44 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1918. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN BOSTON. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



THE rubber manufacturers of this city and vicinity have been 

 handicapped for a Ions time by the desertion of many of 

 their workers to other industries. Many employes, male and 

 female, have found that munition factories and other war-work 

 establishments pay larger wages, and as a consequence rubber 

 workers have decreased materially in number. It is anticipated 

 that the new draft will cause an even greater reduction of avail- 

 able rubber workers, unless the men drafted are pronounced 

 essential to the carrying on of the war. Every day more and 

 more women are being taught to do work which hitherto had 

 been considered men's exclusively, and it is but fair to say that 

 in many cases the experiments have proved successful. Just at 

 this writing, however, a very serious additional shortage of help 

 is noted because of the semi-epidemic of "Spanish Influenza" or 

 old-fashioned grip, which is decimating some of the rubber-fac- 

 tory forces. It is hoped, however, that this is but temporary, 

 and that the presence, in most of the factories, of medical ad- 

 visers, who are instructing the help in preventive measures, will 

 soon overcome this difficulty. 



Patriotism runs strong at the plant of The Fisk Rubber Co., 

 at Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. The working forces have not 

 ■only contributed their share in supporting the various organiza- 





Libert 



-:hf..\r.';.'\l 



.\T The Fisk Rubber Co. F.\ctory. 



lion.^, and in buying Liberty Bonds, but are also ably represented 

 :n the rank and file "over there." The knitters and Red Cross 

 workers are busy at the noon hour and after the work-day is 

 over. The war gardens have been well tilled and are now being 

 harvested. The Liberty Chorus is the latest activity planned 

 along the line of the government suggestion of community sing- 

 ing. The organization has a trained leader, and a small portable 

 organ is used, the rehearsals being held at the noon hour. Thurs- 

 days for the factory group, and Fridays for the Administration 

 Building group. Occasionally, when the weather is suitable, both 

 groups unite in an open-air rehearsal. The progress made is 

 most satisfactory, and the result will be that in any community 

 sing which may be held in Springfield or Chicopee, the "Fiskers" 

 will do tlieir full share in adding their volume and harmony. 

 ♦ * * 

 Speaking of war gardens, those of the Boston Rubber Shoe Co. 

 Factory No. 2 at Melrose are yielding well, showing that rubber 

 workers are excellent amateur farmers. There are nearly 200 

 such plots on land contiguous to the big factory. Each of these 

 is 40 feet square. The land is furnished free, and is plowed, 

 harrowed and fertilized by the company, which also furnished 

 the seeds at cost. The main crop this year is potatoes, although 

 a large quantity of other vegetables was planted. In addition to 

 the gardens of the employes, the company also planted several 

 acres of potatoes, and one acre of corn. 



X. Lincoln Greene, of the clothing division of the United States 



Ivubbet Co., is a busy man at all times, but especially so just now, 

 as he is making frequent trips to Washington in his capacity as 

 chairman of the clothing division of the War Service Committee 

 of the Rubber Industry, a committee which includes every manu- 

 facturer of rubber clothing in the country, if, as the said com- 

 mittee claims, ihe term "manufacturer" means a concern which 

 makes its own cements and coats and vulcanizes its own fabrics, 

 making up these into clothing. Those houses which purchase 

 their fabrics already vulcanized, and their cement, according to 

 the same authority, should be termed "makers." The distinction 

 is worth adopting. At the present writing, Mr. Greene is in 

 Washington in conference regarding specifications for the new 

 coats to be made for the Navy. These will be double-faced tex- 

 tile with rubber between ; and the coats made complete before 

 vulcanization, which specification will confine the contracts to 

 "manufacturers," none of the "makers" having facilities for this 

 method of production. 



The Davidson Rubber Co., in the Charlestown district of this 

 city, finds that the elimination of styles has worked advan- 

 tageously in its lines of water bottles and fountain syringes. 

 Whereas three years ago more than 40 numbers were represented 

 in these two items, to-day the company is manufacturing but two 

 numbers of each, in two colors, and the result is that in this 

 limited variety the orders aggregate far more than their produc- 

 tion of the greater number of styles of the former period. Like 

 all other concerns, the scarcity of help is a problem difficult of 

 solution, but the steadily increased volume of output tends to 

 <liow that measures taken to meet the difficulty promise success. 



The A. S. Brock Rubber Co., manufacturer of hard-rubber 

 specialties, of this city, with a factory in Lynn, is busy on gov- 

 ernment work, with enough rubber allotted to fill its contracts 

 with the Government, but finds difficulty in obtaining enough to 

 fill its orders from the regular trade. In this emergency it is 

 using some of its machinery, usually employed on hard rubber, 

 in finishing machine parts of metal. Like all other manufac- 

 turers, the war industries and the army demands have made in- 

 roads in the working force, in addition to which, at present writ- 

 ing, 30 per cent of its employes are away from the factory, be- 

 cause of the prevailing epidemic of influenza. 



♦ ♦ ♦ 



Mention is made elsewhere in this number of the release of 

 Mr. Kidder, manager of the Boston branch of the United States 

 Tire Co., that he may be enabled to serve under Charles A. 

 Schwab in the Emergency Fleet Corporation. Almost simul- 

 taneously . with his departure for this service, but in no wise 

 because of it, his assistant, John C. Toomey, who has been con- 

 nected with this branch for nine years, resigned in order to 

 accept an important position with the L. A. Young Industries, 

 Inc., Detroit, Michigan. 



* * * 



The recent cancellation of Government raincoat contracts be- 

 cause of alleged irregularities of some makers has redounded to 

 the benefit of the United States Rubber Co., large additional 

 orders having been placed, which results in greater activity than 

 ever at the Cambridge and Stoughton factories of that company. 



S. P. Sharpies, the veteran analytical chemist well known in 

 rubber manufacturing circles, who suffered a light shock last 

 spring and has been away recuperating all summer, is again on 

 deck with the same ambition for work which has characterized 

 him for many vears. 



Roy Eraser has been appointed manager of the Boston office 

 of the Pennsylvania Rubber Co., Jeannette, Pennsylvania. He 

 was formerly a member of the Roy C. Fraser Co., of Montreal, 

 Quebec, Canada. 



