August i, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



371 



The Late Charles H. Dale. 



IX the passing away of Charles H. Dale the American 

 rubber trade has lost one of its most notable leaders of 

 recent years, and thousands will mourn the loss of a 

 friend. Mr. Dale's death followed an illness of only a week, and 

 occurred on July 18 at his summer home at Larchmont, near 

 New York. 



Mr. Dale was born in New York city in 1852 and had entered 

 his fifty-seventh year. He was the son of a physician and at- 

 tended the public schools until he was 13, when, with the idea of 

 becoming a lawyer, he entered upon a course of study intended 

 to fit him for this. After be- 

 ing graduated from the 

 Cheshire Academy, at Che- 

 shire, Connecticut, he caught 

 the "railroad fever" and in- 

 sisted that it was better for 

 him to become a good rail- 

 road man than possibly an 

 indifferent lawyer. His father 

 was finally influenced by his 

 persuasions, and young Dale 

 was introduced to the notice 

 of one of the most successful 

 railway managers at that 

 time. To determine how 

 strongly the youth was re- 

 solved to engage in a rail- 

 road career, the manager in 

 question had him put to work 

 as a brakeman, where during 

 the first day — or night, 

 rather — he had an opportun- 

 ity to display qualities which 

 led to his being given every 

 opportunity to climb upward 

 as fast as he could. In 

 time he became a conductor, 

 and as such had charge of the 

 first passenger train out of 

 New York over the West 

 Shore railroad, now a part of 

 the New York Central sys- 

 tem. He had become super- 

 intendent of transportation 

 when his interest happened to 

 be attracted to the subject of 

 air brake hose. 



It happened that Mr. Dale 

 became acquainted with the 

 management of the Peerless 

 Rubber Manufacturing Co., 



with a factory at New Durham. New Jersey, and the first re- 

 sult was his coimection with that company in the capacity of 

 selling their goods to railway companies — a line in which he was 

 exceedingly successful. 



After having been general sales agent of the Peerless com- 

 pany for about five years Mr. Dale was made general manager 

 on May i, 1894, and a year later became president and general 

 manager. In the autumn of 1895 the capital of the company was 

 increased from $75,000 to $300,000, and on April i, 1898, when 

 the company was incorporated under the laws of New York, 

 there was a further increase to $1,000,000, fully paid. The new 

 shares were subscribed to an important extent by persons in 

 interest with the Westinghouse Air Brake Co. (Pittsburgh), and 

 the company's production of railway air brake hose became very 

 large. The company devoted attention likewise to several other 



r H K L .\ T !■; C H A 

 [Photo by Davis 



special lines of production, with such results as to place it in the 

 foremost rank of mechanical goods factories in respect of pro- 

 fits. Mr. Dale, at the time of his death, had been connected 

 with the Peerless company for nearly twenty years, and identi- 

 fied with its growth from a small business, in connection with 

 all of which he became familiar with practically every feature 

 of the business — whether manufacturing, selling, or financial 

 management. 



Mr. Dale was one of the incorporators, at the beginning of 

 1899, of the Rubber Goods Manufacturing Co., under the laws of 



New Jersey. The purpose of 

 this company was to con- 

 solidate to an important ex- 

 tent the mechanical goods 

 industry in the United States, 

 and the Peerless Rubber 

 Manufacturing Co. was 

 among the companies em- 

 braced in the new organiza- 

 tion. The several companies 

 preserved their corporate 

 identity, however, Mr. Dale 

 retaining the office of presi- 

 dent of the Peerless com- 

 pany and directing its policy 

 and operations as before. He 

 was a director of the Rub- 

 ber Goods company from 

 the beginning, and gradually 

 joined the boards of several 

 of the subsidiarj' companies. 

 In time he assumed the 

 presidency of all the subsid- 

 iary companies making me- 

 chanical goods, and their ac- 

 tive management. 



At the annual meeting of 

 the Rubber Goods company 

 in 1903 he was elected presi- 

 dent of that corporation, at 

 a salary much larger prob- 

 ably than has ever been paid 

 to the head of any other rub- 

 ber company. The office of 

 chief executive of the com- 

 pany had not been filled be- 

 fore by a practical rubber 

 man, and the holding of the 

 position by a man having 

 this advantage, in addition to 

 being a capable organizer and 

 administrator, was seen in the speedy improvement of the con- 

 dition of the company and its constant and substantial growth. 

 The extent of the company's business may be implied from a 

 few figures. The original issue of capital shares was $18,036,600, 

 which was increased until the figure now stands at $27,293,100. 

 Sales during the last business year amounted to $21,473,823.28. 

 During nine years the amount disbursed in dividends has been 

 $9,491,993.92. Three years ago the Rubber Goods Manufacturing 

 Co. was merged with the United States Rubber Co., but without 

 losing its identity as a corporation, and Mr. Dale retained the 

 presidency, besides becoming a director and member of the execu- 

 tive committee of the United States company. Following this 

 development ^Ir. Dale issued a notice to the various managers 

 under his charge which was characteristic: "The merger - - - 

 will in no way aft'ect the management of your companies or any 



K L E S H. DALE. 

 & Eickemeyer.] 



