May 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



475 



Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., and classes in the Goodyear factory 

 school have been organized among the foremen and inspectors of 

 the plant, that they may become thoroughly familiar with the 

 system before applying it to the activities of the factory. Our 

 United States monetary system, with its decimal denominations, 

 is really a division of the metric system, which has the same 

 advantage over our old method of weights and measures with 

 their units of inches, pounds, quarts, etc., that our system of coin- 

 age has over the pounds and shillings of Great Britain or the 

 francs and sous of France. 



Building operations may soon begin on Goodyear Hall, a 

 $450,000 building for the exclusive benefit of Goodyear employes. 

 The size of the building will be 170 by 400 feet over all, the front 

 four stories high and the rear two stories. An immense gym- 

 nasium, with a seating capacity of 5,000 and swimming pool ad- 

 joining, will provide opportunity for all kinds of indoor athletics, 

 and there are to be school rooms, lounging, smoking and reading 

 rooms, and complete equipment to supply the entire recreational 

 needs of the large Goodyear working force. 



The Goodyear company also has a fine atliletic field of 40 acres, 

 and Coach I. Ray Martin, for the past three years director of 

 athletics at Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio, has recently been 

 appointed athletic director of the company. 



* * » 



At a stockholders' meeting on the tenth of last month, the 

 capital of the Swinehart Tire & Rubber Co. was increased from 

 $800,000 to $1,500,000, $200,000 in common stock and $500,000 pre- 

 ferred. The regular quarterly dividend was declared. 



* * * 



The Miller Rubber Co. has installed a new fire alarm system 

 comprising the modern equipment of signaling apparatus with 

 ten alarm boxes operated by breaking the glass and pulling the 

 lever. These new call boxes and the factory whistle will auto- 

 matically sound the number of the box four times in quick suc- 

 cession. 



* * * 



M. D. Tenney, for many years connected with the factory 

 organization of the Kelly-Springfield Tire Co., has been ap- 

 pointed manager of the adjusting and salvage department, suc- 

 ceeding R. B. Pierce, now manager of the Cleveland branch. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN BOSTON. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



XJEVER before has the National Guard in this vicinity been 

 * supplied with rubber overshoes. Last month, simultaneously 

 with the declaration of war. New England was visited by a 

 heavy snowstorm — one of the left-overs of last winter. It was 

 deemed necessary to guard a number of points in or near Boston, 

 and the inclemency of the weather, the soft, slushy condition of 

 the ground where these men were picketed, and the fact that 

 many of them were not supplied with shoes calculated to with- 

 stand such service, was quickly recognized, and at once orders 

 were given to supply these soldiers with rubbers. The kind de- 

 cided upon were heavy storm overs, and it was at once found 

 that few such rubbers were in stock in the various wholesale 

 houses. After considerable scurrying around, the Hood Rubber 

 Co. and the United States Rubber Co. filled the order, and the 

 sentinels were enabled to patrol their beats in greater comfort. 

 * * * 



A proof of the growing interest in the history and methods of 

 rubber manufacture is the steady demand by schools, colleges, 

 clubs and debating societies for samples of rubber and compound- 

 ing ingredients. Probably every rubber manufacturer has re- 

 quests for such samples every week in the year. While an in- 

 dividual fulfilment of such a request would not be very great, 

 even at present rubber prices, the aggregate cost of the large 

 number would involve a considerable amount, both for material 



and time. So great has been this demand that the Hood Rubber 

 Co., Watertown, has seized the opportunity to popularize its 

 products and make friends with the many persons or institutions 

 asking for such favors and has had prepared an "Educational 

 Exhibit." This consists of a neatly boxed card, to which are 

 attached samples of various kinds of rubber, vials of the most 

 prominent compounding ingredients and miniature aluminum 

 boot and shoe lasts. These exhibits, which fill the wants of 

 school teachers, are sold at a dollar each, and as they contain an 

 advertisement of the company are, at the same time, of real 



publicity value. 



* * * 



The United States Rubber Co., having completed its pension 

 plan, decided that the details should be given to the employes of 

 its subsidiary companies by the officers of those companies. There 

 are many employes in these companies who are of foreign birth, 

 and some who might not fully understand that they were included 

 among the prospective pensioners of the United States Rubber 

 Co. An interesting feature of this announcement was the address 

 given by Vice-President Ira F. Burnham at the Stoughton factory 

 of the American Rubber Co. As several nationalities are repre- 

 sented among the workers there, Mr. Burnham called all the 

 employes together and asked them to group themselves according 

 to the language with which they were most familiar. An inter- 

 preter was stationed with each group and Mr. Burnham then ex- 

 plained in English, a paragraph at a time, the new pension plan. 

 After each point was explained, the interpreters addressed their 

 groups. Questions were propounded, which were answered by 

 Mr. Burnham, and when all the groups fully understood this 

 point, another was explained in like manner. The workers felt 

 free to ask questions, as they would not be inclined to do, were 

 the meeting formal, with only one speaker and he talking English 

 on a platform. The plan was admirably conceived and excellently 

 worked out, with the result that Mr. Burnham has been invited 

 to explain the plan in other plants of the United States Rubber 

 Co. 



* * * 



The Monatiquot Rubber Works Co., South Braintree, departed 

 from its regular custom of celebrating its birthday, because of 

 war conditions. In order that its employes might participate in 

 the public celebration of Patriot's Day the factory was closed 

 down. In posting notices in the various departments, notifying 

 of the shut-down, announcement was made of a ten per cent in- 

 crease to all who had been employed more than three months. 

 The dedication of mill building No. 4, which had been arranged 

 to be held April 19, was postponed, and if present plans are 

 carried out, will take the form of an old-fashioned party given 

 to the employes and their families. 



* * * 



Ten simultaneous flag raisings, one each on the ten principal 

 buildings of the Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Co., Cambridge, 

 on April 11, were accompanied by a procession of 1,750 employes, 

 headed by a fife and drum corps, led by Vice-president and Man- 

 ager George E. Hall, Treasurer Henry B. Sprague, Mayor Rock- 

 wood and the heads of the fire, police and building departments 

 of the city of Cambridge. At the close of the parade the entire 

 company assembled in the large factory yard, where, to the 

 accompaniment of the fife and drum corps, and the factory 

 bugler, the "Star Spangled Banner" was sung by all present. 



* * * 



The importance of air-brake hose was exemplified at the South 

 Terminal .Station in this city one day last month, when a large 

 number of trains arriving in Boston were held from 15 to 30 

 minutes, causing a serious track congestion. A train was back- 

 ing out of the station wfien the air-brake hose collapsed. This 

 set the brakes on all the cars, and the only way to release the 

 brakes was to do so with each individual car, a process which 

 took half an hour to accomplish. This happened in that part of 



