 

 even metric dimensions and capacities, and as the cars will have 

 to be marked in that respect in metric figures, both the receiving 

 and the shipping clerk will be confronted with strange figures. 

 A standard railroad car 36 feet 6 inches long, capacity 40,000 

 pounds will be marked 11 meters 125 millimeters, capacity 

 18,144 kilograms. Where the freight qlassification list designates 

 18,000 pounds as the minimum load for this car, the figure will 

 be 8,163 kilograms. Freight rates will be given per 100 kilo- 

 grams. 



Accounting and Statistics. In all rubber factories a careful 

 record is kept of the use of the various compounds and the goods 

 made from them. Quotations, records, costs, bonuses, sliding 

 scales, etc., being based on meter, kilogram and liter will all be 

 affected and the accounting force as well as the statistical de- 

 partment will have to reckon with new conditions. 

 MANUFACTURED RUBBER GOODS. 

 Standardization is one of the mainstays of American indus- 

 trial development. It makes possible mass production, cuts 

 down costs and creates uniformity. To say that an article is 

 standard implies desirability. To upset and throw down these 

 standards is to use the axe on the roots of our industrial well- 

 being. And this is precisely what the metric system would do. 

 In looking over the field of finished goods the list is so exten- 

 sive that only a few can be mentioned here. 



Pneumatic Tires. Tire manufacture has been well standard- 

 ized. To change to metric figures means not only obliterating 

 present inch markings and the reengraving of molds to metric 

 designations, but also the changing of over-all dimensions. A 

 tire 104 by 914 millimeters would hardly be recognized as a 

 ^y^ by 36-inch. The making of new stock lists, price lists and 

 labels follows as a consequence. 



Belting. Rubber belting is standardized as to width on the 

 inch basis and made as to thickness from 2-ply up. The work- 

 ing load of a belt is a certain percentage of its breaking load in 

 pounds per inch width. From this the engineer figures the belt 

 width required for the horse power (English h.p. = 33.000 foot 

 pounds per minute) needed at a given belt speed in feet per 

 minute. 



Hose. Rubber hose is standardized as to its internal diameter 

 in inches, listed per foot of length and rated to pressure in 

 pounds per square inch. An example: 



Pneumatic Tool Hose. English. Metric. 



Internal diameter /2-inch 12.7-millimeters. 



Working pressure (double fabric) 175 pounds per square inch. 

 12.304 kilograms per square centimeter. 



List price $0.47 per foot $154 per meter 



Mats, Matting and Tiling. These are made to standard 

 dimensions and priced per square foot or piece. Corrugated 

 rubber matting, for instance, is carried in stock widths of 24. 

 .30, 36 and 48 inches; the weights are as follows: 

 English. 

 Weights per square yard. 

 3/32-inch thick 5 pounds 

 i/^-inch thick 7 pounds 

 5/32-inch thick lO"/ pounds 

 Metric. 

 Weights per square meter. 



2.381 millimeters thick 2.712 kilograms 

 3.175 millimeters thick 3.975 kilograms 

 3.969 millimeters thick 5.696 kilograms 

 Druggists' Sundries. The list of druggists' sundries and 

 hospital supplies is a long one indeed and includes atomizer 

 bull ^, camera bulbs, syringe bulbs, elastic bands, elastic cords, 

 hard ' rubber combs, hard rubber funnels, medicine droppers. 



nipples, nipple shields, rattles, rubber thread, teething rings, to- 

 bacco pouches, syringes and water bottles. 



Considering the last-named article, water bottles are stand- 

 ard 2 and 3-quart size. 



2 quarts = 1.892 liters. 



3 quarts — 2.838 liters. 



To sell these articles by metric designations would be confus- 

 ing to both the dealer and the customer. Therefore the retail 

 trade would demand these goods in even figures. The nearest 

 figures would be Wi, and 2i/' liters (7J4 per cent small), or 2 

 and 3 liters (5.8 per cent large). It will be noticed that in the 

 lirst case binary fractions are here applied to the decimal metric 

 system, an anomaly to the metric faddist. Is it better to stand- 

 ardize the smaller or larger sizes, or should the dealer carry 

 four sizes in stock where formerly he carried only two? In 

 either case the habit of the buying public must be changed and 

 as an additional burden the manufacturer will have to discard 

 his molds and make new ones. 



Specifications and CATALOGS.^The requirements on some 

 rubber goods are very exacting; as a case in point, the rubber 

 insulation for electric wires. Specifications to cover them will 

 have to be rewritten to metric figures and changed in many 

 cases to avoid too extended metric decimal fractions which 

 would not be practical to work to in the factory. 



Goods must be advertised. This means new catalogs, after 

 new standards have been settled on, and prices will have to be 

 recalculated to suit them. 



Goods must be properly boxed for shipment and attractive 

 presentation to the trade. This means different size boxes to ac- 

 commodate articles changed to rounded metric figures. This in 

 turn requires new labels, change in billing, etc. Many goods are 

 now packed and sold in dozens and gross. The metric law may 

 ci mpel us to sell them in Ws and lOO's. 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY. 



To gain a conception of what it would mean to change from 

 a well grounded system of measurements to a system which 

 has, aside from some theoretical considerations, little to recom- 

 mend it, one must realize the extent of the industry which is 

 asked to take this step. Crude rubber consumption may be 

 taken as a fair indication of the importance of this industry. 



World United States United States 



Consumption. and Canada. and Canada. 



Tons. Tons. Per Cent. 



1917 209,500 .155,000 74 



1918 210,000 187,000 89 



1919 298,000 230,000 11 



Furthermore, statistics show that the production of finished 



rubber goods in the United States was : 



1914 $ 300,994,000 



1919 1,200,000,000 



Still another angle is obtained from the following: 

 Value of United States Tire Exports. 



1913 $3,943,220 



1914 3.505,267 



1915 4,963.270 



1916 17,936,227 



1917 12.330,201 



1918 ' 13,977,671 



1919 ; 22,466,580 



Viewed from the three angles given it is evident that the 

 rubber industry of the United States is preeminent in the w..rld 

 to-day. These are facts, not fancies; definite statements, not 

 generalizations. This industry is young, vigorous and full of 

 promise for still greater achievements in the future. Shall it 

 be hampered by throwing the "metric monkey wrench" into its 

 machinery? 



