638 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1. 1917. 



say that our water-borne defense force numbers in the neighbor- 

 hood of 150,000. These figures will serve to give an approxi- 

 mate notion of the increased demands for rubber equipment for 

 the men, as well as rubber needed aboard the augmented fleet. 

 Indeed, the drive of wartime duty is sure to add greatly to the 

 figures of peacetime consumption. 



It will be borne in mind, besides, that the Marine Corps has 

 been raised from 17.000 to substantially .W.aX) men. The Ma- 

 rines need an equipment similar to that of the army man, but 

 as our sea soldiers are expected to fight ashore and afloat they 

 must be thoroughly prepared to meet the physical conditions of 

 either service. No mention has been made of the Naval Militia, 

 per se, because this excellent body of State fighting men is now 

 amalgamated, almost in its entirety, with the personnel of the 

 battle-fleet. 



So far, nothing has been said about the medical departments 

 of the army or the navy, as such, simply because the whole sub- 

 ject of taking care of the wounded can just as well be treated 

 for both services under a single head. It is quite out of the 

 question to give details as to quantities, but a recital of some 

 of the uses to which rubber is put by the military surgeon and 

 the military hospital will suffice to suggest the volume of these 

 commodities that must be supplied continually from now on. 

 In any estimates, it is only safe to assume that sooner or later 

 our navy, in its entirety, will have to share in the ravages of 

 battle. .A-nd whether it does or not, medical provision for such 

 an emergency will have to be made. 



HOSriT.^L RUBBER REQUIREMENTS. 



To begin with, the army that is to be sent abroad at the earli- 

 est moment will need quite 28,000 doctors, and the medical corps 

 of the navy should total no fewer than 2,000. .\11 of these men 

 must have rubber gloves and, preferably, rubber operating aprons. 

 Only recently, one of the British War Commission declared that 

 on a short section of the front as many as 20,000 to 30,000 are 

 wounded in the course of a battle lasting but a few hours! 

 Happily, quite SO per cent of those hurt are able to return to 

 duty within a comparatively short period, and experience has 

 shown that 25 per cent, after furloughs for convalescence, can 

 return to the front; and, finally, something like 17 per cent, 

 after more or less prolonged stays in hospitals, are able to re- 

 sume their duties. However, these results in any case are 

 made possible only by the best of surgical treatment, and. be- 

 cause of the constant danger of infection, a great many of the 

 wounds call for careful and systematic sterilization. It is in 

 this work that rubber plays a prime part in the form of tubing, 

 which is an essential feature of the present apparatus employed 

 to drain or irrigate the wounds. 



.\nother revolutionary innovation is a system of elastic ban- 

 dages which, without stitching, pull the wound surfaces grad- 

 ually together and produce a minimum of deformation. .-Ml of 

 the ambulances, operating rooms, and surgical wards require 

 rubber sheeting. There are hot water bags, ice bandages or 

 caps, pads, inflatable pillows and mattresses calling for rubber 

 or proofed material; bulb and bag syringes, medicine droppers 

 of first-aid packets, basins, sprays, operating caps, crutch tips, 

 ether bags, bottle stoppers, sponges, catheters, rubber flooring, 

 rubber heels for hospital attendants, rubber-tired wheelbarrows 

 for carrying stretchers, and hundreds of other ways in which 

 rubber helps to save life, eases the wounded, and effects admin- 

 istrative economies in the military hospitals either in the field 

 or at the bases. Rubber gloves and aprons are quite as necessary 

 for the nurses and ambulance attendants as they are for the 

 surgeons. Of nurses and other attendants there must be a small 

 army for a fighting force of a million and more men at the 

 front. Further, the care of the wounded will not be the only 

 concern. Despite serums and the like, disease may lay a heavy 

 toll upon our fighting men on the fields of Europe. And in the 

 treatment of fever stricken soldiers, rubber articles of one sort 



or another will be indispensable in steadily increasing (|uantities. 

 .\t the time of writing this article, the .\merican flag is flying 

 over six great base hospitals in France — institutions wholly ad- 

 ministered by .American surgeons and physicians. Just what 

 this means can be gathered from the equipment of a single unit. 

 Each of these comprises 1,600 beds; and the total of the six 

 hospitals is 9,600 beds ! What we shall have to provide for when 

 our part in the conflict is in full swing is, of course, purely 

 speculative. However, it is evident, from wha^has been needed 

 in the treatment and care of the wounded of the Entente .Mlies, 

 that wc shall have to provide enormous quantities of rubber 

 surgical goods available on the other side of the Atlantic and 

 likewise very large supplies ready for our fighting fleet. 



PROTECTED OCCUPATIONS IN ENGLAND. 



IN England, where conscription has greatly depleted working 

 ■*■ forces, it has been found desirable to prepare a schedule of 

 protected occupations affecting men employed on .'\dmiralty. War 

 Office, or munition work, or in railway workshops, -Admiralty 

 work being taken to include merchant shipping. It is not in- 

 tended to enlist such men as had attained the age of 32 on Janu- 

 ary 1, 1917, and for the present such men who are not passed 

 fit for general service, "Category A," will not be recruited. 

 Otherwise the schedule is provisional and subject to revision 

 should army needs require a further release of men, or should 

 it develop that some of the occupations might later be under- 

 taken by women or older men. Those engaged in the occupa- 

 tions cited and within the age limits will be posted for military 

 duty only after consultation W'ith the local representative of the 

 Government Department concerned. 



Rubber Manufacture is given a special section, and the fol- 

 lowing classes of workers are protected when the individuals 

 had attained on January 1, 1917, the age specified in brackets in 

 each case or were engaged in the occupation (not necessarily 

 with the same employer) on or before .August 5, 1917: 



Ho^i'iTAL GooD-s. Departmental foreman (23), cutter (25), 

 molder (23), process workers (including calender hands) (23), 

 stover (23), spreader (25), surgical tuiiing {maker of. including 

 catheters) (23), vulcanizer (wet) (21), vulcanizer (dry) (25). 

 Protection applies equally to men engaged in contracts for pub- 

 lic and private hospitals. 



Other Rubber Goons. Foreman (27), calender man (27), 

 mixer (27), molder (27), spreader {27), hose maker (25), vul- 

 canizer (wet) (21), vulcanizer (dry) (25), ring and washer 

 cutter (25). 



In the allied trades the following occupations are protected : 



C.\NVAS Hose Pipe M.\NUF.\cruRE. Tackier (28), tenter (28), 

 weaver (28). 



Woven Belting M.\nuf.\cture. Stretcher (.27). painter (27), 

 finisher (27). 



.Asbestos Manuf.acture. Skilled workmen only (23). 



Electrical Insulating Material M.^nufacture. Skilled 

 workmen only (applies to workmen of all ages). 



Electrical Wire and Cable Manufacture. Skilled workmen 

 only (applies to workmen of all ages). 



Manufacture of Engine and Pump Packings and Jointings. 

 Skilled workmen (21). 



This schedule confers no right of exemption from military 

 service if skilled artificers needed by the army cannot be sup- 

 plied from other sources or it is possible to find substitutes. 

 Men having bad records of absence from work will obtain no 

 protection by reason of their occupation. 



"Rubber Machinery." Mr. Pearson's newest book, filled 

 with valuable information for rubber manufacturers, is now 

 ready for mailing. Price, $6. 



