September 1, 1916. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



647 



Reg. United Kingdom. 



each month by 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING GO. 



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CABLE ADDRESS: IRWORLD. NEW YORK. 



HENRY C. PEARSON. Editor 



Vol. 54 



SEPTEMBER I. 1916 



No. 6 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS ON LAST PAGE OF READING. 



PURE RUBBER AND THE BARKLEY BILL. 



A BILL introduced by Congressman Barkley "to pro- 

 ^^* hibit the manufacture, sale or transportation in 

 interstate commerce of misbranded articles ; to regulate 

 the tratific therein, and for other purposes," has passed 

 the House of Representatives recently and now awaits 

 action by the United States Senate. It differs from pre- 

 .vious pure goods acts in that it seeks, not to compel manu- 

 facturers to list the ingredients upon their products o;- 

 packages containing them, but to impose penalties upon 

 those who misbrand their goods. By this is meant placinj.* 

 upon a product "any word, statement, symbol, design, de- 

 vice or indication which is false, fraudulent, deceptive or 

 misleading .... as to the materials or substances of 

 which it is composed." A further provision makes it un- 

 lawful to publish, issue or circulate "in any newspaper, 

 magazine, book, pamphlet, circular or other publication or 

 advertisement any false, fraudulent, misleading or decep- 

 tive word, statement, representation, symbol or device as 

 to the matters or things stipulated" in the act. 



W'hiU- till.- a])i)ears to be fair legislation, it can hardlx 

 lie h.iiled a> advantageous to rubber manufacturers, somo 

 I'f whom use the words "pure gum," "pure rubber" or 

 ■pure ['aia" in describing their products, while others 

 claim that their goods are "all rubber," or "contain noth- . • 

 inj; hut jiurc rubber," when every rubber manufacturer ngi^ y^^^ 

 knows that substances other than pure gum are necessar\*>TA(»«cj 

 to the maiuifacture of all rubber articles. Should this bill ^'^■OBH 

 become law it would make amenable anyone using phrases 

 of the character quoted in publicity work of any kind, and 

 despite the fact that the rubber trade understands the 

 technical meaning of such terms as "pure gum" or "pure 

 rubber" the manufacturers using them could be indicted 

 under the [jrovisions of this act and subjected to the ex- 

 pense of defending themselves, were dissatisfied pur- 

 chasers ur competing firms disposed to enter complaint 

 against them. 



The rubber business is not exceptional in that some of 

 its nomenclature ma\ be misleading. "Solid gold" 

 jewelry contains a smaller or larger proportion of alloy ; 

 also "all wool" fabrics frequently contain shoddy and are 

 not less satisfactory in wearing quality than others simi- 

 larly designated but which contain a certain proportion of 

 cotton. It is admittedly difficult to frame any law inca- 

 pable of imposing hardship upon someone, and while the 

 Barkley bill is right in principle, it may hamper manufac- 

 turers who use perfectly well understood terms in describ- 

 ing, labeling and advertising their products. 



We do not fear the effects of this bill as far as the 

 rubber trade goes, for its nomenclature is elastic and easily 

 adjusted to new conditions. But to the class of men to 

 whom the framer of the bill belongs, is it not a menace? 

 A Congressman is, of course, a "product." If, therefore, 

 any word such as "statesman" be placed upon him, and it 

 be "false, fraudulent, or misleading" may he not be in- 

 dicted and suffer the very penalty intended for the mer- 

 chant "' 



RUBBER STRATAGEMS OF THE BLOCKADE. 



IN all times blockade running has developed superlative 

 •'■ ingenuity, and the present world conflict is no excep- 

 ton. England was quick to appreciate the value of her 

 great navy and to realize that the most effective way to 

 counter Germany's military preparedness was to use it 

 to suspend German shipping, close German ports to the 

 world and thus cut off all outside sources of important 

 raw materials, such as rubber, copper, cotton and similar 

 commodities not found or not produced in sufficient 

 quantity within the borders of the Central Powers. 



