568 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1. 1917. 



company's history, was £15,700. For the third time 

 within seven years a share bonus of £60,000 has accord- 

 ingly been capitalized and distributed to the ordinary 

 shareholders, one new share for every four formerly held. 

 Sixty per cent of the existing ordinary capital now con- 

 sists of bonus shares. 



It is logical to suppose that the American rubber in- 

 dustry, which plays such an imiXDrtant part in munition- 

 ing our armies, will feel the same stimulus of war. Labor 

 troubles may cause some hardship at first, ahhough as 

 in England certain lines of rubber manufacture will prob- 

 ably figure among the exempted occupations, but eventu- 

 ally, as in all the belligerent countries of Europe, women 

 will come to the rescue in a much wider field of employ- 

 ment than hitherto. 



AMERICAN GROWN PARA RUBBER. 



THERE has in the past been a decided doubt in 

 minds of many regarding the possibility of culti- 

 vating Hevea successfully in any American possession, 

 even in the Philippines. This doubt has often taken the 

 form of vigorous statement, but more frequently of a 

 quiet but eflfective lack of interest on the part of rubber 

 men, scientists and planters. There were those, how- 

 ever, that believed in such planting and were ready to 

 put in time and money to prove themselves right. And 

 they have succeeded. On one of the Southern islands, 

 Basilian, close to the great tropical land of Mindanao, 

 is a plantation of Para rubber that tree for tree is the 

 equal of any. There are 70,000 trees just beginning to 

 bear and this year they have already produced more than 

 50,000 pounds of crepe of the best quality, which sold 

 for the highest price in the market. The cost per pound 

 is incidentally said to be a trifle less than is the cost of 

 production in the Malay States. 



If 70,000 trees, why not 700,000 or 70,000,000? 



THE STABILITY OF THE TIRE BUSINESS. 



CAPTAINS of the American rubber industry be- 

 lieve that the experience of Canada should dis- 

 pel any doubts concerning the stability of the motor 

 car and tire business of the United States as affected 

 by the war. Canada has gone through the same con- 

 ditions that now confront us, and after two and one- 

 half years of warfare general business is very good, 

 notwithstanding the constant crusade for economy and 

 the great drain of money and men, the latter equival- 

 ent to a United States force of 7,500,000. According 

 to a convass just completed by G. M. Stadelman, vice- 

 president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 

 Canada, with a population of only 8,000,000, is buying 

 100,000 new cars, almost five times as many as were 

 purchased during 1914, and an increase of 85 per cent 

 over the normal growth of 38 and 36 per cent respec- 

 tively for 1913 and 1914. Her purchase with only 

 about one-fifteenth the population of the United 

 States is equivalent to our purchase of 1,500,000 auto- 



mobiles, which is just about what motor car manu- 

 facturers estimate that this country will buy during 

 1917. This means 6,000,000 tires for this equipment 

 alone. 



THE RUBBER CLUB OUTING ABANDONED. 



ClNCI*; its inception in 1900 the Rubber Club, now 

 *^ The Rubber Association of America, has enjoyed 

 an unbroken series of midsummer outings. This year, 

 however, with commendable regard for the seriousness 

 of the times and the amount of human suffering every 

 dollar will alleviate, it has decided to forego this annual 

 event and contribute the money usually subscribed for 

 that purpose to the Red Cross or some equally worthy 

 cause. This is in line with the abandonment of the mid- 

 winter banquet of 1915, when the amount that would 

 otherwise have been spent in feasting was sent to starving 

 Belgians. 



GOODYEAR, CONNECTICUT. 



IT IS 1"ECULIARLY FITTING THAT CONNECTICUT SHOULD 

 have a town named Goodyear, for it was in that state 

 that Charles Goodyear w-as born and lived most of his 

 ambitious life in poverty. His process of vulcanization 

 ranks among the greatest discoveries of all ages, yet 

 like many another inventor, he profited little by it, 

 although it has accumulated fortunes for later genera- 

 tions and proved a boon to mankind generally. Gov- 

 ernment designation of the post office, formerly Kill- 

 ingly, as Goodyear, constitutes an official recognition 

 of genius and an enduring memorial to persistence 

 crowned by ultimate success. It will serve in a meas- 

 ure to keep his memory fresh in the minds of all whose 

 livelihood depends upon his early researches. 



BICYCLE RIDING IS ON THE INCREASE. 



■"PRADE papers state that 600,000 bicycles were manu- 

 factured in 1916 against half that number the pre- 

 ceding year. More would have been made but for the 

 shortage of tubing and labor. Manufacturers expect to 

 produce 1,000,000 bicycles this year, a gross business of 

 $25,000,000, of which $5,000,000 represents 2,000,000 

 tires. 



That the American rubber trade is thoroughly 

 abreast of the times is shown by the fact that four of 

 the foremost rubber companies, the United States Rub- 

 ber Co., the Goodrich, Goodyear and Hodgman compa- 

 nies, are fully equipped, mechanically and technically, to 

 produce coated fabrics for war balloons, of which our 

 Government will require very many. 



Canadian imports of rubber, gutta percha, etc., for 

 the fiscal year ending March 31, 1917, were $5,767,508 

 from the United States and $3,636,066 from Great 

 Britain. During the year, automobiles to the value of 

 nearly $9,000,000 were imported from the United 

 States. 



