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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September 1, 1917. 



The result is attributable to the movement of the wheel, 

 the deflectingf angles at which the shots were fired, and 

 the resiliency and flexibility of cord tire construction. 

 Henceforth, the speed maniac will cease to fear the town 

 constable who commands liini to stop or have his tires 

 decorated like a Swiss cheese. 



THE CALL FOR TRAINED RUBBER CHEMISTS. 



In rubber, as in every other manufacturing business, 

 ^ the call is now for the man who knows. Chemistry 

 is the common foundation of all great commercial in- 

 dustries. The time is past when industrial chemists 

 were regarded as mere drug clerks ; their achieve- 

 ments in applied science have won for them a full ap- 

 preciation of their value to the community. Already 

 they hold high government positions, become officers 

 in the army and navy, and directors of great manu- 

 facturing companies. Everywhere they have demon- 

 strated the tremendous earning power of chemical re- 

 search and scientific control which increase produc- 

 tion, utilize waste, devise improved methods and in- 

 vent new products. 



Twenty years ago a chemist with difficulty obtained 

 employment in a rubber mill, and only within a verv few 

 years have rubber chemists been accorded the recog- 

 nition they deserve. But the progress the}' have made 

 during the past year in accelerators alone demon- 

 strates the value of specialization and makes it cer- 

 tain that rubber manufacturers will lean upon them 

 heavily in future. There is still much to be learned 

 about this subject, about vulcanization, coagulants 

 for rubber latex, accelerated aging tests, rubber com- 

 pounds for special purposes, and many other import- 

 ant matters which rubber chemists must be depended 

 upon to discover. Indeed, every rubber manufacturer 

 now has his chemist, and several of the larger firms 

 maintain research laboratories manned b}- a large 

 corps of trained experts. 



It is an encouraging sign of the times that men are be- 

 ing specially educated for such work in several lines. 

 As has long been the case in Germany, the technical 

 schools of America are at last awakening to our needs 

 in applied science and beginning to cooperate with 

 leading industries with an enthusiasm that promises 

 splendid future results. At the Massachusetts Insti- 

 tute of Technology a new plan for cooperative educa- 

 tion and research which is far reaching in scope has 

 been put into operation. A five-year course in chem- 

 ical engineering leading to an advanced degree has 

 been inaugurated in connection with a School of 

 Chemical Engineering Practice. At the plants of five 

 large manufacturing companies, representing widely 

 different fields of chemical engineering activity, the 

 institute maintains a well-equipped station for instruc- 

 tion and research. Thus each company provides its 

 plant as a working chemical engineering laboratory 



for instructional purposes and the institute recipro- 

 cates with a research organization devoted exclusively 

 to the specific needs of the company. In this manner a 

 real cooperation for a common good is attained ; the 

 factory experience is invaluable to students, while the 

 research facilities of the institute greatly benefit the 

 company in solving its manifold technical problems. 

 Such a combination of fundamental science with its 

 immediate application cannot fail to produce the sort 

 of men that rubber and other industries will hence- 

 forth find themselves much in need of. It is to be 

 hoped that this course will soon emljrace the rubber 

 industry. 



THE RUBBER SECTION MEETING AT BOSTON. 



RUP)BER chemists are busy as never before. They 

 have many problems of common interest to solve 

 quickly and well, and appreciate the need of discussion 

 and comparison of ideas. The program for the annual 

 meeting of the Rubber Section of the American Chemical 

 Society at Boston early in September has been arranged 

 with these thoughts in mind, and all indications point to 

 an exceptionally large gathering of leading chemists 

 from all sections of the country seeking the benefit of 

 common council for their country and their companies. 



THE GREAT PATRIOTIC BUSINESS CONVENTION. 



THE great business convention to be held at Atlan- 

 tic City, September 17-21, under the auspices of 

 the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, prom- 

 ises to be the most notable gathering of commercial 

 leaders that this country has ever seen. 



How business, big and little, can come to the help of 

 the country and of the world is what the convention 

 will try to find out. It is a fine, practical conception 

 and will result in great good. 



WHAT FIRE ELIMINATION MIGHT ACCOMPLISH. 



BECAUSE of the importance and variety of rubber 

 goods among war munitions, fire precautions in rub- 

 ber mills, as in other essential factories, will receive more 

 than customary attention. What fire elimination might 

 accomplish is cjuickly shown by government statistics. 

 During the past ten calendar years fire losses in the 

 United States have aggregated approximately $2,000,- 

 000,000, the amount of the first Liberty Loan. The book- 

 let, "Safeguarding Industry," with its directions for the 

 prevention of fire, which has been issued by the National 

 Board of Fire Underwriters with the indorsement of 

 President Wilson, therefore deserves the thoughtful pe- 

 rusal of every manufacturer in rubber and allied lines. It 

 emphasizes and illustrates the words of the President to 

 the effect that "preventable fire is more than a private 

 misfortune ; it is a public dereliction." 



