October 1. 1915.1 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



News of the American Rubber Trade. 



PICKER LEAD CO. INCREASES CAPITAL TO FIVE MILLIONS. 



Tl I F. original capitalization of the Picher Lead Co. was $100,- 

 000. but the assets of the company iiave increased until 

 their value is approximately $4,500,000. Consequently the 

 stockholders of the company at a meeting held on Septem- 

 ber 1, in order to bring the capitalization more nearly into 

 uniformity with the company's real assets, voted to increase 

 the capital stock to $5,000,000. The corporation still remains 

 a Missouri company. 



Of the increased stock all but $1,000,000 was subscribed and 

 taken by the old stockholders of the corporation, the remainder 

 being held by the company as treasury stock. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISK RUBBER CO, 



This company began manufacturing operations 17 years ago, 

 starting with bicycle tires. Its progress has been rapid. Today 

 it gives employment to about 3,000 people, with a weekly pay- 

 roll of $48,000. The principal product is the Fisk pneumatic 

 tire. The capacity of the plant is 5,000 tires daily and this 

 output is now being realized, and makes the Fisk Company an 

 important factor in tire production. In addition to its large 

 automobile tire output the company also manufactures many 

 bicycle tires and a full Hne of tire repair 



traiTED MALAYSIAN RUBBER CO. NOT AFFECTED. 



.A recent issue of the "Sarawak Gazette" published in Sarawak, 

 Borneo, contained a letter written by the Rajah of Sarawak, 

 stating that the United Malaysian Rubber Co., Limited, in Lon- 

 don, had been notified that its Jelutong concessions in the Sara- 

 wak territory had been cancelled and that all the rights under 

 that concession had ceased. 



But when the officials of the company at the New York office 

 were questioned about the matter, they made the following state- 

 ment : "It is quite true that these concessions have been can- 

 celled, but in the form in which they were interpreted by the 

 Sarawak Government they have been of no use to us, so the 

 cancellation of them does not affect our operations. Our plant 

 at Goebilt is still in operation and will continue. There is no 

 intention of liquidating the company." 



RUBBER WO:iKEHS GET SALARY INCREASE. 



The Manhattan Rubber Manufacturing Co.. of Passaic. New 

 Jersey, posted notices on September 16 to the effect that all 

 employees with the concern from six months to two years 

 would receive a 3 per cent, increase in salaries; those who 

 had worked from two to five years, S per cent., and all over 

 five years a 7 per cent, increase. The company employs about 

 750 hands. 



RUBBER COMPANY DIVIDENDS. 



The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., of Akron. Ohio, has de- 

 clared an extra dividend of 4 per cent, on its common stock. 

 payable October 15. 



The Republic Rubber Co., of Youngstown, Ohio, paid on Se])- 

 tember 1 a dividend of IK per cent, on its preferred stock. 



Early in September the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Co.. 

 Limited, of Montreal, Canada, declared the regular quarterly 

 dividend of l-Kt per cent, on the preferred stock, payable Septem- 

 ber 30, to stock of record September 18. 



The Rubber Goods Manufacturing Co. of New Jersey paid. 

 September 15, its sixty-sixth regular quarterly dividend of 

 i^/i per cent, on the preferred stock to stockliolders of record 

 September 13. 



SEMI-ANNUAL UNITED STATES RUBBER REPORTS. 



Complying with a request made by a numl)er of their stock- 

 holders, the directors of the United States Rubber Co. have voted 

 to issue semi-annual reports of the company's condition. A re- 

 quest had been made for quarterly reports, but the directors did 

 not think this advisa1)le owing to the verv considerable expense 

 involved. 



THE SOMERSET RUBBER RECLAIMING WORKS. 



The Harmer Rublier Reclaiming Works, of East Millstone, 

 New Jersey, changed their name, October 1, to the Somerset 

 Rubber Reclaiming Works and their headquarters from East 

 Millstone to New Bruswick, New Jersey. There will be no change 

 in the management or the officers, I. Laurie remaining president 

 and A. Marcus secretary and treasurer. The office was moved to 

 New Brunswick, as that city has much better postal facilities 

 than its neighbor, East Millstone. 



MR. FORD HAS NOT BOUGHT CONTROL 3F THE GOODRICH CO. 



Mr. Henry l-'ord has been very much in the pul)lic eye of 

 late and has been extremely active in various directions, but 

 in one respect the rumors of his activities are not well 

 grounded. The report was circulated that he had bought 

 control of The B. F. Goodrich Co. This is most emphatically 

 denied. Mr. Raymond, vice-president of that company, in 

 speaking of this rumor says: 



"The B. F. Goodrich Co. has $60,000,000 of common stock 

 outstanding. To secure control of this class of stock it would 

 be necessary to purchase over $30,000,000 in the open mar- 

 ket. Nowhere near this amount has changed hands recently 

 Furthermore, I feel that if Mr. Ford desired to secure con- 

 trol of the Goodrich company he is the sort of man who 

 would come to us and deal directly with us. Control of the 

 Goodrich company is now in the same hands as at the time 

 of its formation— by that I mean it is in the hands of the 

 Goodrich family, with Mr. Work and others who were the 

 prior holders of control." 



TWO RUBBER MEN ON SECRETARY DANIELS' BOARD. 



Among the twenty-two men representing eleven different 

 scientific associations appointed, September 12, by Secretary 

 Daniels as members of the Naval .Advisory Board, there are 

 two men well known to the rubber trade. One is Thomas 

 Robins, of Stamford, Connecticut, who is one of the representa- 

 tives of the Inventor's Guild. Mr. Rol)ins has been associated 

 with the development of the conveyor belt for the last quarter 

 century. In fact, if one should refer to the back files of The 

 Indi.v Rubbf.r World, he would find in the May issue of 1896, 

 a three-page article on rubber conveyor belts and their use by 

 Mr. Robins, which .told about all there was to say at that time 

 on this subject. He is the author of many useful inventions 

 connected with belt conveying, and he is president of the Rnliiu^ 

 Conveying Belt Co. of New York. 



The other rubber representative selected by Secretary Daniels, 

 is Dr. L. H. Baekeland of Yonkers. New York, who was nomi- 

 nated as one of the two representatives of the -American Chem- 

 ical Society. Though Dr. Baekeland was born in Belgium, he 

 has resided in this country for many years and has become 

 famous by his invention of substitutes for hard rubl)er. notably. 

 "Bakelite'' and "Condensite." Outside of the rubber trade, he 

 is known as the inventor of the photographic paper called 

 "Velox." He has held many important positions in scientific 

 societies and has read many notable papers liefore scientific 

 bodies. 



