146 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1; 1915; 



ber substitute) ; Madame J. Lefrant & Cie., Ham, Somme (chemi- 

 cals). 



Rubberized Garments. 



G. Boinet & Cie., St. Quentin, Aisne ; Coustoux, Roubaix, Nord. 

 Tires. 



Durandal, Lecluse, Nord (pneumatic) ; Lecerf, Peronne, Somme 

 (pneumatic) ; Vittu, Lille-St. Maurice, Nord (pneumatic) : C- 

 lonial Rubber Co., Thiant, Nord (pneumatic) ; Lecoutrc, St. 

 Quentin, Aisne (solid rubber tires). 



Non-Skid Treads, Tire Studs, Etc. 



Dutrieux & Cie., Le Quesnoy, Nord; Place & Meurissc, Lille- 

 St. Maurice, Nord ; Vittu, Lille-St. Maurice, Nord ; Colonial Rub- 

 ber Co., Thiant, Nord; Le Vulcain, Peronne, Somme. 

 Tire Fabrics. 



Coisne & Lambert, Armentieres, Nord; Destriez & Cie., Pont- 

 a-Marcq, Nord; Dutilleul, Armentieres, Nord; Laroche & Lechat, 

 Lille, Nord; Legault, Armentieres, Nord; Treves, St. Quentin, 

 Aisne. 



Rubber Working Machinery. 



A. Questroy & Fils, Lille, Nord; Delattre & Cie., Ferriere-la- 

 Grande, Nord'. 



Belgium and the districts now invaded furnished practically all 

 the cotton, linen, hemp and jute fabrics used by our rubber man- 

 ufacturers, and under present conditions we are obliged to im- 

 port these from America and Great Britain. We are also im- 

 porting large quantities of compounding ingredients from your 

 country. In this connection Twish to inform you that much of 

 these commodities that figure in your statistics as exports to Eng- 

 land are re-shipped to France. 



IMPORTS OF CRUDE RUBBER. 



France has always been, comparatively speaking, a large user 

 of Brazilian rubber, and most of this was imported through 

 Havre; but now Havre is no longer in direct communication 

 with South America and our direct imports of Brazilian rubber 

 have almost totally ceased. The following comparative statistics 

 will give you a fair idea of our, crude rubber market as it now 

 Stands. 



Imports During the First F ive Months of 



From— ' 191.V 1914. 19lP 



Brazil pot::-ds S.369,980 3,133,900 264,440 



Great Britain 6,191900 9,005,920 7,318,300 



French Congo 263,560 223,520 99,660 



Senegal... •.::::■ 21^960 2.420 16,940 



Othe? colonieMFrench) 2,757,700 1,255,760 985,820 



British Indies 535,920 1,639,440 241,780 



Orher countries .:.:::.::...:.. 7,029,880 5481,660 1.221,0 00 



Total 22,361,900 20,442,620 10,147,940 



If you compare the first two lines of these statistics you will 

 note that the large decrease in Brazilian imports is compensated 

 by a substantial increase in our imports from England. I believe 

 much Brazilian rubber reaches us via English ports. The fact 

 that Para rubber now passes through England before reaching 

 this country has increased its cost to us by at least 5 cents a 

 pound, and our importers are now endeavoring to obtain the re- 

 establishment of direct communication between France and 

 Brazil. 



Although the war has somewhat increased the cost of raw ma- 

 terials, there has been no radical increase in the prices of rubber 

 goods here. Tires, hose, belting, packing, rubberized garments. 

 etc., can all be had at normal prices. 



There have been reports of gasolene shortage and, in fact. 

 prices have increased. But the real cause is the difficulty in se- 

 curing exchange, and the rubber industry has not been affected. 

 There is no reason for alarm, for all our gasolene comes from 

 America, which in normal times furnished as high as four-fifths 

 of our requirements for this commodity. 



Many trade papers have ceased, or at least curtailed the scope 

 of their publications, but the old-established papers are still go- 

 ing strong, among these your contemporary, "Le Caoutchouc et 

 la Gutta Percha," which, although obliged to delay publication at 

 first, has recovered wonderfully. The October issue of our only 

 rubber paper contained 67 advertisements, of which 9 were British. 

 3 American, 1 Dutch, 3 Swiss, 1 Spanish and 1 from a firm in the 



invaded territory. This compares very favorably with the aver- 

 age of this paper previous to the war, when of 146 advertisements 

 published, 22 were German, 1 Austrian, 5 Belgian, 2 Dutch, 5 

 .\merican, 15 British, 2 Swiss, 1 Italian, 1 Russian, and 15 from 

 French territory now invaded. 



Our government has prohibited the exportation of the following 

 commodities of interest to rubber and gutta percha manufac- 



Rubber, balata, gutta percha, whether crude, reclaimed or in 



HvDR.\ui,ic Press Mc 



Trailer Truck. 



the shape of waste, including hard rubber scraps ; amyl, methyl, 

 and ethyl alcohols ; pitch tar rosin, turpentine ; cotton and cot- 

 ton waste ; copper ore, pure metal or alloys ; sulphuric and acetic 

 ether ; insulated wire and cables ; mineral oils, crude or refined ; 

 benzine, benzol, toluene, etc. ; fabrics suitable for making balloons ; 

 qiotor vehicles and pneumatic tires. Sulphur, copper, motor 

 vehicles and rubber tires can be exported under special license 

 to America, Great Britain, her colonies and possessions; to the 

 French Colonies, Japan, Montenegro, Russia, Servia and to that 

 part of Belgium still held by the gallant Belgian army. 



The poisonous gas used by the Germans, which at first worked 

 such havoc, has now been minimized by anti-gas helmets, imper- 

 meable to chlorine gas, made of light rubberized fabrics, closed at 

 the throat by a draw string, and completely covering the wearer's 

 head. Goggle-like mica plates afford vision to the wearer, who 

 breathes through a perforated detachable cup containing a cloth 

 saturated with a solution of hyposulphite and bicarbonate of soda, 

 which react with chlorine and hold it in harmless combination. 



It has been said that modern war is motor war, which is cer- 

 tainly very true. As I stated in the beginning of this letter, motor 

 vehicles are indispensable and have greatly lessened the impor- 

 tance of railroads in military operations. 



MOBILE REPAIR SHOPS. 



The wastage of motor vehicles has been far less than many of 

 your war correspondents would lead you to believe. Our armies 

 are well equipped with means for making necessary repairs. Be- 

 sides large permanent repair shops at the bases in the rear, we 

 maintain flying repair stations immediately behind the battle 

 lines. The mobility of these "pares" is secured by mounting the 

 machine tools on special trailer trucks coupled behind the travel- 

 ling workshops which are arranged on large motor trucks. These 

 flying repair shops are able to do all repairs, even those of the 

 most complicated nature. 



Tires, of course, are used up in enormous quantities. The heavy 

 solid rubber tires, used on motor trucks, are mounted on' steel 

 detachable rims which are forced on the permanent riiris of the 



