THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



News of the American Rubber Trade. 



ENGLAND DENIES INTERFERENCE WITH AMERICAN TRADE. 



SO many charges have been made in influential quarters that 

 Great Britain was seriously interfering with the legitimate 

 trade of the United States with neutral E:uropean nations 

 for the benefit of her own exporters that the British government 

 thought the situation warranted a reply, and this was made early 

 in October by Sir Kdward Grey in the form of a note handed to 

 Ambassador Page. Sir Edward cites facts and figures to prove 

 that there can have been no interference with American trade to 

 neutral countries in Europe for the simple reason that this trade 

 has, as a whole, largely increased since the beginning of the war. 

 Referring to the rubber situation, he speaks as follows : 



Re-exports of rubber from the United Kingdom to Scandinavia 

 and the Netherlands declined from 17,727 centals of 100 pounds 

 in January-May, 1914, to 16,693 centals in January-May, 1915; on 

 the other hand exports of rubber from the United States to the 

 same destinations increased from 1.579 centals to 5,040 centals. 

 Larger re-exports of rubber to the United States from this coun- 

 try have indeed taken place, but all other re-exports of rubber 

 have declined during this pedod, as the following figures show : 



, Centals of 100 pounds. v 



Increase 

 Jan.-May, in 1915 



1915. over 1914. 



667,509 *113,645 



418,619 tl70,184 



Of 



Unite 1 



Jan.-May. 

 1914. 

 . 553.864 

 . .M.S,435 



•Or 20.5 per cent. tOr 68.6 per cent. 



MORE RUBBER TO THE UNITED STATES. 



It will therefore be seen that this country has actually been 

 supplying more rubber to the United States at the expense of 

 other' neutrals, while American exporters have taken advantage 

 of this to ship increased quantities of rubber to Scandinavia and 

 the Netherlands. 



RUBBER BROKERS MAKE A CLAIM ON THE GOVERNMENT. 



When the United States Government decided that it must 

 raise more revenue last year, it passed an act requiring the 

 placing of a ten-cent stamp on every contract. The same act, 

 dated October 22, 1914, called for a special tax of twenty dollars 

 for each commercial broker. This added considerably to the 

 expense of doing business. The law required a ten-cent stamp 

 on every contract passed, whether it was for a hundred-ton sale 

 or just a single case of pontianak, on which the broker's com- 

 mission might amount to only five cents. 



Hut the brokers, of course, are all patriotic men, and they 

 bought the stamps in ten-dollar lots, and stuck them on the 

 contracts as soon as they were closed and forwarded to the 

 importers or sellers. Then the sellers, in turn, sent memoranda 

 of receipt of these contracts to the buyers and slapped on each 

 such acknowledgment, or contract, a similar ten-cents' worth of 

 gummed paper. 



This seemed to be double taxation, but it continued until 

 somebody waked up to this fact. Then there came a ruling 

 that the broker was not the responsible party to the transac- 

 tion, but that all the responsibility for filling such contract rested 

 with the seller, and that the seller, and he only, need place the 

 adhesive tax certification on his contract. The importers imme- 

 diately notified the brokers, and now the brokers are endeavoring 

 to secure from the government the amounts they have expended 

 under the misunderstanding that they were liable. Many of 

 them had a larger or smaller number of ten-cent stamps on hand, 

 fhese they turned in to the Revenue offices of their districts, 

 and with them claims fur all the stamps they have stuck on 

 their contracts. 



These claims are still in al)eyance. The brokers have heard 

 nothing from the government, but such matters move slowly, if 

 they move at all, and the brokers hope to get a refund, some day, 

 which will go on the credit side of their profit and loss account. 



WHO HAS LOST 900 POUNDS OF 



A circular was sent oul cm October 22 from the oftice of the 

 secretary of the Rubber Club to crude rubber importers, dealers 

 and brokers, calling their attention to the fact that 800 pounds 

 of crude rubber had recently been bought by the captain of a 

 railroad barge lying at New Brighton, Staten Island, from the 

 captain of a scow, which at the time of purchase was tied to 

 one of the North River piers. As obviously this is a very un- 

 usual channel for the distribution of crude rubber supplies, the 

 transaction on the face of it savors of irregularities, and it is 

 highly probable that somebody is short 800 pounds of rubber. 

 Any one who discovers that he is in such a situation can ap- 

 ply to The Rubber Club of America. 17 Battery Place, New York, 

 for further information. 



THE NEW YORK ELECTRICAL EXPOSITION OF 1915. 



The Electrical Exposition and Motor Show of 1915 was 

 held at the Grand Central Palace, New York, October 6-16. 

 The large attendance attracted by the promise of new and 

 interesting features was an^ly repaid by the many excellent 

 exhibits. 



The great electrical achievement of the year, the bringing of 

 two cities three thousand miles apart within speaking dis- 

 tance of each other, was given a popular demonstration. 

 Each day an average of 1,500 "listened in" on the trans- 

 continental telephone line, and heard a brief account of the 

 day's happenings at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, some 

 music, and the roar of the Pacific Ocean, breaking against the 

 rocks at the entrance to San Francisco harbor. 



There were altogether 163 separate exhibits and among 

 those attracting the most attention were the exhibits of the 

 Army, Navy and Treasury Departments of the United States 

 Government, the Treasury Department showing one of its 

 electrical money laundries, washing and ironing paper money 

 presented for that purpose by visitors to the show. 



The General Electric Co. departed somewhat from the usual 

 display of miscellaneous material in an attempt to make an 

 exhibit of more educational value — the principal feature being 

 the daylight motion pictures, illustrating the methods em- 

 ployed in the manufacture of various electrical devices. 



The Westinghousc Electric & Manufacturing Co. exhibited 

 a complete collection of electrical devices for the home, shop 

 or office. The particular feature was the new Westing- 

 house electric range, which has an automatic device which 

 allows the housekeeper to put in a meal at any time, set it 

 for the hour at which the dinner is desired, and then leave 

 the rest to the range. At the appointed hour the dinner will 

 be found cooked to the minute. 



RUBBER COMPANY DIVIDENDS. 



At the aiiinial meeting of the Swinehart Tire & Rubber Co., of 

 Akron, Ohio, held on September 29. the regular quarterly divi- 

 dend oi V/2 per cent, was declared. 



On October 7 the board of directors of the I'nited States 

 Rubber Co. declared a quarterly dividend of 2 per cent, on the 

 first preferred stock and a quarterly dividend of \'A per cent, 

 on the second preferred stock nf the company, to stockholders of 

 record October 15, payable October 30. 



Directors of the Kelly Springfield Tire Co. have declared a 

 quarterly dividend of 3 per cent, on the common stock, payable 

 November 1 to holders of record October 15. The previous 

 disbursement made was lyi per cent. 



At the annual meeting of the Electric Hose & Rubber Co.. 

 Wilmington, Delaware, October 19, a semi-annual dividend of 

 5 per cent, on the common stock of the company was declared. 



