October 1, 1915. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



37 



The Rubber Trade in Germany. 



By Our Regular Corresfondcnt. 



THIS ci^untry lias been at war one year, and 1 tliercfore l)e- 

 licve it appropriate to begin this letter with a brief review 

 of the past twelve months. 



Immediately after the outbreak of the war the Imperial gov- 

 ernment took the necessary measures to minimize the ill effects 

 iif war conditions and the German people, with extraordinary 

 riexibility, adapted themselves to the situation. For the past 

 twelve months we have been patiently and hopefully supporting 

 the burdens of the war. Commerce and industry have suffered 

 all sorts of losses through the increased cost of raw materials, 

 the suspension of practically all foreign trade, and the falling off 

 o\ home trade. 



The war began imdcr conditions favorable to our armies and 

 all counted on an early peace. This being the feeling, specula- 

 tion continued active until the government saw itself obliged 

 to regulate the prices of all necessaries of life. England then 

 declared her "starving-out of Germany" policy. Speculation was 

 dead, but the prices of commodities had already reached such a 

 level as to cause great distress among our poorer people. Work- 

 men saw the cost of living constantly increasing, while wages 

 followed the opposite course. Large concerns, as well as the 

 government, were obliged to take measures to keep their em- 

 ployees from starvation. In all the lines where war contracts 

 were not availalile there was a great number of unemployed. The 

 Allies' blockade was not alone responsible for our sufferings, for 

 it must be borne in mind that before the war our enemies were 

 our best customers. 



Considerable export trade was done through Italy until tliat 

 country declared itself for our enemies, when this all came to a 

 full stop. England perfected her control of the shipping of the 

 Netherlands and of the Scandinavian countries, and what little 

 foreign trade remained was curtailed by the different embargoes 

 our government was obliged to declare. Our commerce and in- 

 dustries have suffered incalculably, Ijut. in spite of all that, 1 

 can truthfully say that 'both our commerce and our industry are 

 in a healthy condition. We have learned how to cooperate ef- 

 ficiently and help each other. If we do not forget the teachings 

 of this year the good to us will be well worth the sacrifices. 



The rubber industry was among the first to feel the stress 

 of war. Outside of those which could accept government con- 

 tracts for tires, surgical goods and the like, few factories were 

 kept going. And even those which were working night and day 

 on war orders did so at little profit. 



.-\t the beginning of the war, when the prospect looked bright 

 for the German armies, rubber men, like all the rest of Germany, 

 felt sure that peace would be a matter of weeks and the raw 

 materia! problem received little or no attention, the only cloud 

 1)eing the lack of skilled labor and the government's seizure of 

 all supplies of benzene and benzol. But as the war continued 

 and prospects of early peace faded away, the shortage of raw 

 materials was keenly felt, prices became prohibitive, and skilled 

 labor became more and more scarce. The shrinkage of credit 

 obliged manufacturers to pay cash for all raw materials, and in 

 turn they had to demand cash from their customers. This !ia» 

 caused much ill feeling in our rubber trade. 



Some foreign trade was done until the prejudices of the 

 Roumanians and the Italians, who feel their racial attachment to 

 France, made matters too difficult for German salesmen. The 

 strict enforcement of the British rubber embargoes put the final 

 touch to the destruction of the splendid optimism that witnessed 

 the beginning of the war. The calendar year ended with little 

 ■ ir no profits to show, but still with good hopes for the future. 

 Conditions, however, have not improved: on the contrary, it can 



l)e safely said that as long as the war lasts our rubber industry 

 will continue to suffer. 



In spite of the restrictions placed on the use of motor vehicles 

 some dealers are still able to oflfer cars for sale ; in certain in- 

 stances equipped with new tires. Rumor has it that these fully 

 equipped machines have found their way here from America. 

 .-\utomobile interests here are already taking steps to have the 

 government exercise care in disposing of its used automobiles 

 and motor trucks after the war is over. Ways and means are 

 being devised to distribute these machines without causing too 

 great disturbance in motor values. Rubber factories are inter- 

 ested in this movement, which directly concerns them. At the 

 present time our automobile factories are working night and day 

 on government orders. 



Artificial rubber rumors are continuing to go the round of the 

 daily press but, as a matter of fact, the production of synthetic 

 rubber in quantities is a problem yet to be solved and years will 

 no doubt pass before there will be any artificial material capable 

 of competing with the real ruhlier nature supplies. Lately it was 

 announced that an American scientist by the name of Noble 

 had been able to make rubber from tar by using a high-frequency 

 current of about 500,000 volts. The description of his process 

 was not very intelligible, but this did not prevent the announce- 

 ment from being taken seriously, or apparently so. by the daily 

 newspapers. Of course the tale found no credence among pro- 

 fessional men here. 



The unexpected length of the war has obliged the government 

 to strictly enforce its decrees affecting raw materials. The list 

 of those affected by national defense measures is lengthening 

 each day. Cotton that before the war could be obtained in 

 Bremen at 0.64 mark (0.15) per pound cannot now be obtained 

 for less than 1.30 marks ($0.31). When wx read that Liverpool 

 quotes cotton at 50 pfenniges ($0.12) you can understand our 

 feelings towards England. Hardly an article of merchandise 

 has escaped the general increase of prices. Of course these in- 

 creases are all due to the scarcity of raw materials. I cannot 

 discuss the government's measures. This is prohibited. All 1 

 can say is that they were taken in the interest of the nation. 

 Quantities of crude rubber as small as two pounds come under 

 government supervision and must he held at the government's 

 disposal. The same applies to all chemicals used by the rubber 

 and many other industries. Kecentlv an eml>argo was placed 

 .in calcinated magnesia. 



.Vutomobilcs, cycles, motorcycles and parts have long been 

 under an export embargo. An embargo was recently placed on 

 exports of wire and cable making machinery. 



The enormous quantities of leather necessary for the equip- 

 ment and maintenance of the army and navy, and the restric- 

 tions the government has put on the use of leather, have so in- 

 creased the prices of this commodity that it no longer can lie 

 used for making shoe soles and heels and similar articles. Sev- 

 eral important rubber factories, seeing an opportunity to de- 

 velop the use of rubber soles and heels, have been making ex- 

 periments and now claim to have found a perfect substitute for 

 sole and heel leather. These suiistitute soles are said to be a 

 combination of felt and rubber, and the manufacturers who have 

 developed their manufacture hope to reap good profits, at lea.st 

 during the war. 



A topic that is receiving considerable attention at the present 

 time is the number of sales of rubberized garments Dutch mer- 

 chants have been making throughout Germany. These garments 

 are not believed to be of Dutch but of British manufacture and 

 tl'iy are beini; otTered tbrougbout tlu' einpire at very low ca>-)i 



