THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



639 



It will also be noted that all materials move in one direction 

 on the tirst floor and on the second and third floors they move 

 in the opposite direction so that the finished materials will arrive 

 directly above the shipping and receiving room. An elevator and 

 chute are located at this end so that all m.iicrials can be easily 

 handled. 



The repair and inaintenance department is located in the base- 

 ment. A laboratory for testing and experimenting is almost a 

 necessity and can be located on the second floor or adjacent to 

 the factory superintendent's oflicc. 



Equipment for these two departments will vary depending on 

 the amount of work of this character tliat it is desirable to 

 accomplish in the initial unit. 



MORE ABOUT JAR RINGS AND POISONED OLIVES. 



T11-; article mi jar 

 lished in The Ini 

 following comments 

 jar rings. 



rings and poisoned olives that was pub- 

 i.\ RiBBER World, May 1, 1920, elicited the 

 from prominent manufacturers of rubber 



BOSTON WOVEN HOSE & BUBBER CO. 



The Bureau of Chemistry of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture authorizes the statement that it has met with a gratify- 

 ing degree of cooperation on the part of packers of ripe 

 olives in improving methods to such an extent that danger 

 from botulinus poisoning in future packs will be eliminated. 

 Five groups of deaths traced to poison produced by the 

 organism known as bacillus botulinus have occurred in New 

 York City, Detroit, Michigan, Canton, Ohio, Memphis, Ten- 

 nessee, and Kalispell. Montana. All of these cases were due 

 to the consumption of ripe olives. No fatalities have been 

 traced to green olives. 



Very extensive investigations have been made by scientists 

 from the Burea'u of Chemistry with the cooperation of the 

 packers and the packers also have employed specialists to 

 study the causes of botulinus poisoning and the precautions 

 which should be employed to prevent further difficulty. The 

 experts agree that the trouble is not inherent in the type of 

 container used. Whether the olives be packed in glass jars 

 or in tin cans, they may be'rendered absolutely safe if proper 

 precautions are taken to prevent the infection with bacteria 

 during handling and if the packages when tilled are sterilized 

 at a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient period of lime. 

 It is entirely practicable, say the specialists, to sterilize both 

 glass containers and tin cans at a temperature high enough 

 to insure absolute sterilization. 



Unfortunately some packs of ripe olives put up in glass as 

 well as some in tin during past seasons were not prepared 

 with all the precautions now known to be essential and were 

 not sterilized at a sufficiently high temperature and some of 

 these goods in glass were responsible for the fatalities. It is 

 probable that of all the ripe olives on the market but an ex- 

 tremely small number actually contained botulinus. Of more 

 than 2.000 individual packages collected and examined in the 

 Bureau of Chemistry but eight were found to contain botu- 

 linus, and seven of these were from the output of one manu- 

 facturer and from one batch of his output. In addition to 

 these eight, the bureau has examined samples of some of the 

 olives responsible for the fatalities and has also found botu- 

 linus in these specimens. 



Since there is a possibility of danger from any ripe olive 

 which has been insufficiently sterilized the Bureau of Chem- 

 istry has suggested to the industry that all ripe olives in 

 glass or in tin wherever located be carefully inspected and 

 that any which show the slightest degree of decomposition 

 be destroyed. It has further suggested that all ripe olives 

 which have not been processed at a sufficiently high tem- 

 perature be returned to the packers for immediate reprocess- 

 ing at a sufficient temperature to insure complete sterilization. 



With lew exceptions the olive packers have most heartily 

 fallen in with all suggestions made in the interest of the 

 public safety and by mutual agreement entered into by prac- 

 tically all of the packers they are now taking steps to with- 

 draw from the market all ripe olives in glass containers 

 which have not been sterilized at a sufficient temperature. 

 Similar steps are being taken by some of the packers in the 

 case of minced olive relishes in view of the fact that one 

 death due to the consumption of such a product has been 

 reported. 



While concerted action to remove ripe olives packed in 

 tin and processed at a low temperature has not been taken 

 by the packers, the fact that spoilage in tin has so consis- 

 tently resulted in making a "swell" out of the can constitutes 

 a warning to the purchaser which is not often disregarded. 

 There is no reason to anticipate danger from properly packed 

 and processed ripe olives, whether they be packed in lin or 

 glass containers. 



THE MANHATTAN RUBBER MANUFACTURING CO. 



In an article that appeared in the "Literary Digest" of May 1, 

 it was claimed that ripe olive poisoning was an infection from 

 the botulinus germ present in the rubber rings used on the 

 glass jars. 



While we are not an authority on germs and would not 

 recognize the botulinus if we met him face to face, wc do 

 feel that we are perfectly competent to refute the statement 

 that this or any other germ can exist in a rubber jar ring. If 

 rubber goods are subject to infection, and we certainly do not 

 believe they are, it is high time that we took a trip around 

 to the various hospitals and insisted upon their giving up 

 the use of surgical rubber gloves, rubber tubing, sheeting, 

 and many other rubber articles which they use; and where 

 is there any line of w-ork in which more care is needed for 

 cleanliness and sterilization than in a hospital? In fact, life 

 often depends upon the sterility of a piece of rubber goods. 



In the manufacture of a rubber jar ring there is about as 

 much chance for the germ to exist as there is for the pro- 

 verbial snowball. The rubber which is used in jar rings is 

 first very carefully washed with hot water to free it from 

 all foreign particles. It is then mixed with chemically pure 

 materials, one of them being sulphur. The sulphur, itself a 

 very good disinfectant, is present in all rubber goods, and 

 acts as an excellent germicidal agent. A careful examination 

 of a piece of rubber goods will reveal a grayish substance 

 that completely covers the surface of the article. Sometimes 

 this condition is more noticeable than at others, but it is 

 always present. It is caused by an efflorescence of sulphur 

 and is known in the rubber trade as "bloom." This covering 

 of sulphur serves as a very efficient protection against any 

 germs. During the process of manufacture, the rings must 

 go through a heating process in live steam for about two 

 hours at about 290 degrees F. Therefore, it would he 

 rather a hardy germ that would be able to live through such 

 a process as this. In fact, we doubt if the germ has been 

 discovered that would staud this particular treatment. The 

 rings are then packed in sanitary and carefully sealed boxes, 

 and are ready for the consumer. To our mind it is absurd 

 that any germ, even the botulinus. could exist in a rubber 

 jar ring after it has been through the regular manufacturing 

 process. 



A RUBBER COLD-WATER BOTTLE. 



• )no nf the manufacturers of rubber goods recommends filling 

 its "Black Beauty" hot-water bottle with cold water for use in 

 Keeping cool in summer. This bottle has the special "C-Kure- 

 Neck." described in The Ixdi.v Rubber World. March 1, 1918. 

 (The Miller Rubber Co.. Akron. Ohio.) 



