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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January 1, 1917. 



TIRE PRICES MAY BE ADVANCED. 



FOLLOWING the rise of about 12}4 per cent, in tire prices 

 early last year is now seems probable tliat prices will soon be 

 advanced again from 15 to 20 per cent. Dealers usually order 

 heavily about this time for spring delivery, and the fact that two 

 of the largest manufacturers have instructed their agents to accept 

 only orders for immediate shipment seems to foreshadow a 

 general advance. This refusal of forward orders is due to the 

 unsettled conditions affecting crude material prices. In this 

 connection it is a somewhat anomalous fact that every produc- 

 tion cost, including compounding ingredients and labor, has long 

 since advanced greatly, except rubber itself. Until October 

 rubber had actually been a little lower tlian a year ago, but 

 during the past three months the trend of the market has been 

 upward to an advance of about 20 per cent. Tire building fabric 

 now sells at about double the prices prevailing a year ago. Oxide 

 of zinc, lampblack and all compounding ingredients are relatively 

 high, and whiting has nearly doubled in cost, so that on the 

 present price schedule the margin of profit in tire manufacture 

 is small. 



the boll weevil ; the total American cotton crop is nearly 3,000,000 

 bales below normal; and the cotton demand for miscellaneous 

 purposes is unprecedented. The breaker strip referred to is 

 composed of fme wire, bound with asbestos, woven into fabric 

 and rubberized. Time will substantiate the sweeping claims of 

 superiority based upon strength and nonconductivity of heat 

 if they be well founded. Meanwhile, it is certain that mineral 

 asbestos is not rotted by moisture percolating through cuts in 

 the tire tread and carrying along some of the sulphur of vul- 

 canization. Herein, perhaps, lies its chief claim to notice as a 

 possible substitute for cotton tire fabric. 



A THREE-SECTION AUTOMOBILE TIRE. 



A pneumatic tire that differs radically from the ordinary 

 casing and tread construction, is the subject of the following 

 illustration and description. This tire has two separate side walls 

 while the tread is a separate section, as will be seen by re- 

 ferring to the figure on the right. The conformation of the 



outer ends of the two side walls and both sides of the tread is 

 such that when assembled with the inner tube, a few pounds' 

 inflation suffices to lock the sections firmly together. 



Among the advantages claimed for this novel construction are 

 greater protection to the tube, and danger of punctures and blow- 

 outs minimized. The tread is readily interchangeable, as the 

 side walls of a given size are identical ; moreover, the tread may 

 be used on any corresponding standard tire, making the retread- 

 ing of a worn-out tire a very simple matter. It is also apparent, 

 from the inventor's claims, that when the sectional tire becomes 

 hopelessly worn or damaged, in the great majority of cases, it 

 will be necessary only to replace one-third of the tire to make 

 it serviceable again. [D. C. Roberts, Trenton, New Jersey.] 



AUTOMOBILE ACCESSORY WEEK. 



T~'HE seventeenth Annual National Automobile Show under 

 ^ the auspices of the Motor and Accessory Manufacturers 

 will be held at Grand Central Palace, New York City, January 

 6 to 13, and at the Coliseum and First Regiment Armory, Chi- 

 cago, January 27 to February 3. More than 340 exhibitors have 

 been allotted space, most of them at both shows. In this list 

 of exhibitors are the following names which are familiar to 

 readers of The India Rubber World: 



Adarason & Co., Inc., New York City. 



Asch & Co., Inc., New York City. 



Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., New York City. 



Cutler-Hammer Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 



Eastern Rubber Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 



Essex Rubber Co., Trenton, New Jersey. 



Eureka Rim Compressor, Inc., Addison, New York. 



General Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio. 



Hill Insulating & Manufacturing Corporation, New York City. 



Mattson Rubber Co., Lodi, New Jersey. 



Mutty, L. J. Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 



Pittsburgh Electric Specialties Co., New York City. 



Rubber Insulated Metals Corporation, Plainfield, New Jersey. 



Western Electric Instrument Co., Newark, New Jersey. 



There will be 98 cars exhibited, while 218 accessory manufac- 

 turers will display their lines. Many elaborate arrangements 

 and novel effects are being planned for this exhibition. 



ASBESTOS FOR TIRE FABRIC. 



Long-fibre asbestos spun into thread has been suggested and 

 even used to a certain extent as a substitute for cotton in the 

 manufacture of tire fabric. While some experts hold to the 

 opinion that it cannot have the tensile strength of cotton fabric, 

 its possibilities in connection with an unusually broad breaker 

 strip of woven wire extending about the side walls are partic- 

 ularly interesting at a time when the Egyptian cotton crop is re- 

 stricted ; the Sea Island crop is threatened by the ravages of 



SOCIETY OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS. 



The week in New York City will be a busy one. The Society 

 of Automobile Engineers, which now has 370 members, will hold 

 its annual meeting during the week. On Tuesday there will be 

 a preliminary session of the Standards Committee. The regular 

 business meeting will be held Wednesday, at which officers will 

 be elected and proposed constitutional amendments discussed. 

 The afternoon session will be devoted largely to aviation sub- 

 jects. Thursday will be given over to professional papers and 

 discussion of automobile subjects. A buffet luncheon will be 

 served at noon. This meeting will be held at the Engineering 

 Societies Building, 29 West Thirty-ninth street. 



The annual banquet will be held at the Hotel Biltmore, Thurs- 

 day evening. Three short addresses on subjects of interest to 

 the automobile industry will be important features. The 750 

 diners in a body will then attend a midnight theatrical perform- 

 ance as a climax to the function. 



MOTOR AND ACCESSORY MANUFACTURERS. 



The Motor and Accessory Manufacturers, which now number 

 260 members, will hold their thirteenth annual meeting at the 

 Waldorf-.^storia Hotel, New York City, Wednesday, January 

 10 at 3 o'clock, following this with the Ninth Annual Banquet 

 at the same hotel at 7 :30 P. M. An efficient banquet committee 

 is in charge, and the affair promises to be the banner occasion 

 of this association. On Thursday, January 11, the board of di- 

 rectors will hold an important meeting at the offices of the as- 

 sociation. 



