May 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



479 



named association. It is limited by guarantee without any share 

 capital and the membership is limited to 100, each liable for il 

 in the event of winding up. Membership is confined to bona 

 fide rubber manufacturers having their chief works in the United 

 Kingdom. The first members of the Committee of Management 

 are mainly those last elected to the committee of the late associa- 

 tion, viz. : J. T. Goudie, Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Co., Ley- 

 land; Peter Bate, general manager, Castle Rubber Co., Warring- 

 ton ; P. A. Birley, Chas. Macintosh & Co., Inc., Manchester ; F. H. 

 C. Brooking, general manager, St. Helens Cable & Rubber Co., 

 Warrington ; Richard Eccles, general manager, F. Reddaway & 

 Co., Manchester ; James Henderson, Ancoats Vale Rubber Co., 

 Inc., Manchester ; David Moseley. David Mosely & Son, Inc., 

 Manchester ; James Tinto, Truell & Eastern Rubber Co., Inc., 

 Manchester ; F. Webster, Avon Rubber Co., Manchester. 



A considerable accession of membership is reported during the 

 last year or two and arrangements are being made to establish 

 sectional committees in London and Glasgow. Among the many 

 objects which the association has in view are the consideration 

 of the terms and clauses in specifications issued by government 

 departments and various public bodies ; the encouragement of 

 inventions likely to be of general utility to the trade ; the en- 

 couragment of fresh sources of supply, of other necessary raw- 

 materials and the obtaining of adequate representation of the 

 industry on trade boards. 



WILKS BROTHERS WORKS ENLARGED. 



Messrs. Wilks Brothers have almost completed the large ex- 

 tension to their premises at Booth street. Blackfriars, Manchester. 

 Since the disastrous fire of 1913 the original premises were rebuilt 

 with an additional story, but further extensions were subse- 

 quently necessitated. The firm manufactures waterproofs, rain- 

 proofs and oilskins, for the last of which the late S. Carter Bell 

 had an agency in America where goods of this class do not seem 

 to be so well known and popular as they are in Great Britain. 

 Messrs. Wilks do a large business in motorcycle suits. In 

 weatherproof cloth they have a specialty in their Aquarepel. 



PERSOX.NL MENTION'. 



I record with regret the death of Colonel Herbert Hughes, of 

 Sheffield, early in the year. The deceased, who was well known 

 to a good many business people in America, was primarily con- 

 nected with the steel trade but on the formation of the Xyler 

 Rubber Co., Inc., of Manchester, four years ago he became one 

 of the directors. 



G. W. Leeson, who has been connected with the rubber heel 

 manufacture in Manchester for some years, has now gone to Lon- 

 don in connection with the Leeson Sponge & Rubber Co., Limited, 

 of New Enterprise Works, Chiswick Road, London, W. Apropos 

 of the rubber sponge I may say that retail prices of the Ameri- 

 can article have shown a sagging tendency, as general dealers 

 are now competing with druggists in sales to the public. 



William Somerville's Sons Rubber Co., Limited, is now the title 

 of the Liverpool firm so long known in the reclaimed rubber 

 trade as WilHam Somerville's Sons. F. R. Burrows is the man- 

 ager of the new company, having been associated with the busi- 

 ness for many years. One does not hear anything of Mitchell's 

 rubber nowadays, but those whose memory goes back 30 years 

 or so when brands of reclaimed rubber were not so numerous in 

 this country as they are to-day, will remember the time when 

 Mitchell's rubber, as sold by Somerville's Sons, was a synonym 

 for reclaimed rubber. Mr. Mitchell, of course, was an Ameri- 

 can who afterwards acquired an interest in Somerville's Sons. 



A. Staines Manders, manager of the International Rubber and 

 Allied Trades Exhibition, Limited, and Miss D. Fulton, secre- 

 tary of the same corporation, are sending out a notice of the 

 removal of their offices to Brownlow House, 51 High Holburn, 

 London, W. C, which is also the headquarters of the Fulton- 

 Manders Publishing Co., and the International Press Publicity 

 Bureau. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN HOLLAND. 



