August 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



675 



Limited, and the Dunlop Rubber Co., Limited, itself. He also 

 declared the rumor of the absorption of the shares of the 

 Parent Tyre Co., Limited, or any amalgamation of that com- 

 pany with other British or American firms was unfounded. 

 Negotiations had been in progress, but had been terminated 

 and withdrawn. 



SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY. 



This society has issued the first of its annual report on the 

 progress of applied chemistry. Dr. Henry P. Stevens being the 

 compiler of the section relating to india rubber. The reports 

 form a useful and handy summary of recent progress in vari- 

 ous trades and manufactures and are largely concerned with the 

 work of the research chemist. The india rubber manufacturer, 

 we all know, is not particularly communicative, so it is not sur- 

 prising that the pages compiled by Dr. Stevens deal more with 

 what may be described as pure chemistry than with actual 

 works practice, abstracts of most of them having already come 

 before those interested by way of the trade journals. 



The society holds its annual meeting, now known as a 

 chemical congress, at Birmingham this summer, and it is inter- 

 esting to note that two papers by rubber works chemists are 

 listed. One is on "The Chemistry of Vulcanization," by Dr. 

 D. F. Twiss, of the Dunlop Rubber Co., Limited, and the other 

 by B. D. Porritt, of the North British Rubber Co., Limited, on 

 "The Scientific Needs of the Rubber Industry." 



Among the works to be visited by parties of members is the 

 Dunlop rubber factory, and it is requested that no one con- 

 nected with the rubber industry will apply for a ticket. It is 

 also stated that only members who are British born will be 

 admitted at the present time to the majority of the works to 

 which visits have been arranged. 



1913, would throw off proportionately more and comparison of 

 pre-war and post-war gains would show an excess profit which 

 in fact did not exist. 



THE INEaUITY OF THE EXCESS PROFITS DUTTT. 



Now raised from 60 to 80 per cent, the British excess profits 

 duty in its relation to rubber producing companies is the cause 

 of constant discussion and correspondence, leading, it is asserted, 

 to glaring instances of inequity and absurdity in the manner of 

 its application. In a letter recently addressed to all members 

 of the House of Commons, suggesting an amendment to the Fi- 

 nance Bill before Parliament, in order to mitigate the handicap 

 suffered by the younger companies, Messrs. Gow, Wilson & 

 Stanton, London, showed the injustice of the so-called Vallam- 

 brosa judgment, in pursuance of which all expenditure of a 

 recurring nature on maintenance during the immature stage of 

 a rubber plantation, is deducted from the profits in order to 

 compute the income for income tax, irrespective of whether the 

 source of the funds for this expenditure is capital or not. This 

 judgment, it was explained, affects illogically the progressive old 

 producer and the young producer. For instance : 



The old progressive producer planted up to 1906, 750 acres; 

 in 1908-09, 700 acres; in 1910-11, 700 acres, making a total of 2,- 

 150 acres. The high profits derived from the old areas during 

 1911, 1912 and 1913 would be reduced to a fictitiously low level 

 by subtraction of the cost of maintaining the still immature 

 areas. But the profits from the 1908-9 and 1910 plantings com- 

 ing into bearing after the war, would not be similarly reduced. 

 Consequently the taxable incomes would work out as follows : 



Expenditure 



on immature Statutory 



Year. .\ctual profit. area. income. 



Pre-war 1912 £30,000 £10,000 £20,000 



Pre-war 1913 32.000 7.000 25,000 



Post-war 1914 37.000 2,000 35,000 



Post-war 1915 55.000 nil 55,000 



On the other hand, the young companies formed in the years 

 1909 and 1910 with very small areas, subsequently received funds 

 for the purpose of opening up large areas during 1911, 1912, 1913 

 and 1914. The small early plantings would naturally yield but 

 little profit, whereas the later areas, coming into bearing after 



CEYLON SHIPMENTS CURTAILED. 



The British Shipping Ministry has ordered that Ceylon place 

 rubber last in her exports to Great Britain, which means shut- 

 ting it out altogether. This does not affect shipments to America 

 and Australia. Strictly limited freights prevent large quantities 

 from going to the latter country. It is, however, hoped that 

 America will increase her imports, for while up to May 7 Eng- 

 land obtained over 12,000,000 pounds of rubber against less than 

 7.000,000 last year, the United States bought under 6,500,000 

 pounds against 10.000,000 to date in 1916. 



Meanwhile, Great Britain has given preference to the Fed- 

 erated Malay States, which have only rubber and tin, with coco- 

 nuts a bad third, whereas Ceylon has several strings to its bow, 

 notably tea and copra. 



LABOR TROUBLES IN RUSSIA 



IV MANUFACTURERS of rubber goods in Russia are having 



IVl 



their full share of difficulties incident to the present social 



and political upheaval, according to the correspondent of the 

 "London Daily Telegraph," who is quoted by "The Indian Rub- 

 ber Journal." 



It seems that one morning a delegation of SO to 60 men, rep- 

 resenting the 20,000 hands at the Petrograd works of the Treu- 

 golnik Rubber Co., went to the directors asking for a raise of 

 15 copecks an hour in wages since the beginning of the war and 

 also settlement of a claim rejected by the courts several years 

 ago. The total was 11.000,000 rubles, and they had all brought 

 linen bags expecting immediate payment. 



The directors, who had always prided themselves on the 

 cordiality of their relations with their men, argued the case 

 patiently but unavailingly, pointing out that the usual war bonus 

 had been paid, that privileges not enjoyed in other factories had 

 been extended, and explaining the impossibility of meeting such 

 demands. Reference to the Central Board of Conciliation was 

 suggested, but the men only threatened to throw the directors 

 into a nearby malodorous canal. It was then decided to request 

 the Minister of Industry and Commerce to take over the man- 

 agement of the company, and the Minister of Justice and the 

 Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates were notified to 

 that effect. 



The men thereupon raised their demands to 12,000,000 rubles, 

 placed the five directors present under arrest and took them to 

 the Ministry of Justice where they were detained until evening. 

 Meanwhile, an influential member of the Council of Delegates, 

 Gvosdeff, with much difficulty, induced the men to place their 

 claims before the Central Board of Conciliation. 



FOREIGN TRADE REPORTS. 



AUSTRALIA, 



IMPORTS from the United States show a marked increase. 

 For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, the value of manu- 

 factures of rubber was $2,380,993. For the first quarters of 1916 

 and 1917 the values were $61,245 and $60,710, respectively. 



During the fiscal years 1915 and 1916, the LTnited States ex- 

 ported to New South Wales: 



1915. 1916. 



Tires $214,189 $1,618,703 



Treads, etc 6.940 7,946 



Rubber boots and shoes 107.151 49,662 



<lum and wading boots 10.195 19,892 



Totals $338,475 $1,696,203 



The large increase in the sale of American cars and tires re- 

 sulted from a personally conducted campaign, with Australian 



