February 



1917. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



263 



Tires and inner tubes were shown by the Norwalk Tire & 

 Rubber Co., Norwalk, Connecticut. 



In the space occupied by the H. W. Johns-Manville Co., New 

 York City, were seen the well-known J-M Non-Burn Asbestos 

 brake lining, fire extinguisher, Soot-Proof spark plug and 

 speedometers. 



S. A. E. ANNUAL MEETING. 



THE attendance at the annual meeting of tlie Society of Auto- 

 mobile Engineers, held January 11, during Automobile Show 

 Week in the Engineering Societies Building, New York City, 

 exceeded all previous years, partly because of the interesting 

 papers announced, but chiefly because of the broader present 

 scope of the society, which now includes the designers of all 

 forms of self-propelled vehicles and boats, including the airplane 

 and tractor. The new members for 1916 number 338, bringing 

 the total membership up to 2,121. 



Perhaps the most important action at the meeting was the 

 acceptance of the proposal to change the name to "The Society 

 of Automotive Engineers," which will now be put to a vote by 

 mail. 



The following officers were elected for the ensuing year : 

 George W. Dunham, president ; Jesse G. Vincent, first vice-presi- 

 dent; Charles M. Manly, second vice-president; Herbert Chase, 

 treasurer; Benjamin B. Bachman, Harry L. Horning and Charles 

 W. McKinley, members of the council for two years ; Frederick 

 E. Moskovics, member for one year. 



All the Standards Committee reports were approved with little 

 or no opposition except that of the Committee on Tires and 

 Rims relative to truck tires, including the following proposed 

 standard table for the carrying capacities of solid rubber tires : 



Gross load per wheel in pounds. 



Nominal width 36 inches 



of tires and under 



3 inches 1,000 



3yi inches 1.300 



4 inches 1,700 



5 inches 2,500 



6 inches 3,300 



7 inches 4,200 



Tire diameter Tire diameter 



40 inches 

 and over 



2,600 

 3,500 

 4,500 



Mr. Barrett then explained that in South America it is cheaper 

 to build a highway that will sta'nd automobile traffic than to build 

 railroads that would furnish even a part of the service that the 

 motor highway would afford. But development in South Amer- 

 ica is dependent almost entirely upon the facilities for securing 

 loans to finance improvements, and he made a plea for automo- 

 bile manufacturers to impress upon their bankers that the sale 

 of automobiles and accessories below the equator can best be 

 promoted by providing American dollars or equivalent credit. 

 Fifty million dollars of surplus profits loaned to South America, 

 he said, wouIq return 50 per cent profit and aid the automobile 

 industry to a degree that could not be estimated in figures. 



The tolerance allowed was considered too generous by several 

 members and this section was therefore referred to the Truck 

 Standards Division for further study. 



THE S. A. E. BANQUET. 



Over 800 members gathered at the Hotel Biltmore on the 

 evening of January 11 for the annual banquet which was the 

 greatest similar event in *its history. Judge Cha'-les F. Moore 

 was toastmaster and the speakers included Russell Huff, past 

 president of the society, who reviewed S. A. E. accomplishinents 

 of the past year, and Howard E. Coffin, chairman of the Indus- 

 trial Preparedness Committee of the Naval Consulting Board, 

 whose subject was preparedness as affecting automobile manu- 

 facturers. 



The principal speaker of the evening, however, was Hon. John 

 Barrett, director-general of the Pan-.'Vmerican Union, who dis- 

 cussed "Pan-Americanism" and what it means to manufacturers 

 of automobiles and their accessories. After sketching briefly the 

 facilities afforded by the Pan-American Union to those wishing 

 to enter the South American market — the only one now freely 

 open to American manufacturers — he presented several significant 

 facts no less important to manufacturers of tires than of auto- 

 mobiles. Said he : 



South America's economic evolution will be accomplished in 

 direct proportion to its use of automobiles. Except for Argen- 

 tine, the growth of population in South American countries and 

 the operation of their industries depend on good roads and auto- 

 mobiles. If 100,000 miles of good roads could be built in South 

 America an unbelievably large market for American cars would 

 be created. 



THE MOTOR AND ACCESSOEY MANUFACTURERS. 



At the recent annual meeting of the board of directors of the 

 Motor and Accessory Manufacturers the following officers were 

 elected for the ensuing year: C. W. Stiger, president; Charles 

 E. Thompson, first vice-president; E. H. Broadwell (vice-presi- 

 dent of The Fisk Ruljber Co., Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts), 

 second vice-president ; T. J. Wenzel, third vice-president ; L. M. 

 Wainwright, treasurer; Alfred P. Sloan, secretary and assistant 

 treasurer. 



The present board of directors consists of : C. W. Stiger, 

 C. E. Thompson, T. J. Wenze!, E. H. Broadwell, L. M. Wain- 

 wright, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., James H. Foster, E. W. Beach, 

 Christian Girl. W. O. Rutherford, William C. Rands, William 

 M. Sweet and L. M. Bradley. 



The board of directors has agreed to sanction the exhibit in 

 a body of a goodly numlier of members at the first Pan-.'Kmerican 

 .Aeronautic Exposition, to be held in the Grand Central Palace, 

 New York City, February 8 to 15. 



The annual banquet, accompanied by music and vaudeville, was 

 held the evening of January 10 at the Waldorf-Astoria and pro- 

 nounced an unqualified success, aliout 600 being in attendance. 

 As usual, there was no speeclimaking. 



FIRST PAN-AMERICAN AERONAUTIC EXPOSITION. ■ 



The manufacture of aeroplanes has ceased to be a mere 

 "game." It is now counted as one of our great American 

 industries, and the importance and significance of the first 

 Pan-American Aeronautical E.xposition. to be held in the 

 Grand Central Palace, February 8 to 15, can hardly be over- 

 estimated. Manufacturers of rubberized fabrics and miscel- 

 laneous accessories containing rubber will be numbered 

 among the exhibitors, many of them members of The Motor 

 and -Accessory Manufacturers, whose cooperation and stand- 

 ardized products promise to make bulk production a fea- 

 ture as vital to the continued growth of this industry as it has 

 been to the building of automobiles. The United States Gov- 

 ernment will also have an elaborate exhibit. 



A few salient facts describe the meteoric growth of this 

 new industry. Two aeroplane companies in America are now 

 capitalized at over $10,000,000, and 14 factories in this country 

 employ over 10,000 men. Aeroplanes to the value of $30,000.- 

 000 were built in the United States last year, and this year's 

 business is estimated at $50,000,000. The United States Gov- 

 ernment alone has appropriated $35,000,000 for the purchase 

 of aeroplanes for the Army, Navy and Post Office De- 

 partments. 



The W'ar has demonstrated the value of the aeroplane as 

 an instrument of defense and developed its highly specialized 

 construction for scout work, battle and transportation. In 

 the latter field machines capable of lifting IS tons and flying 

 at a speed of 125 miles an hour have become a practical ac- 

 complishment. As a result of the war large numbers of men 

 have trained for flying. There are about 1,000 aviators in 

 .■\merica; France has over 5,000 and England over 40,000, 

 while the total Royal F'lying Corps of England is said to 

 number over 40,000. 



