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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1917. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN BOSTON. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



THE rubber footwear manufacturers in this state are unusu- 

 ally busy. There is a general complaint that it is impossible, 

 or at least very dililicult, to secure sufficient experienced help 

 to keep the output up to the full capacity of tlie factories. At 

 the same time the amount of orders already taken is far in excess 

 of that at any previous year at corresponding date. These 

 orders are for rubber overshoes, and for tennis lines. The latter 

 style of footwear is to have a great boom, so it is predicted, 

 as soon as warm weather comes, because of the high and still 

 rising prices of leather shoes. The cheap "sneaker" is now 

 simply a poor relation of the handsome styles of cloth top rubber- 

 soled footwear, which, while originally designed only for sports 

 and outing wear, will be worn for business and social wear also 



this coming summer. 



* ♦ * 



The Plymouth Rubber Co., of Stougliton, shows a splendid 

 record for the past year, its net sales being 28 per cent in excess 

 of those for the year ending December 3i. 1915; in fact, last 



on the advantages of rubber soles. Many shoe manufacturers 

 have adopted rubber soles for some of their lines, now that sole 

 leather has doubled or trebled in cost, and Mr. Ryder's trip is 

 mainly to secure the cooperation of the shoe wholesalers in 

 further popularizing the use of rubber and fiber soles on mod- 

 erate priced soles. 



* ♦ * 



The rubber and fiber sole industry is receiving increased atten- 

 tion at the present time. A new enterprise is that of the Fibre- 

 hide Manufacturing Co., which has built a factory at South 

 Braintrec, for the purpose of manufacturing a line of soles and 

 heels. This factory, which is two stories high and measures 

 240 by 160 feet, is expected to be ready for operation by the time 

 this letter is read. The machinery is now being installed. The 

 product is to be a rubberized felt, or a compressed body of cotton- 

 felted fiber and rubber, vulcanized by a special patented process. 

 The soles are "died out" from the sheet, thus doing away with 

 the expensive process of molding, as is common with most rubber 

 and fiber soles, an obvious advantage as regards cost of produc- 

 tion. Frederick T. Ryder. Jr., is president and manager of the 

 comiiany and .\. S. Dexter, of the Dexter Rubber Co., South 



Braintree, is the treasurer. 



■-ja^i 



The Ply.mouth Rubber Co.'s Plant. 



year's sales were the largest in the company's history, while 

 the orders on hand for the present year are reported to be so 

 large as to necessitate the erection of a new building as well as 

 additions to some of the old buildings. Mention has been made 

 of the plan to erect a reinforced concrete building 171 by 98 feet, 

 2 stories, but so built that another story may be added when 

 occasion requires, this new building to be used entirely for the 

 manufacture of rubber soles and heels, and to have a capacity 

 of about 200,000 pairs per day. 



The success of the company has been rapid. The present plant 

 consists of IS buildings ideally situated as regards transporta- 

 tion facilitates on the spur track near the junction of two 

 branches of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, the 

 majority of the buildings being less than 10 years old and some 

 of the older having been largely added to and modernized. The 

 plant has an effective water power. 



The company manufactures "Slipknot" Safety heels and Dur- 

 able Kompo soles, besides several lines of goods for the use of 

 shoe manufacturers, and in addition to these, coated fabrics 

 for the clothing trade, hospital sheetings, and artificial leather 

 for the automobile and upholstering trade. We understand that 

 a plan is under way to erect a three-story hotel, thus in part 

 solving the housing problem for the employes of the company, 

 and other improvements are in contemplation, though the plans 

 are not yet sufficiently perfected to warrant publication. 



* • * 



Fred T. Ryder, the sales manager of the fole and heel business 

 of the United States Rubber Co., started on a long trip the 17th 

 of last month. His plans were to visit all the large cities be- 

 tween here and the Pacific Coast and interview the shoe jobbers 



Large advertisements have ap- 

 peared in the Boston papers, calling 

 attention to the Pneumatic Cushion 

 Inner Tube Co., which is now being 

 organized for the purpose of manu- 

 facturing an invention of James P. 

 Brophy, formerly superintendent of 

 the Boggs Rubber Co., Birmingham, 

 Alabama. The tube is of novel con- 

 struction, having a combination of 

 transverse and longitudinal "bulk- 

 heads," which form air compart- 

 ments or cells, all connected. These 

 cells are inflated, giving the air 

 cushion effect of an ordinary inner 

 tube, but in case of deflation, the 

 bulkheads arc of suflicient strength to hold the resiliency, thus 

 obviating the disagreeable necessity of replacing the inner tube 

 on the road in case of accident. The tube is not yet on the 

 market, but experimental sets have been run for more than a year 

 with excellent service. The officers of the company are : Presi- 

 dent, George P. Brophy, treasurer of the automobile supply 

 house of Brophy-Barrabee Co. ; secretary and treasurer, Frank 

 W. Hall, formerly general manager of the Boggs Rubber Manu- 

 facturing Co., of Birmingham, Alabama. James Brophy, the in- 

 ventor of the tire, will be general manager of the new company. 



♦ * * 

 The Batterman, Rood Rubber Co. is the name of a recent 

 corporation, formed for the purpose of manufacturing rubber 

 footwear. The capitalization is placed at $150,000. It is the 

 intention of the company to make a certain line of footholds 

 and light rubbers for women, which can be retailed at a low 

 price. The plans are to market the product in a somewhat 

 original way, and through other retail establishments than reg- 

 ular shoe stores. The factory at Framingham is in charge of 

 -Arthur A. Cushman, formerly of Bristol, Rhode Island. The 

 officers of the company are : Warren B. Rood, president ; Robert 

 W. Daniels, vice-president, and Thomas H. Dumper, secretary 

 and treasurer. . .„ .^ 



At the annual meeting of the Alfred Hale Rubber Co., recently 

 lield in Boston, the stockholders elected David A. Cutler, Richard 

 C. Storey, William G. Williams, William D. I,amond and Francis 

 H. Swift, directors. The directors elected David A. Cutler presi- 

 dent and treasurer and Richard C. Storey vice-president and 

 clerk, and also voted to increase the capital stock from $8,000 



