40 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



10cT«wa 1, Iflto. 



The India Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By l-'ttr kc.Kiiiiir (.'nrrt-spciidt-nt. 



THERE are no complaints to be heard regarding the general 

 volume of trade. Although a period of something like slack- 

 ness has been experienced, owing to cessation of gov- 

 ernment orders, these have now come in again, a fact which 

 supports the general opinion that hostilities are now expected 

 to last well into next year, instead of coming to an end by 

 Christmas. The movement in favor of protective duties is being 

 energetically pursued, but it may be remarked, that although 

 those of the free trade persuasion are not making much noise 

 at present, they certainly intend to assert themselves when 

 legislation comes to the fore. 



.\ matter which is likely to be of even greater moment is 

 already attracting a good deal of attention, namely, the future 

 of labor. There is no doubt a difficult time before the em- 

 ployer, as it is recognized that the present high wages being 

 earned up and down the country will be desired as a perma- 

 nency by labor, and be objected to by the employers. The ap- 

 pointment of JNIr. Henderson, a cabinet minister, as labor 

 adviser to the government is a sign that trouble is apprehended. 

 At any rate the appointment is a recognition that the relation 

 of master and man is likely to undergo a change in the future. 

 It rather looks as if the masters wilt be allowed to make a 

 certain profit to be agreed upon, the rest of the profit to go to 

 the men. This would be an extension of the profit-sharing 

 schemes which are already in operation at a few large works. 

 The question arises, however, will the capitalist care to con- 

 duct business on these lines, or will he think it preferable to 

 invest his money in securities and live a life of leisure, or at 

 anv rate, one free from the recurrent anxieties of business? 



RKCLAIMINC, TEXTILES .\ND RUBBER. 



Several patents have had as their object the recovery of the 

 textile material as well as of the rubber from rubberized fab- 

 rics, but I do not think that any have proved commercial suc- 

 cesses. The latest patentee in this direction is Charles de Villers, 

 of Neuilly-sur-Seine, France,* who treats the fabric with 

 tetrachlorethane at its boiling point, whereby the rubber goes 

 into solution, leaving the fabric unaffected. The solvent having 

 been removed by distillation, the rubber is obtained of a quality 

 quite comparable to best quality fresh rubber. This latter phrase 

 always appears in reclaiming patents, but rarely with strict 

 propriety. However, a friend of mine who has seen some of 

 the rubber, was struck with its quality, and I understand that 

 it is about to be put on the market. Cotton fabric has generally 

 been considered not worth recovering, but the present price of 

 cotton is in favor of any recovery process. The difficulty about 

 wool has always been that to be salable it must be absolutely 

 free from particles of rubber, a result which does not seem 

 to have been attained in previous patents. Perhaps this patent 

 will solve the problem. 



NITRE C.\KE IX RECT-.MMIXr,. 



The article in the August issue of The Lndi.\ Rubber World 

 on the use of nitre cake in reclaiming has naturally attracted 

 attention on this side, as the price of mineral acids is much 

 higher than in pre-war times. Moreover, nitre cake, like cinders, 

 can be had for the removal, if one is lucky enough to find a 

 horse and cart available. Large quantities of this by-product 

 of the nitric acid manufacture have been thrown into the sea, 

 though recently, owing to the offer of a prize for a process 

 whereby it could be utilized, it has found some applications. 



•Noted in Indi.\ Rubber Wobid, May 1, 1QI6, page 412. 



The article does not say what it costs delivered to the .American 

 works, which are stated to have used it successfully, but, any- 

 how, in the ordinary acid reclaiming of textile cuttings, the 

 cost of the acid is not a large matter when the selling price 

 of the reclaimed is considered. 



RECL.MMI.NC. MiTES. 

 The Xylor Rublicr Co., of Trafiford Park, Manchester, shows 

 continual development and I understand that extension of 

 premises is considered inevitable. The reclaiming of red rubber 

 is now a special feature of this works, very satisfactory results 

 having been obtained. 



Dilution of labor ow'ing to ibe lleces^ities of the war, that is, 

 the replacement of men by women, has recently been adopted in 

 reclaiming works to such extent as has been considered advis- 

 able, due regard being paid to the risks involved. With regard 

 to this I hear that the factory inspectors have been much im- 

 pressed by the automatic cut-out switch which is one of the 

 advantages of the electric driving of rubber rolls. 

 BfSINES.^ AND I'ER.SON.M, NOTES. 

 1 notice with regret the announcement of the death of Percy 

 Carter Bell, who was better known in American rubber circles 

 than in England owing to his long business life in New York 

 City. The son of the late J. Carter Bell, public analyst for 

 Cheshire and Salford, he obtained his first knowledge of rubber 

 from his father, and at the works of I. Frankenburg & Sons, 

 Limited, Salford, prior to Dr. Weber coming upon the scene. 

 J. C. A. Ward, chairman of Callender's Cable Co., is to rep- 

 resent the employes' side on the special tribunal to hear appeals 

 of railway men with regard to military service. 



The act extending the provision relating to unemployment 

 insurance to rubber workers came into force on September 4, 

 and at a special conference held previously in London, the 

 rubber industry was represented by James Tinto of the Irwell 

 and Eastern Rubber Co.. Limited ; Mr. Wilson, secretary of the 

 India Rubber Manufacturers' Association; H. H. Duke, na- 

 tional organizing secretary of the Amalgamated Society of 

 Rubber Workers, and A. AIHson, London organizer of the same 

 society. The trade generally appears to be against this exten- 

 sion of the act, mainly because of the difficulty in defining a 

 rubber worker, and also because of the additional clerical lalior 

 which will devolve upon depleted office staffs. 



Motor char-a-bancs, which have come into increasing use and 

 size at tourist resorts during the last few years, were stopped 

 by government order on September 1, on account of the scarcity 

 of petrol, in which term is included any mixture containing 

 hydrocarbons. 



The Wood-Milne Co., Limited, like the North British Rubber 

 Co.. Limited, and the Dunlop Rubber Co., Limited, has found it 

 necessary to extend its tire manufacturing premises. The company 

 is now building a new works, having bought some extra land 

 at Sandy Lane, some hundred yards distant from the present 

 works at Leyland. The new works is to be devoted to the pro- 

 duction of solid hand tires and pneumatics. 



Vacuum driers made by the J. P. Devine Co., Buffalo. New 

 York, are giving great satisfaction to reclaimers here. W'ith 

 their use there is no need to go to the extent of drying neces- 

 sary in the case of raw rubber, as several per cent of water 

 can be left in the rubber, to be entirely removed in the subse- 

 i|uent process of sheeting on the rolls. 



Determinations of specific gravity are frequently required in 

 a reclaiming works, and it may not be out of place to mention 



