February 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



257 



8. Prompt Shipment. The term "prompt shipment" from 

 foreign ports shall, under normal conditions, be considered as 

 follows ; 



Within a period of — 



Fifteen days, if shipped from Great Britain or Europe. 

 Thirty days, if shipped from the Far East. 

 Thirty days, if shipped from the Amazon Valley. 



9. Checking Weights and Approving Qualities. The buyer 

 shall have the option of having his representative at the dock or 

 warehouse to check the vvfeights or to pass upon the quality. In 

 the event that weights or quality are approved the responsibility 

 of the seller ceases in respect to said weights or quality. 



In event buyer does not exercise this option, actual gross 

 weights with proper tare allowance "e.x dock" or "ex store" at 

 port of arrival shall govern weights and point of delivery in the 

 fulfilment of a contract. 



10. Seller's Responsibility. In the event of the seller mak- 

 ing shipment direct to the buyer, then the seller's responsibility 

 for the safety of the goods does not cease until the goods are 

 delivered to the transportation company or its agents. Should 

 buyer designate an agent or rejiresentative to take delivery, seller's 

 responsibility ceases when delivery order is in the possession of 

 said agent or representative and goods have passed the weigh- 

 master's scales. 



11. Weighing and Taring. Unless otherwise stated in the 

 contract, all tenders of plantation rubber or rubber in bales, may 

 be weighed in drafts at the option of the seller. Rubber shall 

 be weighed gross to the 1 pound, if in drafts, and shall be 

 weighed to the Yz pound, if weighed by the package. Cases tared 

 shall be weighed to the M; pound. Paras shall be grossed and 

 tared case liy case to I pound. All other grades of rubber which 

 cannot be readily tared are to be billed at tares guaranteed by 

 seller. 



12. Monthly Delivery Contract. Where a contract calls for 

 monthly delivery, arrival or shipment, each month's or specified 

 part of a month's delivery or shipment is to be treated as a 

 separate contract. 



13. Option of Deliveries. Where rubber is sold for shipment 

 from a foreign port, the seller may tender in fulfilment of the 

 contract rubber not coming from that port, provided it is of the 

 same description and quality as the rubber named in the contract' 

 and is tendered according to the terms of the contract so far as 

 the time and place of delivery are concerned. 



14. Notification of Rejections. If acceptance of any parcel 

 of rubber is refused by a buyer, notification must be given the 

 seller in writing within seven days after receipt in the buyer's 

 factory, stating specific reasons for such rejection. In case of 

 claims or rejection rubber shall remain in original cases pending 

 final determination. 



15. Special Agreements. Any special agreement expressed in 

 a contract supersedes any of these rules to the extent the rule is 

 affected thereby. 



16. Failure to Fulfil Contract. Whenever it may be ad- 

 mitted by the seller or decided by arbitration that the seller has 

 failed to fulfil the terms of a contract then the buyer may, at his 

 option, cancel the contract, or purchase quality called for in the 

 open market charging the difference, if any, to the seller. 



Whenever it may be admitted by the buyer or decided by arbi- 

 tration that the buyer has failed to fulfil the terms of a contract, 

 then the seller shall be released from all obligations connected 

 thereto, and buyer shall be responsible for any loss occasioned by 

 said failure. 



17. Government Taxes. On contract for future delivery any 

 import duty or tax imposed by the United States Government on 

 crude rubber shall be for the account of the buyer. 



18. Guarantee of Shrinkage. When the rubber is sold on a 

 guaranteed shrinkage in washing and drying, buyer must render 

 the outturn to the seller within three months from the time of 

 delivery. 



19. Place of Delivery. It is understood that when goods are 

 sold "ex dock" or "ex store New York," the point of delivery 

 shall mean the Port of New York. 



20. Miscellaneous. A contract calling "for delivery" shall be 

 construed to mean that the rubber shall be weighed and ready 

 for shipment or tender to the buyer during the period stipulated 

 in the contract. 



A contract calling "for arrival" during a certain period shall 

 be construed to mean that it shall arrive upon a vessel due at 

 the port named during the time stipulated in the contract and is 

 to be tendered or shipped as soon thereafter as conditions permit. 



