November 1, 1918.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



99 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN BOSTON. 



By Our Regular Corrcsl'ondcnt. 



BOSTON has been hard hit by the epidemic of influenza and 

 its after-course pneumonia, and there were few manufac- 

 turing establishments in any line which were not restricted in 

 their working forces on account of the contagion. Happily, the 

 disease is greatly modified in virulence, and business is going 

 along more nearly as it was before the trouble appeared. How- 

 ever, rubber factories are running far from normal, with those 

 having government contracts much busier than the others. The 

 restriction of crude rubber supplies and the curtailment of pro- 

 duction are working a hardship on many manufacturers, some 

 of whom cannot fill the orders on their hooks, and must refuse 

 new business offered 

 them. In spite of 

 this the rubber trade 

 of New England has 

 done its full share 

 in subscribing for 

 the Fourth Liberty 

 Loan Bonds, as it 

 did for the three 

 previous loans. 



The Boston Rub- 

 ber Shoe Co. has re- 

 cently opened Aldine 

 House, a delightful 

 home for girls, con- 

 venient to its Mel- 

 rose factory. The 

 house, which is 

 modern in all its 

 equipment, contains 

 40 well- furnished 

 rooms, giving com- 

 fortable home sur- 

 roundings at low 

 cost to the young 



women who are fortunate enough to secure these accommoda- 

 tions. Home cooking, with pure milk and vegetables from the 

 company's own farm, are attractive features of the table. The 

 management is in the hand? of P. F. and J. T. Bean, who have 

 had years of experience in work of this kind. This is an excellent 

 example of the manner in which rubber manufacturers seek to 

 make their workers comfortable, that their vocations may be 

 attractive. 



* + * 



Everlastik, Inc., of this city, is doing an immense business in 

 the manufacture of elastic webbing for the production of gas 

 masks for the LInited States Government. With its present facili- 

 ties it is turning out each week between 750,000 and 800,000 

 yards of inch-wide webbing for this special purpose, besides pro- 

 viding other lines of webbing for its regular trade. The cor- 

 poration has in contemplation the erection of a three-story build- 

 ing in Chelsea, 250 feet long, to accommodate this special work 

 for the Gc 



the building, causing a loss of about $20,000 and resulting in the 

 death of the shipper, George Fred Stocker, Jr., the only person 

 in the building at the time, who was buried in the debris when 

 the building collapsed. State Officer Murray who investigated 

 the matter, believes that gasoline which Stocker was using to 

 wash out cement cans, caught fire and caused the explosion. 



J. B. Waddell has been placed in charge of the Boston branch 

 of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio, succeeding 

 C. C. Goodwyn, resigned. 



The Cambridge Rubber Co 

 transferring a portion of its ma. 



Aldine House. 



There was quite a scare at the Melrose factory of the Boston 

 Rubber Shoe Co. one day last month, when several rooms were 

 filled with smoke, and the fire alarm was sounded. No panic 

 ensued, though there was a general rush for exits. Investigation 

 proved that the fire was in the mixing room, which is fireproof. 

 The blaze was extinguished by chemicals, with only a small loss 

 incurred. 



An explosion of gasoline at the plant of the Ryan Ideal Stain 

 and Blacking Co., Lynn, on September 30, completely demolished 



has recently completed and is 

 hinery to a new brick two-story 

 building adjacent to 

 its main factory on 

 Main street, Cam- 

 bridge, and has also 

 purchased a fine 

 four-story brick 

 building immediately 

 in tlie rear, thus 

 making six substan- 

 tial buildings at its 

 plant. This concern 

 has shown steady 

 progress since 1914. 

 Though started two 

 years before, it was 

 in that year that 

 Warren MacPher- 

 son assumed t h e 

 presidency of the 

 company. The work- 

 ing force now num- 

 bers over 500 per- 

 sons. George Rock- 

 well, the general 

 manager, has just 

 gone to the Artil- 

 lery School at Camp Zachary Taylor, and Mr. MacPherson will 

 assume the duties of management during his absence. The com- 

 pany is busy on coated fabrics and slickers for the Government, 

 and is manufacturing a line of heels, soles and other molded 

 goods, under the supervision of Mr. Garber, formerly of the 

 Plymouth Rubber Co., and more recently with the heel and sole 

 department of the Hood Rubber Co. 



The Boston Belting Co. has discontinued its Boston office at 

 100 Summer street, and located its business office at the factory 

 on Linden Park street, Roxbury, thereby putting the manage- 

 ment in closer touch with the work, and in the end it is expected 

 to be of advantage to the customers of the company. W. E. 

 Hardy, who was general sales manager until the acquisition of 

 the majority of the stock some months ago by Willet, Sears & 

 Co., has returned to the concern and has been appointed general 

 manager. Business is being carried on as usual, with a large 

 amount of work on hand, the only drawback being the difficulty 

 in holding a complement of workers owing to the draft and the 

 recent epidemic of influenza. 



* * * 



The fiscal year just completed in September has been the 

 largest in the history of the Boston Woven Hose and Rubber Co., 

 East Cambridge, the sales totaling well over $10,000,000 and the 

 plant, now entirely composed of modern reinforced concrete 

 buildings, includes a total of more than 20 acres of floor space. 

 It is recognized as one of the largest and best-equipped plants 

 devoted exclusively to the manufacture of mechanical rubber 

 goods. 



