August 1, 1917. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



665 



PACKING PLANTATION RUBBER. 



D ESPONDING to the activities of the Rubber Association of 

 *^ America, which placed the data and suggestions it had 

 gathered regarding improved packing of plantation rubber at the 

 disposal of the Rubber Growers' Association in London, the lat- 

 ter body has issued a circular to its memljcrs drawing particular 

 attention to the following points : 



Three-Ply Cases. It is evident that three-ply cases are the 

 most suitable for carrying rubber, provided they are assembled 

 and closed strictly in accordance with the makers' instructions. 

 Estate managers appear to think that the patent fasteners pro- 

 vided by the makers are not sufficiently strong and that nails 

 must be driven in after the cases are closed in order to ensure 

 safety of the contents. This is wrong and is responsible for 

 serious complaints of bad-outturn, particularly when the rubber 

 has to be opened up for inspection in London and/or New York 

 before being sent ort to the manufacturers. 



MoMi Cases. Well-seasoned Momi cases, if properly hooped, 

 appear to be satisfactory, but they do not stand transhipment 

 well unless fully s-,s-inch thick after being planed (.}4-inch be- 

 fore planing). The importance of using only cases which are suf- 

 ficiently strong and well put together to ensure safe arrival of 

 the contents does not appear to be sufficiently appreciated, and 

 members are advised to pay whatever additional cost is neces- 

 sary in order to secure packages that conform to requirements. 



Chips and Splinters. All the manufacturers concur in com- 

 plaining of chips and splinters getting into the rubber. Estate 

 managers realize how important it is to clean the inside of the 

 cases thoroughly before packing, but after the rubber is packed 

 it apparently contracts until there is a certain amount of play 

 inside the case, which results in splinters and particles of wood 

 fraying off during transit and becoming embedded in the rub- 

 ber. These are verj' difficult to remove. ' 



It is essential that the rubber should be spread evenly quite 

 close to the sides of the case, which should contain as much 

 rubber as can be packed without undue pressure. A suggestion 

 made by several .\merican manufacturers is that the cases 

 should be lined with cheesecloth or jackinette. The cost is about 

 iid. per pound of rubber. This expedition is now under trial. 



Marking., Cases should be clearly marked : "Stow Away from 

 Boilers." 



After having been advised by members of the .American rub- 

 ber trade if crude rubber arriving from British possessions shows 

 any improvement in packing and condition on arrival as a result 

 of these suggestions, the Rubber Association of America pur- 

 poses to communicate again with the Rubber Growers' Association, 

 outlining to them the opinions of American manufacturers anfl 

 importers in regard to the efforts thus far made to improve 

 methods of packing and shipment. 



CRUDE RUBBER RATES ATTACKED. 



The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., of Akron, Ohio, and others 

 have filed a case with the Interstate Commerce Commission 

 against the Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad and others, 

 alleging that the defendants exact second-class rates on less- 

 than-carload shipments of crude rubber from New York City, 

 and the Commission is asked to prescribe for the future the 

 third-class rate on less-than-carload shipments, and fourth-class 

 rate, with a minimum of 36,000 pounds per car, on carload ship- 

 ments. Similar allegations are made by the Kelly-Springfield 

 Tire Co.. Cumberland, Maryland, and the Batavia Rubber Co., 

 Batavia. New York, additional points of destination mentioned 

 being Wooster, Ohio ; Buffalo, New York, and Cumberland, 

 Maryland, and in another case the La Crosse Rubber Co., La 

 Crosse, Wisconsin, attacks the classification ratings on crude 

 rubber from New York City and other points in official classi- ' 

 fication territory to La Crosse. These cases have not yet been 

 assigned for hearings. 



PERSONAL mention, 



Paul Luce, Buffalo, New York, salesman for the Boston 

 Woven Hose & Rubber Co., Cambridge, Massachusetts, and 

 Miss Jennie Campbell, formerly in the office department of the 

 same company, were married July 16 and will reside in Buffalo. 

 Before entering the sales department some years ago, Mr. Luce 

 was foreman of the rubber belt department at the Cambridge 

 factory. 



Ralph Starr Butler, professor of advertising and marketing at 

 New York University, has been appointed to the development 

 department of the United States Rubber Co., New York City, 

 to gather and collate data on market conditions. This work 

 was formerly handled by Ralph Nystrom, now with the Hearst 

 forces. 



Charles F. Pichon, salesman in the Detroit branch of the 

 United States Rubber Co., has been elected Grand Counselor 

 of the United Commercial Travelers of Indiana. He is the 

 youngest man who has ever gone through the different offices 

 of the Grand Lodge of that state. He has been a traveling 

 salesman for IS years. 



T. W. McNeil, of the Dayton Rubljer Manufacturing Co., Day- 

 ton, Ohio, has been selected as one of the 12 members of the 

 board of governors for the new Community Country Club. 



F. H. D. Kop, manager of the David Birnie Co., rublier, to- 

 bacco and coffee exporters of Java, has been visiting this country 

 for the purpose of interesting rubber manufacturers in his prod- 

 uct. Mr. Kop states that Java's present output of rubber is 

 320,000 tons a year. He also says that rubber formerly exported 

 to Rotterdam and London will hereafter be shipped to America 

 through San Francisco. 



Arthur W. Stedman, manager of Hagemeyer Trading Co.'s 

 crude rubber department, recently suffered a painful and what 

 might have been a serious injury to his leg while playing golf. 

 His many friends in the trade will be glad to know that he is 

 on the road to recovery and attending to business as usual. 



L. A. Duffy, of the Hagemeyer Trading Co., 17 Battery Place, 

 New York City, crude rubber dealer, returned last month from 

 a successful business trip that included Para, Manaos and Ceara. 



Robert Allan, manager of the Para branch of the London & 

 Brazilian Bank and well known in the Amazon rubber trade, 

 arrived in New York City last month. 



George L. Haenn, of Baltimore, Maryland, has been appointed 

 to represent J. Early Wood. Inc., manufacturer and exporter of 

 chemicals, in that vicinity. 



Ralph Croft, crude rubber broker, New York City, has re- 

 moved his offices from 12 Bridge street to 72 Trinity Place. 



Clarence B. Clark, chemist of the Somerset Rubber Reclaim- 

 ing Works, New Brunswick, New Jersey, was in attendance at 

 the convention of the American Society for Testing Materials 

 held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the last week of June 

 at the Hotel Traymore. 



Edward Hutchins, for the past si.x years supervising engineer 

 for the Federal Rubber Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee. Wis- J 



consin, has opened engineering offices in that city at 866 Supe- ' 



rior street. He will specialize in the design and construction of 

 rubber manufacturing and power plants, furnishing complete 

 plans and specifications for the buildings and equipment, includ- 

 ing machinery layouts for the most economical and systematic 

 handling of the raw materials and the finished products. In 

 experience. Mr. Hutchins is amply qualified, having been con- 

 nected with Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co., engineers. New 

 York City, for 13 years in the construction of various types of 

 manufacturing and power plants and; later, construction engi- 

 neer in charge of rebuilding the G. & J. Tire Co.'s plant at 

 Indianapolis, Indiana. 