By a Special Correspondent. 



THE Netherlands Ovearseas Trust has entered upon an agree- 

 ment with rubber importers, which has caused great indig- 

 nation among rubber manufacturers. By this agreement, the im- 

 porters are to place at disposal for sale 300 tons of rubber, at 

 2.50 florins per half kilo [$1.00 per 1.1 pounds], consisting of 

 75 per cent of prime and 25 per cent inferior qualities. The 

 new regulation, ostensibly in the interests of manufacturers, 

 further provides that the Trust shall decide whether applications 

 are to be granted at all, the quantity to be allowed each appli- 

 cant and the importer from whom rubber can be obtained. The 

 whole quantity of rubber that has been allotted a certain manu- 

 facturer must be taken by February 1, 1918, and should delivery 

 take place later, he will be charged interest at the rate of 5 per 

 cent per annum and 50 cents per case per month warehouse fees 

 and fire insurance premium. 



The chief objections to this arrangement are that manufacturers 

 are obliged to accept rubber which may or may not meet their 

 requirements, the charges for storage and interest, and the high 

 price of the rubber itself. To add to all this, the feeling exists 

 that the measure was absolutely unnecessary, as manufacturers 

 have never complained of any unwillingness on the part of the 

 importers to release rubber for consumption. 



A COURSE IN INDOLOGY. 

 What is expected to be of great benefit to the Dutch East 

 Indies is the inauguration of a course in Indology by the board 

 of directors of the Colonial Institute at Amsterdam. The object 

 is to give suitable training for work, agricultural and otherwise, 

 to those contemplating emigrating to the Dutch East Indies. The 

 course will be held twice a year in Amsterdam, and the follow- 

 ing subjects will be treated : 



1. Essentials of the ethnology of the Indian Archipelago. 



2. Introduction to the geography of the Dutch East Indies, 

 with special regard to agriculture, mining, commerce and traffic 



3. Elements of the Malayan language. 



4. Essentials of social conditions in the colonies. 



5. The public institutions in the Dutch East Indies, with 

 special regard to agrarian and labor laws. 



In addition to these, quarterly courses will be given in: 



a. Tropical hygiene, diseases, personal hygiene and sanitation 

 (especially on big plantations). 



b. Colonial products. 



c. If necessary, lectures on other colonial topics will be held. 

 It is expected that this course, which commenced March 2, will 



not only promote the actual knowledge of economic conditions 

 in the colonies, but also a proper understanding, and thus better 

 cooperation between the European and the Oriental in the 

 Dutch Indies. 



EMBARGO ON AUTOMOBILES. 



The Netherlands Government has declared an embargo on 

 automobiles. All shipping space has been requisitioned for food- 

 stuffs and automobiles and other luxuries will not be accepted for 

 shipment for some time. 



DR. ITERSON RETIRES. 



A royal decree to go into action November 1, has honorably 

 discharged Dr. G. van Iterson, Jr., of the Technische Hooge- 

 school (Technical Academy), Delft, Holland, from his duties 

 as director and supervisor of the Ryksvoorlichtingsdienst (Gov- 

 ernment's Information Service), in behalf of the rubber indus- 

 try, and nominated him advisor to the same institution. Dr. A. 

 van Rassun, now assistant, has been nominated director in his 

 stead. 



FIRST NETHERLANDS ANNUAL INDUSTRIAL FAIR. 



On February 24, 1917, the official opening of the First Nether- 

 lands .A.nnual Industrial Fair at Utrecht, took place, the Queen 

 being the patroness. Of the 668 participants, 35 represented the 

 leather and rubber industries. Owing to the war, there were no 

 foreign visitors. Nevertheless, the enterprise has been declared 

 a success and will be held in the spring of 1918. 



