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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1917. 



This is far from being a complete list of the various forms 

 in which rubber is required in modern warfare. Few, if any, 

 industries are more important than our own in the present emer- 

 gency. That the rubber manufacturers of this country are pre- 

 pared to fill all these requirements is a source of satisfaction in 

 this critical period of the nation's history. 



THE PRESIDENT'S CALL TO INDUSTRY. 



IN that signilicant proclamation to his fellow-countrymen issued 

 April 15, President Wilson emphasized the vital importance 

 of industrial America in bringing the war to a successful con- 

 clusion. In the performance of this great task calling for large 

 service, great efficiency and much self-sacrifice, the industrial 

 forces of the country will become, he asserts, "a notable and 

 honored host engaged in the service of the nation and the world, 

 the efficient friends and saviors of free men everywhere." 



It is in this spirit that the Council of National Defense has 

 sought the active cooperation of producers of raw materials and 

 manufacturers in meeting wartime needs promptly, adequately 

 and well. Agreements have already been made with steel and 

 copper producers, under which the Government is guaranteed all 

 of these materials required for war purposes at prices far below 

 the prevailing market. Negotiations are now in progress witli oil 

 and other producers, while an agreement with the rubber industry 

 is foreshadowed in the appointment of a committee of rubber men 

 to act in conjunction with the Committee on Raw Materials of 

 the Council of National Defense. The new body, all good men 

 and practical, consists of A. H. Marks, vice-president of The 

 B. F. Goodrich Co., Akron, Ohio; Frederic C. Hood, vice- 

 president and general manager Hood Rubber Co., Watertown, 

 Massachusetts ; H. Stuart Hotchkiss, vice-president General Rub- 

 ber Co., New York City. Its announced purpose is to secure a 

 speedy and adequate supply of rubber at prices which will permit 

 no excess profits on government orders during this period of 

 national emergency. 



Agreements, such as those already negotiated, to furnish mili- 

 tary equipment at prices which investigation shows to be reason- 

 able, will not only insure maximum results from the nation's great 

 war appropriations, and make purchases possible without compe- 

 tition, but will render it unnecessary to take over any plants for 

 government operation. The large output of rubber manufactures 

 already at Government disposal, indicates that the rubber indus- 

 try as a whole places the national defense above profit or material 

 advantage and will welcome any reasonable scheme for govern- 

 ment cooperation. 



PREPAREDNESS ACTIVITIES IN THE TRADE. 



THE Pennsylvania Rubber Co., Jeannette, Pennsylvania, in re- 

 sponse to the appeal of President Wilson for an increased 

 production of foodstuffs, has turned over to its employes the ex- 

 tensive acreage surrounding its large plant. The company will 

 do the ploughing and cultivating and each employe will look after 

 the crop on his section during the season, and receive the profit 

 when it is marketed. 



Van Cleef Bros., Chicago, manufacturers of rubber cement, are 

 utilizing a vacant space about their plant to interest their em- 

 ployes in raising foodstuffs. The company will lend every sup- 

 port possible and encourage their help, the employes to have all 

 the crops. 



Reports of the commandeering of manufacturing plants by the 

 Government have appeared in local papers owing to activities of 

 the five engineering associations in connection with the Naval 

 Consulting Board, the object being to list the industrial resources 

 of the country and insure the services of skilled men in manu- 

 facturing material for the use of the Government. Among the 

 establishments erroneously reported to be commandeered was the 



Cutler-Hammer Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, of 

 which General Manager A. W. Berresford is a member of the 

 Naval Consulting Board. He states that of the 2,000 employes, 

 400 shop men and 40 in the testing room engineering and office 

 forces are enlisted in the Reserve, and may be called upon to do 

 Government work in this factory, but this will not interfere 

 with the regular business, and normal shop conditions. 



Reports of like nature regarding several Akron, Ohio, concerns 

 were found on investigation to be of a similar nature, the stories 

 of commandeering the plants resulting from the taking of in- 

 ventory and stock by Federal agents. The B. F. (Goodrich 

 Co. employes to the number of 1,000 have joined this Reserve, 

 thus pledging themselves to work on Government contracts when 

 needed. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reports that it has ar- 

 ranged for classes in military training, giving all employes an op- 

 portunity to learn under the auspices of ex-army officers. 



C. P. Mader, secretary, Bucyrus Rubber Co., Bucyrus, Ohio, 

 is captain in the Quartermaster Ofiicers Reserve Corps, and for 

 several years has been chairman of the military committee of the 

 Bucyrus Chamber of Commerce. A number of the employes 

 have signified their intention of entering some branch of military 

 service. 



George E. Hall, vice-president and general manager, and J. W. 

 Fellows, factory manager, of the Boston Woven Hose & Rubber 

 Co., Cambridge, Massachusetts, are prominently connected with 

 the Public Safety Committee, and James H. O'Brien, superinten- 

 dent, has joined the Home Guards. Over 160 employes of the 

 company intend to enlist and 30 have already done so. A uni- 

 formed Home Guard is being organized, which will be a unit of 

 the Cambridge Defense League. 



Superintendent E. W. Dunbar, of the Apsley Rubber Co., Hud- 

 son, Massachusetts, is chairman of the Public Safety Committee 

 of that town. President L. D. Apsley states that if the Govern- 

 ment requires any Apsley goods these needs will have first atten- 

 tion, the regular customer and the profit having only secondary 

 consideration. 



The women in the making room of the Tyer Rubber Co., 

 .\ndover, Massachusetts, started contributing weekly to the Red 

 Cross and every department adopted the idea, and the result is 

 that a large sum is sent weekly to the society. It has the finan- 

 cial support and cooperation of the officials of the rubber com- 

 pany. 



The Cupples Co., St. Louis, Missouri, report that several em- 

 ployes have already enlisted, and that 150 young men are being 

 instructed in military drill, the time being taken from the com- 

 pany's working hours. 



COTTON GOODS MANUFACTURERS COOPERATING. 



The committee on cotton goods industries appointed by the 

 Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense com- 

 prises Lincoln Grant, of Wellington, Sears & Co., chairman ; W. 



D. Judson, of Parker, Wilder & Co., secretary; Fred. S. Ben- 

 nett, of the William L. Barrell Co. ; Spencer Turner and John 



E. Rousmaniere, of the J. Spencer Turner Co. ; Fuller E. Call- 

 away, cotton manufacturer, Lagrange, Georgia ; Harry L. Baily, 

 with Wellington, Sears & Co.., and A. F. Bemis, of the Bemis 

 Bros. Bag Co., and president of the National Association of 

 Cotton Manufacturers. This committee has sent a letter to the 

 cotton mills of the country asking for information about the 

 kind of goods turned out, number of looms, etc. It is said 

 that the replies received have not been altogether satisfactory 

 to the committee. Chairman Grant reports that many of the 

 mills had expressed their willingness to cooperate, but that the 

 majority of these were not equipped to turn out the kinds of 

 goods most needed. It is understood that about 25 mills which 

 can make these goods have yet to express their willingness to 

 devote their looms to making goods required by the Govern- 

 ment. 



