October 1, 191S 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



War Service Committee of the Rubber Industry of the U. S. A. 



R 



IIBBER maiuitiKturers, importers and dealers received the 

 following nolification. dated September 14, from tlie War 

 Service Committee: 



Mr. H. T. Dunn, chief of the rubber section of the War Indus- 

 tries Board, directed your War Service Committee to immediately 

 prepare certain vital statistics in order to lay before him and the 

 entire War Industries Board the present state of the rubber in- 

 dustry and its willingness to restrict non-essentials and so war- 

 rant a classification of the industry as a whole in such priorities 

 as will secure necessary (a) labor, (b) fuel, and (c) transpor- 

 tation. 



The Committee as requested went to Washington on September 

 11 and made the presentation. We enclose a printed copy of the 

 statements and suggestions made to the War Industries Board. 



As a result of this conference, your Committee is glad to re- 

 port that the War Industries Board expressed a willingness to 

 place on the preference list, the rubber industry on the follow- 

 ing conditions : 



A. That all manufacturers pledge themselves to agree to 

 the restrictions and to abide by the instructions of the War 

 Industries Board. 



B. That all members of the industry follow the rules and 

 requests of the Conservation Division of the War Industries 

 Board. 



C. That members of the industry execute a pledge and 

 agree to exact one from their customers as to the sale and 

 use of rubber products. 



D. The pamphlet enclosed does not embody the final con- 

 clusions of that conference but with some moditications of 

 tlie suggestions in the pamphlet, the War Industries Board 

 and War Trade Board will immediately promulgate full in- 

 formation as to priorities, allocation of rubber, elimination 

 or restrictions of productions and the form of pledge that 

 will be required. 



The st.itements and suggestions referred to in the above letter, 

 follow : 



INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS PRESENTED TO THE WAR 



INDUSTRIES BOARD BY THE WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 



OF THE RUBBER INDUSTRY OF THE U. S. A. 



The War Service Committee of the Rubber Industry has been 

 informed by FT T. Dunn, chief of the rubber section of the 

 War Industries Board, that it should as soon as possible make 

 suggestions for the elimination of the manufacture of all articles 

 containing rubber or reclaimed rubber which can be curtailed 

 or dispensed with, if only temporarily, without interfering with 

 the necessities of war and war work. 



The Committee was informed that the object in asking for 

 these suggestions was to enable the War Industries Board to 

 place the industry on a basis which would insure priorities 

 for the manufacture of articles which are deemed essential. 



The Committee desires to point out that rubber products are 

 mainly supplements! ,uid not initiative to the industrial and 

 commercial life of the country. 



A curtailment of activities of the country will reflect a corre- 

 sponding reduction in the demand for rubber goods so far as 

 they are used for the purposes involved. 



Rubber products which are complete in themselves and not 

 component parts can be classified so far as being useful or non- 

 useful, and the latter class is relatively so small that a curtail- 

 ment or elimination would not be a serious matter to the con- 

 tinuation of the industry as a whole but in some cases might 

 create a hardship upon individual concerns which specialize in 

 the manufacture of some article or articles which would not 

 come under the useful class. 



For convenience of analysis and control the industry may be 

 divided into the following classifications : 

 f all kinds. 



2. Solid tires. 



3. Medical and surgical rubber goods. 



4. Mechanical rubber goods. 



5. Rubber footwear: 



(a) Boots and shoes. 



(b) Rubber and fiber heels and sole 



6. Insulated wire. 



7. Rubber clothing. 



8. Waterproof cloth. 



9. Hard-rubber goods. 

 10. Gas defense products. 



"aft 



1 lie above classifications cover the entire industry and Ex- 

 iiibit A is appended which shows the relative importance of each 

 branch in the consumption of rubber and reclaimed rubber; 

 also the approximate percentage of cost of labor and power to 

 the total cost of each group. 



The Committee is informed that the Government's method 

 of cooperating with the rubber industry will now take the form 

 of granting priorities for rubber, other materials, labor and fuel 

 only for useful purposes. 



The Committee desires to endorse heartily this method of 



control and to express the belief that it can be of material help 



to the War Industries Board in establishing a proper balance 



between too much or too little restriction. 



Control of Industry. 



It would be impossible to enumerate the various articles pro- 

 duced by the industry and it seems to the Committee that the 

 only practical method of control is to determine first the status 

 of as many branches and individual articles as possible, and for 

 everything else to define the uses for which rubber articles may 

 be produced. 



This would immediately stop production of all goods which 

 are not upon the approved list or are not necessary for the uses 

 which have been approved. 



This ruling would form a drag-net into which would fall 

 tliousands of articles which, would require classification into 

 useful or non-useful, or, in other words, articles which will or 

 will not be allowed to be produced in whole or in part. 



The following uses are suggested for which rubber goods are 

 a necessity and the production of which should be aHowed to the 

 extent that the various activities are allowed to operate : 



1. .MI rubber products necessary for filling government orders. 

 „'. Red Cross requirements. 



3. Athletic goods. 



4. Rubber supplies for all ac 

 finished products or for the ope 



Railway supplies. 

 Ship yard and ship building suppli 

 Supplies for factories. 

 Supplies for agriculture. 

 Supplies for food and feed. 



permitted whether required for 

 of the activity. 



EXAMPLES. 



Coke plants. 

 Cement plants. 



Cotton and woolen mills. 

 Pape 



Tanne 



Manu 



sho 



ufactu 



of leathf 



(a) For automobili 



(b) For motor c 

 ''cl For bicycles. 



ycle 



Supplies for oil wells and refineri( 



Lumber production. 



Automobile manufacturers' supplit 



Supplies for electrical industry. 



(See Exhibit B.) 



A few rubber articles may be used by such a classification of 

 industrial activities which might be dispensed with and a careful 

 analysis must be made. 



The following divisions of the industry would come under the 

 above control of allowing rubber articles to be produced only for 

 approved uses : mechanical rubber goods, hard-rubber goods (see 

 Exhibit C). and miscellaneous not included in any other 



The remaining divisions would be : 

 Gas Okff.nsk. 

 The Go\-erpnient onlv. 



