16U 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



[February i, 1908. 



Wholesalers' Association. He was also at one time vice president 

 of the National Shoe Wholesalers' Association of the United 

 States. These positions brought Mr. Smith very prominently 

 before the trade. As is well known, the existence of these associa- 

 tions is due largely to questions connected with the distribution 

 of rubber footwear, a class of goods which Mr. Smith's own 

 house handled very largely. The funeral at Toledo, Ohio, on 

 December 29, was attended by many members of the trade from 

 Chicago, and appropriate resolutions were adopted by the Western 

 As^ociation of Shoe Wholesalers. 



DR. PETER T. AUSTEN, 



Peter Townsend Austen, ph.d., one of the best known chem- 

 ists in the United States, died suddenly at his home in New York 

 on December 30, after an illness of several months, at the age 

 of 55 years, .^fter being graduated from the Columbia School 

 of Mines in 1872, Mr. Austen went to Germany and studied for 

 several years at the University of Berlin and with some eminent 

 chemists. He was successively instructor of chemistry in Dart- 

 mouth College, professor of chemistry at Rutgers, and head of 

 the chemistry department of the Brooklyn Institute. Later he de- 

 voted himself to consulting work with marked success. During 

 his career he was called upon very often to solve problems con- 

 nected with the rubber industry. Dr. .\usten was a member of 

 most of the important chemical societies of the world. 

 * * * 



The many friends in the trade, and out of the trade as well, 

 of Mr. George E. Hall, general manager of the Boston Woven 

 Hose and Rubber Co., will learn with deep regret of the death, 

 on January 25, of his wife. The funeral occurred on Monday 

 afternoon, January 27, at which time all the offices, jobbing 

 houses, and the factory of the company were closed. 



A STARTLING TIRE SUGGESTION. 



■ I ' IIH newspapers Lc Malin, of Paris, and the New York 

 •*• Times, which are responsible for the New York to Paris 

 (via Alaska) automobile run, are giving much advice to con- 

 testants, as to clothing, equipment, and especially as to tires. 

 One thing that both papers insist upon will fill the rubber trade 

 with panic. To quote : 



"AU pneumatics should be vtdcaniced in order to resist the great 

 cold" 



No doubt the writer of these words was convinced that an 

 automobile tire to stand an arctic climate should not be made 

 by the ordinary process of melting the gum, pouring it upon 

 the fabric, and blowing upon its surface until it hardened. He 

 probably really believes that the invention of Goodyear that 

 covered the use of sulphur and heat should now be employed. 

 But does he appreciate what it costs to change processes in the 

 great rubber factories of the world? To carry out his suggestion, 

 the melting pots must be cast aside and each factory must become 

 equipped with washers, dryers, mixers, calenders, making up 

 forms, and last of all, expensive vulcanizers or presses — an in- 

 vestment of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 



And just to cross .Alaska and Siberia ! It would hardly seem 

 worth the while. The tires now in use, which by his inference 

 are unvulcanizcd, are good enough. But vulcanized tires — absurd. 



TIRE CHAINS VERSUS STUDS. 



THE new regulation in New York, prohibiting the use of tire 

 chains on automobiles going through any of the city parks 

 or over any roads under the control of the park commissioners, 

 called forth an exceptional number of complaints during the 

 recent heavy snowfall. Not a few experienced drivers and 

 professional chauffeurs declare that steel studded tire casings 

 are not as good for running through heavy snow as tire chains 



are, though many of them consider that the steel studs, es- 

 pecially those on foreign tires, are all right for preventing skid- 

 ding on icy or slippery pavements. 



When running through snow with steel studded tire casings 

 the snow generally cakes between the studs, so that after a time 

 the tread practically becomes a smooth one on account of the 

 caked snow and ice which surrounds the studs. With tire chains 

 this is impossible, as there is too much space between the chains 

 that span the tires. The tire chains are much better for driving 

 through snow, as they grip the snow at the sides of the tire as 

 well as where the tire rests on the surface of the ground. 



NINE YEARS OF AUTOMOBILE PROGRESS. 



I T is just nine years since The Indi.\ Rubber World, in con- 

 ■*• nection with an effort to keep its readers informed in regard 

 to the development of the then new automobile interest, printed a 

 communication from a firm mentioned at the time as "one of the 

 most important companies in the field," who wrote that "it would 

 not be an extravagant estimate to say that probably 200 more 

 vehicles, similar to those now in use [in New York city] will 

 be constructed this year." The letter referred to closed with these 

 words : 



It is perfectly safe to assume that the motor vehicle industry has come 

 to stay and that, while its development will be slow at first, it will increase 

 with gigantic strides, and evidently to the great advantage of the rubber 

 business. 



Whether or not the motor vehicle industry "has come to stay," 

 no one will dispute that it has increased "with gigantic strides," 

 and "evidently to the great advantage of the rubber business." 

 It must be admitted, however, that The Indi.a, Rubber World's 

 informants in 1899 were more successful as prophets than in the 

 industrial field, as they long ago ceased to figure in the auto- 

 mobile world. 



It may not be out of the way here to add that when, during 

 the latter part of 1899, a member of The Indi.\ Rubber World 

 staff was in Germany, the director of one of the largest rubber 

 manufacturing companies in that country assured him : "We 

 don't believe that the future of the automobile industry will be 

 of much interest to the German rubber trade. Perhaps the com- 

 mercial motor vehicle will become important and this may call 

 for solid rubber tires somewhat, but we cannot see any pros- 

 pective large demand for rubber tires of any class for pleasure 

 vehicles of the self propelling type." It may be added that the 

 company whose director is quoted here have now become very im- 

 portant producers of pneumatic tires for vehicles, for both the 

 domestic and export trade. Not only this, but Germany to-day is 

 manufacturing the Personenmotorzvagen in large numbers, not 

 only for home use, but likewise for export to North and South 

 -■Vmerica, every country in Europe, and to Asia and Africa. 



RUBBER MONOPOLY IN NICARAGUA. 



HP HE organization is reported of the .\tlantic Industrial Co., 

 •*• with headquarters at Managua, Nicaragua, with a capital 

 of $300,000 (gold), to control the extraction of rubber from the 

 government forests in that republic. The new company will 

 operate under lease certain concessions granted by the govern- 

 ment to a number of individuals in the past. The rubber collected 

 under these concessions is exported mainly through San Juan 

 del Norte, and the United States consul at that port estimates 

 that the quantity will reach 500,000 pounds this year. 



The president of Brazil has signed a decree authorizing the 

 operation in that republic of the $11,000,000 company incorporated 

 in Maine (United States) to construct the proposed Madeira- 

 Mamore railway. Alexander Mackenzie is the accredited repre- 

 sentative of the company in Brazil. 



