bEPTEMBEK 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



JOSEPH P. DEVINE, INVENTOR AND EXPERT. 



17 IFTEF.N' iir tvviiity yiars ago a I'Veiicli scientist and an Anier- 

 * ican mtchanieal expert at Niagara Falls were conversing 

 on the subject of tin- pniduction, on a commercial scale, of car- 

 bide of calcium. The I'rcnchman finally said, "Sir, it cannot be 

 done." The American said, "Come and see," and he took the 

 foicntist into an a<ljoining building and showed him eleven tons 

 of this product. 

 The astonished 

 scientist could 

 (I nl y say, "Oh ! 



a dif- 



American 



1 s c p h P. 



w hose 



is well 



That makes 

 tireiice !" 



The 

 was J( 

 Dcvine. 

 name 



known in manu- 

 facturing circles, 

 especially in rub- 

 lier. in connection 

 with the wide ap- 

 lilicaticm of the 

 vacuum dryer. 



Mr. Devine was 

 born in Philadel- 

 phia, January 4, 

 1867. His father, 

 now 94 years of 

 age, is still in 

 perfect health. 

 His mother, 

 Sailic Paul, wa.s a tjuakeress, born in Philadelphia, and living her 

 entire life in the house where she was born. The son was 

 educated in the schools of his native city and lived there until 

 about 20 years ago, when he moved to Buffalo. Previous to 

 this, he had traveled extensively throughout Europe, and in one 

 of his trips abroad began investigations on the use of the vacuum 

 as applied to a wide range of materials. This resulted in the 

 creation of a great plant for the manufacture of vacuum dryini; 

 apparatus at Buffalo. 



His special success lay in the application of vacuum drying, 

 under reduced pressure, and by it he revolutionized many lines 

 of industry. Of the products which have been made commer- 

 cially possible through his studies, and carried out by the crea- 

 tion of special machines for the purpose, the list is a long one. 

 It embraces the recovery of solvents ; the application of oil heat- 

 ing to various chemical processes where exact regulation of 

 temperatures is essential ; the production of benzol, aniline oil, 

 phenol, beta naphthol, trinitrotoluol, picric acid; all these are 

 made commercially practicable or more economically produced 

 through the study and inventive genius of the subject of this 

 sketch. 



It was Mr. Devine who installed the first vacuum dryers for 

 crude rubber when every manufacturer in the United States 

 firmly believed that air-dried rubber was the only good product. 

 To-day practically all of the rubber is vacuum dried, and fabrics 

 for rubberizing, as well. Mr. Devine has recently installed over 

 20 plants for the vulcanization of rubber boots and shoes under 

 pressure, or in vacuo, which sounds the death knell of the old- 

 time "dry heat" method. Mr. Devine was also one of the pio- 

 neers in the deresinating of gums and of low grade rubber, and 

 his work in this line has been of great value to the rubber 

 industry. To sum up for rubber, he has equipped establish- 

 ments all over the world with dryers, impregnators, condensers, 

 pressure vulcanizers, and apparatus designed by him and per- 

 fected in the works of the company of which he is the head. 

 Mr. Devine inherits the thorough-going traits of his Quaker 



ancestry and the wit and brilliancy of his Irish forbears. He 

 is versatile, resourceful and of indomitable energy, popular with 

 those in his business establishment and possessing the confidence 

 of the hosts of manufacturers whose problems he has solved 

 and whose Iiusiness he has revolutionized. 



PERSONAX MENTION. 



F. H. Gerrans has been appointed manager of the London 

 branch of A. Schrader's Son, Inc., Brooklyn, New York, W. H. 

 Cole, formerly in charge, no longer being connected with the 

 company. 



Seneca G. Lewis, general manager of the Pennsylvania Rub- 

 Ijer Co., Jeannette, Pennsylvania, was married on July 3 to Mrs. 

 Elizabeth McFall-McAfee in Sandusky, Ohio. Mr. Lewis and 

 his bride are now settled in their home at Jack's Hill, Greens- 

 burg, Pennsylvania, the latter city being located about four miles 

 from the company's plant at Jeannette. 



Edwin N. Ohl was recently elected president of the New Castle 

 Rubber Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, following upon the resig- 

 nation of J. S. Wilson. W. H. Schoen and C. H. Bolton were 

 made vice-presidents and E. H. Brainard, secretary. Mr. Ohl is 

 also treasurer of the company. 



E. M. Perdriau, managing director of the Perdriau Rubber 

 Co., Limited, Sidney, .\ustralia, was in New York City on busi- 

 ness last month. 



Frank G. Bolles, former manager of the export publication, 

 'International Trade," Chicago, Illinois, has been chosen vice- 

 president of the Russia Trade Corporation of America, a sub- 

 sidiary corporation of R. Martens & Co., Inc. The former 

 named company has opened an office in New York City and 

 offices in several commercial centers in Russia, for the pur- 

 pose of extending trade of American manufacturers in that 

 country. 



Harold R. Murdock has resigned his position as chief re- 

 search chemist of the Rubber Regenerating Co., Naugatuck, Con- 

 necticut, to accept a position on the research staff of Charles 

 Pfizer & Co., manufacturing chemists, Brooklyn, New York. 

 Mr. Murdock has recently been granted several interesting 

 patents on rubber reclamation. 



G. H. Carnahan, formerly vice-president of the Intercontinen- 

 tal Rubber Co., with offices at 120 Broadway. New York City, 

 has been elected president of the company. 



T. K. Smetts, for two years representative of the service and 

 advertising departments of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. at 

 Des Moines, Iowa, has been transferred to the managership of 

 the Spokane, Washington, branch of the company. 



A. N. Rust, formerly salesman of the Minneapolis branch 

 of The Fisk Rubber Co., Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, has 

 been made manager of the Fisk branch at St. Paul, Min- 

 nesota. 



GOODRICH COMPANY APPOINTMENTS. 



W. H. Sheehy has been appointed local manager of a new 

 depot opened last month by The B. F. Goodrich Co., Akron, 

 Ohio, -A Estes Park, near Denver, Colorado. 



John W. McCall has been succeeded as local manager at San 

 Diego, California, by Warren F. Sanford. 



C. L. Kelsey, Jr., formerly assistant manager at the Buffalo, 

 New York, branch, has been appointed manager in charge at 

 Cincinnati, Ohio, H. M. Spencer acting as assistant manager. 



C. W. Simpson, formerly in charge at Cincinnati, will now de- 

 vote his entire time to the district operating department and 

 stock regulation department at Akron. 



E. M. Lee, formerly assistant manager at the Cincinnati branch, 

 has been given charge of the Denver, Colorado, depot. 



