166 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1, 1916. 



known, high class rubber sponges of the Russian-American 

 India Rubber Co., of Petrograd. had ceased coming, or at any 

 rate only in reduced quantities. .American sponges are being 

 sold at the low price of si.xpencc at the F. W. Woolworth & 

 Co., Limited, new stores in Manchester. Rubber household 

 gloves can also be bought at these stores for sixpence each, one 

 glove if you do not want a pair. 



nUNLOP RUHBER CO. 

 This e.xtrcnieiy successful rubber manufacturing firm has again 

 increased its capital, this time to three million pounds by the 

 creation of one million cumulative 6,'/2 per cent preferred shares 

 of £1 each. The proceeds of this issue are intended to finance 

 the carrying of larger stocks, and also to provide working capital 

 for a new department for the manufacture of solid motor tires 

 for transport purposes. Sir .-Arthur Du Cros. Baronet, who pre- 

 sided at the meeting, made seme rather trenchant remarks about 

 foreign competition The new association of British Tyre Man- 

 ufacturer.';, of which he w^as president, have it as their main 

 object, he said, to protect the interests of British manufacturers, 

 there beint; no question of amalgamation to control prices. 



This chemical was included among articles placed under embargo 

 by a decree of October 26, 1916. 



IMPORTS OF RUBBER GOODS. 



SOME FOREIGN RUBBER NOTES. 



SWISS MARKET FOE. EBONITE. 



THE American Consul at Berne, Switzerland, reports that, de- 

 spite a considerable home production, about $25,000 w-ortli 

 of foreign ebonite of the better qualities was purchased yearly by 

 Switzerland before the war, ' principally from Germany, Italy, 

 and France. Present importations, however, amount to only 

 one-fourth of that figure. No more rubber or kindred articles 

 can be obtained from Germany, but Swiss buyers have been able 

 to obtain small quantities from France and England. Efforts 

 are also being made to obtain goods in the United States, but 

 importers are experiencing difficulty in getting deliveries. 



One large Berne concern, which makes practically all of the 

 telephonic and telegraphic apparatus used in Switzerland, and 

 is said to be one of the largest consumers of ebonite in the 

 country, bought up all the eljonite that could be found in the 

 republic. It was thus able to continue business in the ordinary 

 way, but its small stocks are decreasing rapidly. An order placed 

 in America six months ago by this firjn is still unfilled. The 

 company uses ebonite in sheets, thickness 0.5 millimeter to 30 

 millimeters [0.019685 to 1.1811 inches], in round rods from 2 

 to 30 millimeters [0.07874 to 1.1811 inches] , in tubes from IVz to 

 3^ centimeters [0.98425 to 1.37795 inches], and various other 

 forms and sizes. 



It appears that Swiss consumers are buying direct from the 

 manufacturers, either domestic or foreign. There are no local 

 agents or dealers in the trade. Before the war ebonite goods 

 were sold by the Swiss manufacturers on terms of 30 days with 

 2 per cent., or 3 months net. On imported wares the terms for- 

 merly were 30 days net after arrival of goods; since the war, 

 cash against documents. The duty on ebonite in bands, sheets, 

 various forms of manufactured articles, cords, bullets, rods, etc., 

 is $0.0875 per 100 pounds. 



The following are the principal consumers of ebonite : 



Hasler .Aktiengesellschaft Telephon & Telegraphenwerkstatte, 

 Schwartzthorstrasse, Berne; Schaerer Aktiengesellschaft, Sani- 

 tatsgeschiift, Berne; E. F. Buchi, Optische Werkstatte, Berne; 

 Stoppani Aktiengesellschaft, Prazisionswerkstatte, 25 Neuen 

 Konigstrasse. Berne; Societe des Condensateurs filectriques, 

 Fribourg;- Societe de la Fabrique d'Appareils filectriques, Neuf- 

 chatel. Haaf & Co.. Liehefeld bei Berne. 



G. Keller. Kautschukwaren. Biel (Berne), is a wholesale dealer 

 in rubber goods. 



FRANCE RELEASES CASSON TETRACHLOKIDE. 



An order of the French Government, dated November II. 1916, 

 abrogates tlie prohibition of exportation of car1)on tetracliloride. 



The Department of Import Restrictions announces that it has 

 been decided that wliere goods falling under a prohibited de- 

 scription are made wholly or mainly of rublier, importation into 

 the United Kingdom is permitted under general license. 



SWEDEN AND PARCEL MAILS TO RUSSIA. 



We learn here that Sweden has released parcels mails be- 

 tween this country and Russia which were under embargo in 

 transit through Sweden early this year. .A.mong these parcels 

 were 54 packages of rul)1)er goods, chiefly rul)bcr heels. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN GERMANY. 



r^ESPlTE the demands of the present, industrial Germany is 

 '-^ not losing sight of the future; it is realized that interna- 

 tional trade competition will be very keen after peace is declared. 

 Our manufacturers foresee that they will be called upon to in- 

 crease the productivity of their factories tremendously, and are 

 already organizing for industrial preparedness. 



M.-\Xl'F.\CTt'RERS' TRUST. 



To unify and combine our efforts in the commercial struggle 

 after the war, an important step was taken recently. The In- 

 dustrial Council which has been formed, virtually unites our 

 entire manufacturing industry. It provides a "connecting-link" 

 between the Central .Association of German Industrials, the 

 League of German Industries and the Society of German Chemi- 

 cal Industries. These organizations, which have been collabo- 

 rating since the outbreak of the war, now form an alliance on 

 a permanent basis in order to cooperate in meeting new con- 

 ditions after the war and to recover our lost world trade. 



Rubber manufacturers are well represented in this consolida- 

 tion; so also are our cable manufacturers through their syndicate. 



RAW M.^TF.RI.\LS. 



Our greatest inconvenience continues to be the shortage of 

 raw materials. We arc doing our best with this problem at the 

 present time and not losing sight of its vital importance in pre- 

 paring for the "after war." We realize that our w-onderful 

 substitute materials, however convenient they now are, will not 

 all be of great use in peace times. 



SYNTHETIC RUBBER. 



The production of synthetic rubber was, of course, achieved 

 long before the war. Bayer &: Co., of Elberfeld, produced it 

 several years ago, but it was too costly to be of real commercial 

 value under normal conditions. Since the outbreak of the war, 

 crude rubber has become so scarce and so costly that the syn- 

 thetic product has found a ready market. Bayer & Co. con- 

 tinue to manufacture artificial rubber and have been joined in 

 this line by the Franz Clouth Rheinische Gummiwarenfabrik, 

 Cologne-Nippes. Synthetic rubber is now used in compounds 

 for both hard and soft rubber goods. For the latter, however, 

 it is usually employed in connection with either crude or re- 

 claimed rubber. Of the durability of goods produced from ar- 

 tificial rubber, little is known, but their cost is very high ; so 

 high that they will not be aide to compete with goods made 

 with crude rubber at normal prices. 



RECr-.MMED RUBBER. 



Reclaimed rubber continues to be much in demand and to 

 bring really exceptional prices, especially when one considers 

 the fact that only goods of inferior quality can be produced 

 from it alone, without any addition of the crude product. 



