November 1, 1915. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



The Rubber Trade in Germany, 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



SINCE my last comiminication tliere has l)t"ii lui amc'.iora- 

 tion in the general state of affairs here. .\t present there 

 is a little more movement in commercial and industrial 

 circles than there was at my last writing, but this is only the 

 natural sequence of the dead summer season. Business con- 

 tinues to suffer from the confused conditions vve are experi- 

 encing. Before this war we had no idea of the effect it would 

 have on our commercial and industrial life. Practically all 

 those doing any considerable business are working either 

 directly or indirectly for the army. Manufacturers who never 

 before had anything to do with government supplies are 

 overrun with war orders. Industries that could exist only 

 with difficulty in peace times are now doing a flourishing 

 business, while others that were prosperous under normal con- 

 ditions have been ruined by the war. 



One of the greatest sources of trouble is the lack of orders. 

 Everybody is either saving or has nothing to spend, a state 

 of affairs most injurious to general trade. The rubber in- 

 dustry is, of course, not an exception to the general rule. 

 While large dealers having direct or indirect commercial con- 

 nections with the government have more orders than they 

 can fill, the small dealers cannot secure enough business for 

 their needs. 



The rubber industry, like all of our industries that depend 

 upon foreign countries and the colonies for their supplies of 

 raw materials, is suffering greatly from the present situation, 

 but conditions would long ago have been worse than they are 

 had not our manufacturers taken advantage of the low prices 

 prevailing in the rubber markets just previous to the war, 

 when they stocked large quantities of crude rubber. The 

 government also deserves credit for the judicious manner in 

 which it organized the preserving and distribution of raw- 

 materials. Now we realize the mistake we made in purchasing 

 our crude rubber in foreign markets. Had Hamburg been 

 our chief supplier of crude rubber, a larger stock of it 

 would have been on hand there when the war broke 

 out. Most of our manufacturers, however, purchased their 

 crude rubber in foreign markets and the rubber trade of Ham- 

 burg, though great, was not a German trade; Hamburg was 

 a receiving point for redistribution to other countries, espe- 

 cially Russia and Scandinavia. 



Unskilled- employees, including those who do not know 

 how to make out an order and those who do not know how 

 to fill one, are causing much trouble to both dealers and 

 manufacturers. This will be readily understood when I state 

 that in many cases not only all the old employees are at the 

 front, but also the managers and employers themselves. 



The number of articles no longer to be had in other than 

 substitute qualities, like the list of those no longer to be had 

 at all. is constantly increasing. The greatest trouble is that 

 many substitute qualities do not give satisfactory service. 

 Answering complaints and making adjustments have become 

 the principal occupations of our dealers and manufacturers of 

 rubber goods. The most difficult position is certainly that 

 of the dealer who. to keep his trade, is obliged to make all 

 sorts of promises and, not being backed up by the manufac- 

 turer's warranty, is obliged to make good at his own expense, 

 or lose his customers. 



The demand for rubber coats never has been so large in 

 Germany as in the last year. Good crude rubber is essential 

 in making rubberized garments. Substitute rubber-proofing 

 gives poor service. Our manufacturers are not allowed to use 

 crude rubber for making garments and can only deliver "war 



(lualities" ; but the prices asked for these garments have been 

 extremely high and have led customers to believe they were 

 getting the very best Germany can produce. -As this is cer- 

 tainly not the case, much discredit has fallen on rubber coats 

 and other garments of native manufacture. We fear that the 

 industry will suffer from this false impression, and those in- 

 terested have already organized to explain matters to the 

 public and make it clear that German rubber coats should 

 not be judged from the quality of those purchased this year 

 under war conditions. An "Association of German Rubber 

 Garment Manufacturers" has been formed, with headquarters 

 in Berlin, for the protection of the German rubber garment 

 industry. 



Many rubber manufacturers here are relieving their difficult 

 situation by producing small articles for the comfort of the 

 troops in the field. Of this class of articles are ground-cloths, 

 proofed caps, proofed face and neck protectors, gas-masks 

 and the like. These are sold by mail-order, mostly, but also 

 by dealers, either direct to the soldiers at the front or to their 

 relatives at home, who forward the goods to them. Military 

 doctors have been prescribing foot-arches for men suffering 

 from flat feet. The continuous strain of long marches with 

 heavy equipment has caused much suffering from this source 

 and the manufacture of foot-arches has become a feature of 

 the business of many of our rubber manufacturers. 



One peculiar effect of the war has been the increase in the 

 demand for flexible truncheons or clubs of the type used by 

 the London police force. These truncheons are made of a 

 combination of rubber and fabric. They are not used by our 

 troops for defending the Fatherland, but are purchased by 

 the people at home for their personal protection against the 

 tramps and vagabonds that infest the country in these 

 troubled times. 



Returning to the subject of substitutes or "war qualities," 

 as we call them here, tire casings made from reclaimed rubber 

 are giving fairly good service on bicycles, but inner tubes 

 made from reclaimed rubber are of no value at all, and sev- 

 eral organizations interested in tires have petitioned the Im- 

 perial War Minister asking that small quantities of crude 

 rubber be allowed to manufacturers from time to time for 

 making inner tubes. 



The mechanical packing trade, which has suffered less than 

 others, is now badly affected by the high cost of asbestos, 

 which, owing to the shortage of rubber, has been used in 

 great quantities for mechanical purposes. Lately the price 

 of asbestos and asbestos articles has increased 25 per cent. 



The spinning and weaving industries, which heretofore 

 have been very active, have been much curtailed because of 

 the fact that the government has been obliged to restrain 

 and regulate the use of textiles. According to the latest 

 government decree spinning and weaving factories must not 

 work more than 10 hours per day and not more than five 

 days per week. 



The surgical rubber industry is now obliged to follow the 

 same course as other industries and offer substitute qualities. 

 The army and navy sanitary services alone are still receiving 

 first-class surgical rubber goods. In Belgium our military 

 governor has prohibited the manufacture of surgical goods 

 and also of leather goods, except in cases where special per- 

 mission is granted by the delegate of our war department 

 attached to the Belgian service. 



The price of rubber insulated wires, all of which are being 

 made in substitute qualities only, recently increased 20 per cent. 



