no 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1, 1915. 



a tire factory where tlie litiiiid is painted on the ends of inner 

 tubes, a workman stated that since he had been doing this sort 

 of work he had lost weight and that he felt a constant irritation 

 of the eyes, nose, and throat. In the third factory two splicers 

 believed that their health had suffered from the effects of the 

 carbon tetracliloride vapors. One, especially, said that he had 

 lost many pounds in weight, that he had nausea and loss of appe- 

 tite, vomited frequently, and felt weak all over. Tlie men vyho 

 do the work without wearing gloves are liable to a dermatitis 

 of the hands and arms. 



Dr. Hamilton finds that in many of the factories using the 

 poisonous ingredients under consideration great care has been 

 taken to keep the workers from coming in contact with these 

 substances. In many others, however, she finds that little or no 

 attention has been paid to the matter. She suggests arrange- 

 ments in the compounding room so that dust from the lead and 

 antimony compounds be obviated. This may be done by auto- 

 matic weighing appliances, closed receptacles and avoidance, as 

 much as possible, of personal contact in handling. 



For poisonous ingredients, mi.xing mills should be fitted with 

 powerful e-xliaust hoods and arrangements whereby the worker 

 neither directly handles nor breathes the dust. 



In using ingredients or solvents which give off injurious funics, 

 exhaust hoods, perfect ventilation, closed cans and cups are 

 advised. 



In other words, if the workman is protected against breathing 

 the fumes, inhaling or handling poisonous dust, the danger of 

 poisoning is reduced to a minimum. 



The whole report is not only timely, but is exceedingly clear 

 and comprehensive. Dr. Hamilton has wonderfully grasped the 

 general details of rubber manufacture, which is shown by the 

 complete avoidance of the usual minor but irritating technical 

 blunders that writers not themselves ruliber experts are so prone 

 to indulge in. 



RUBBER AS RELATED TO THE WAR. 



AVERY interesting lecture, illustrated by lantern slides, was 

 given on November 9 by A. D. Thornton, of the Canadian 

 Consolidated Rubber Co., Limited, before the Canadian Railway 

 Club, at Montreal, Canada. Mr. Thornton said in part; 



"Now, as to rubber and its uses in the great European war. 

 Well, there is hardly any detail of equipment in which it does 

 not figure. First and foremost is the use of automobile and truck 

 tires ; the consumption here is enormous. Huge quantities are 

 manufactured by the Allies, then again factories in Canada and 

 the United States are running overtime on these lines ; hip boots 

 for the men in the trenches are being manufactured for the coming 

 winter ; one million waterproof capes were recently ordered by 

 the British Government. Ground sheets are used for almost any 

 purpose ; the men lie upon them when firing, sleeping, etc., also 

 when tents are cleared out in the morning all the blankets, cloth- 

 ing, etc., are placed on one of these sheets, spread on the ground. 

 If the British force is 3,000,000 men, and every man had a sheet, 

 the weight would be 3,750 tons. In the hospitals we find rubber 

 sheeting, air cushions, hot water bottles, ice bags, drainage tubes 

 and many other surgical instruments. 



"But now let me come to the point where rubber must be used; 

 where it is absolutely essential. 



"There is no explosive made from rubber, but I am quite safe 

 in saying that without the assistance of rubber no explosives could 

 be manufactured. 



"In the manufacture of dynamite, which is an infusorial earth 

 saturated with nitro-glycerin, rubber is very essential. Nitro- 

 glycerin is both a poison and a tonic, and in the hot weather 

 the operators perspire freely, and unless they use rubber gloves, 

 the tonic exudation enters the system and it is quickly poisoned. 

 In addition to gloves, they must wear rubber boots. 



"The manufacture of 'Smokeless' calls for the use of rubber in 

 almost the same way. The base is cotton waste, which, when 

 saturated with nitric acid, undergoes a chemical change. It be- 



comes an explosive, and is called gun cotton. The cotton is 

 cleaned in an alkali bath, to remove all traces of grease, and then 

 all moisture is removed, and the cotton placed in air-tight cylin- 

 ders to prevent it re-absorbing atmo,sphcre. Rulibcr gaskets have 

 to be used on these cylinders. 



"There are, I am advised by competent authority, about one 

 hundred and forty thousand men manufacturing explosives for 

 use in the war, every one of wliom is forced to wear rubber boots, 

 coats, gloves, etc. 



"The use of balloons in the war is well known to us all. Here 

 again rubber is used extensively. 



"The Zeppelin is filled with gas 

 l)ags, which are made of ruliber. The 

 outer coat of the balloon is also cov- 

 ered with rubber. The Parseval and 

 the Leiiaudy are really immense gas 

 bags, witli balloonet chambers on the 

 inside. 



"But it is in the use of automobiles, 

 ambulance cars, guns, trucks, etc., 

 that the use of rubber comes into 

 notice as to quantity. I have been at 

 great pains to obtain figures as to 

 the consumption of all the armies on 

 the continent now at war, and it 

 would seem that between three and 

 forr thousand tons of rubber goods 

 are destroyed daily, and it is unques- 

 t onaiily growing larger. This win- 

 ter hip boots will be used in the 

 trenches. One firm in England re- 

 ceived an order for 2,000,000 pairs, 

 weighing about 7,000 tons. When 

 of other nations, you are astounded at 

 le in demand." 



NATIONAL EXPOSITION MANAGEMENT ENTERTAINS CHEMISTS. 



A notable gathering of well-known industrial chemists met 

 at the Chemists' Club, 52 East Forty-first street. New York, 

 Wednesday evening. November 10, 1915. The occasion was a 

 dinner tendered liy tlie management of the exposition, to dis- 

 cuss plans for the 1916 National Exposition of Chemical In- 

 dustries. 



Among tliose present were: Raymond F. Bacon, Charles 

 H. Herty, Henry B. F'aber, A. D. Little, E. F. Roeber, George 

 D. Rosengarten, T. B. Wagner, L. H. Baekeland, M. C. Whit- 

 aker, B. C. Hesse, Adriaan Nagelvoort and Charles F. Roth; 

 also R. G. Hollaman and F. W. Payne, of the International 

 Exposition Co., all of whom vifill serve on the advisory com- 

 mittee for the 1916 National Exposition of Chemical Indus- 

 tries to be held at the Grand Central Palace, New York, week 

 of September 25, 1916. At this meeting Dr. Charles H. Herty 

 was elected to serve as chairman of this committee for the 

 coming year. 



An advisory committee was selected, and preliminary plans 

 laid for enlarging the size and scope of the coming exposition. 



RED CROSS CANNOT SEND RUBBER GOODS TO GERMANS. 



Presumably on the ground that they might be used for 

 military purposes. Great Britain refuses to allow shipment 

 to Germany and Austria of hospital supplies, gloves and 

 blankets, there being a possibility of such goods being re- 

 claimed and used in the manufacture of tires, of which the 

 powers in question are in such urgent need. If, in spite of the 

 assurance of Ambassador Gerard at Berlin, and the American 

 Red Cross Society, that the goods would be used only for 

 hospital purposes, the British authorities still refuse the right 

 of shipment, the American Red Cross would naturally have to 

 suspend such shipments to all countries. 