A contract calling for shipment from a certain country or coun- 

 tries or a specified foreign port during a certain period or periods 

 shall be construed to mean that the date of the bill of lading at 



the port of shipment covering such goods called for in the con- 

 tract shall be within the time stipulated for shipment. 



21. Arbitration. All disputes between buyer and seller are to 

 be settled by arbitration by the arbitrators of The Rubber Club 

 of America, Inc., the award of the arbitrators to be final. 



REPORT OF THE PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE. 



Tremendous changes in international and national events bring 

 up the question whether our industrial organizations cannot play 

 a much broader and more useful part than has generally been 

 done in the past. It is diflicult at this distance to appreciate the 

 progress made in Europe toward combination of effort and re- 

 sources in individual industries, as well as among industries, all 

 of which is being hastened and directed by the government. This 

 movement is likely to continue and develop long after the war, 

 and much of its incentive is based upon American competition. 

 Manufacturers are burying their antagonisms of long standing 

 and cooperating with each other to a degree astonishing to one 

 acquainted with British conservatism of the past. 



The national council of defense and the national research 

 committee are laying out very comprehensive plans with similar 

 tendencies for this country. The Rubber Club has a remarkable 

 opportunity to display leadership in the mobilization of our in- 

 dustrial resources and in the developing of that high type of 

 cooperation, which will become more and more essential as these 

 movements progress. For instance, it has already been brought 

 to the attention of Washington that the entire rubber industry 

 would be crippled in the event of hostilities with any important 

 maritime nation, and probably the research committee will recom- 

 mend that research work be carried on in connection with either 

 synthetic rubber or the development of a supply of natural 

 rubber within our own borders. This latter problem looks more 

 diiificult than the former, but, considering the absolute dependence 

 of the rubber industry upon its supply of basic material, is it 

 not the part of good business to have the industry undertake to 

 insure that supply by the best means t'hat our scientific men can 

 point out? Why not have the Rubber Club appoint a committee 

 of representative technical men within the industry to cooperate 

 with the research committee and lay plans for the carrying on 

 of research work by the industry if that appears to be the best 

 plan? Starting with rubber, many other problems will come 

 to mind, which could far better be investigated by the industry 

 than by individual manufacturers. The automobile people have 

 shown the world the advantage of unselfish cooperation, and the 

 rubber industry perhaps represents the opposite extreme. 



I should like to suggest, therefore, that the existing prepared- 

 ness committee be discharged at the coming annual meeting, 

 and that the directors of the Rubber Club organize among their 

 active members a group to make this general problem an im- 

 portant operating feafure of the Rubber Club. An industry that 

 is capable of indefinite expansion, as the rubber industry is, will 

 probably do more for its individual members upon a cooperative 

 than upon an extremely competitive basis. Not only that, but 

 the tendency of the world will force us in this direction in spite 

 of ourselves. So is it not the part of intelligent business men 

 to lead rather than be driven in the right direction? 



In accordance with the suggestion of R. B. Price, chairman 

 of the Preparedness Committee, contained in his report read 

 by the secretary in Mr. Price's absence, this committee was 

 discharged and its recommendations referred to the Executive 

 Committee with power to take such action as may be deemed 

 wise. In this connection President Firestone pointed out the 

 desirability of a Committee on Research to work out the tech- 

 nicalities in the development of rubber growing and synthetic 

 rubber, and anything that pertains to the development and bet- 

 terment of the rubber industry. 



THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE IS HEARD FROM. 

 Frederic C. Hood, chairman of the Legislative Committee, had 

 prepared no report, but addressed the members upon the import- 

 ant work that ought to be undertaken. He emphasized the im- 

 portance of gathering facts and their proper presentation to 

 governmental committees, pointed out the shortcomings of the 

 average business man as an orator, and stated emphatically 

 that such problems as the proposed import duty on crude rubber 

 and the National Workmen's Compensation Act demand the 

 attention of a legislative committee in which the utmost confi* 

 dence is reposed and which will be accorded the full support 

 of the Club. 



