THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



19 



Special Agreements. 



19. .\ny special agreement expressed in a contract super- 

 sedes the rule to the extent said rule is affected tliereby. 



Force Majeure. 



20. Should shipments or deliveries be prevented during the 

 period stipulated in a contract by reason of war, riots, strikes, 

 .tiovernment embargoes or other force majeure causes, the 

 time allowed for shipments or deliveries shall be extended 

 until the operation of the causes preventing shipments or de- 

 liveries has ceased. 



Ter.nls of Pavme.nt. 



21. Terms of Payment; Cash on delivery less 10 days' in 

 terest at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum. 



22. These rules shall govern all contracts made on or after 

 July 15, 1915. 



REMINISCENCES. 



By a rcteran Rubber Factory Siipcriitteiidcnt. 

 COME years ago a rubber shoe manufacturing firm was 

 '-' troubled with blistered shoes. After they had tried every 

 way they could think of to stop it I was asked to come and 

 see if I could find the cause. Soon after my arrival I went into 

 the compounding room, and running my hand down in the whit- 

 ing box I found the whiting damp from a leaking steam pipe. 

 The pipe was repaired and the blisters stopped. 



At a large shoe factory I found the soling calender rolls run- 

 ning even motion, with a man behind each machine pushing 

 the stock in to keep it oft the floor. The machines were changed 

 to slip motion and the men taken away. These machines had 

 run wrong for 50 years. 



This factory was making as high as 16 per cent, "seconds." In 

 two months the proportion was reduced to one-quarter of 1 per 

 tent. Then I was called in the office and told that customers 

 were finding fault because they were not getting enough seconds. 

 It had been the rule to put so many seconds in every case of 

 first quality. 



In fitting out a new factory the upper and soling calenders 

 were placed in opposite position to that intended. The reason 

 was to keep the men from getting caught in the rolls at the 

 top ; and I have always thought they turned out better work. 



It has been a matter of wonder to me in going from one 

 factory to another to find how tenaciously manufacturers hold 

 to a wrong idea rather than have an outsider tell them of some- 

 thing better. It is false pride with many of them. 



In one place they were boiling oil for varnish 30 days and 

 nights, when the boiling was stopped and varnish made without 

 boiling the oil. They figured that this had cost them a lot 

 of money. One factory had the idea that all compounds must 

 be tumbled about in a rolling barrel, without any thought about 

 cleaning or taking out all the compounds. The barrel was finally 

 put on the dump, and then the goods took on a better appearance. 

 When starting a new mill, a branch of another some miles 

 away, I sent to the old factory for thermometers to test the 

 heaters. Putting in a few shoes, the heat was run along regular 

 lines, but I found the shoes were not vulcanized, so I tried again, 

 and the same thing happened. I was puzzled. Filling a small 

 kettle half full of sulphur I hung it alongside the thermometer. 

 When the sulphur commences to melt the glass ought to stand 

 about 240 degs., but it was 290 degs. Sending word to the man- 

 ager of the other factory that the thermometers were out 50 

 degrees, he said they meant to tell me about it — that they were 

 made so on purpose, to mislead the inquisitive. The secrets in 

 rubber mills are not so many as supposed. 



In these progressive days, with the many chemists employed, 

 I suppose nothing can go wrong. But good horse sense goes 

 a long way, and sometimes fools the chemist. I liave known it 

 to do so many times, .■\fter all there is nothing as good as a 

 strong thumb-nail. 



.•\s I think of the many experiences during forty or more 



years in rubber mills I wonder if those engaged in the business 

 today are having troubles of their own. 



In all the years I was engaged in the rubber business the one 

 thought uppermost in the mind of the management was that the 

 opposition was doing better work at less cost; that the other 

 factory was more up-to-date, and that if they could get the 

 secret they would be better able to compete. 



It occasionally happened that I went with some of these com- 

 petitors. One instance is most prominent in my mind. For 

 several years I had heard about the wonderful shoes this con- 

 cern was making, the brilliant luster of the varnish, the up-to-date 

 styles; in fact the praises were sung on about everything con- 

 nected with the boots and shoes of this company. 



Now, what was the truth? Three months after leaving this 

 factory I was superintendent of the other. When talking with 

 the manager about taking the position, he said that for many 

 years they had ignored the shoes of the first firm as of no ac- 

 count, and that they cut no figure in the market, but now their 

 customers were asking why they did not turn out as good shoes. 

 He also said that on examination he found them superior to 

 their own. In one month after I joined the new plant about 

 every formula was changed to a cheaper and better, with the 

 cost cut in two in many cases, and the number of formulae cut 

 from 80 to 20. The ticket had been going down for some time. 

 It immediately went from 8,000 to 16,000 pairs a day. 



My experience in difli'erent factories teaches me that most of 

 them carry altogether too much mixed stock, considering the 

 money invested, the room it takes, deterioration, liability to 

 contamination, etc. Does anyone believe that he gets the same 

 results from materials after lying for weeks in the stockroom 

 that he gets when they are first mixed? I am not a believer in 

 throwing stock from mixing mill into calender, but I have found 

 stock better after two or three days. 



In taking charge of a small factory I found several tons of 

 mixed stock, also a good-sized building full of clippings and 

 other cloth scraps. In a few months this was all utilized in the 

 factory, not one pound wasted, and this factory — which had 

 just kept its head above water for three years— made 150 per 

 cent, the first year. 



My way was to compound up or down as required to make a 

 stock suitable for a desired purpose, instead of mixing new 

 stock and probably having some to put away. .\ good deal of 

 the above applies only to those who do a general rubber business. 



In one place I found many dollars' worth of varnish in barrels 

 and cans lying about the yard and out-buildings. The varnish 

 had been made at different times, each maker thinking he knew 

 the trick but having failed. Some made it with blown oil 

 after Weber's formula, some with Baltic oil, Calcutta or any 

 old oil that came to hand. This was all reclaimed (excuse me 

 for using this word"), and every gill of it used in the regular 

 way, and came out all right. 



This reminds me of a man who at one time was well known 

 to the trade. When he first came under my notice he was run- 

 ning a factory making tan shoes vulcanized with steam heat. 

 These I understood found their way back to the factory. .After- 

 wards he had a small experimental shop back of his house. One 

 day he came to the factory where I was employed, and as I 

 had visited him at his home I did my best to show him every- 

 thing of interest in the factory. When he was passing out the 

 office door he remarked that it was wonderful. I asked him 

 just what he meant. Why, he said, it was wonderful how well 

 my employer had got along for one who knew so little. 



Which shows how little effect failure has in taking the con- 

 ceit out of a man. 



"Rubber Machinery." Mr. Pearson's newest book, filled with 

 valuable information for rubber manufacturers, is now ready for 

 mailing. Price, $6. 



