THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January 1, 1919. 



Interesting Letters From Our Readers. 



AN EXCEEDINGLY GRATIFYING LETTER. 



rHE Rubber Association of Avicrica is ill receipt of a letter 

 from the Rubber Trade Association of London, regarding 

 an article which appeared in "Truth" of London, and -jjliich 

 caused much indignation on this side of the water. That the 

 British rubber trade were equally indignant was also at once 

 made manifest in letters and telegrams. Now that a definite 

 protest comes from the Associated Rubber Manufacturers in 

 Great Britain the incident is closed, and good feeling is ivhoUy 

 restored. The letter follows: 



To THE Rubber Association of America, Inc. : 



DE.^R SIRS — I beg to acknowledge with many thanks your 

 various communications to the rubber trade. 



In particular we are obliged for the reprint of the leading ar- 

 ticle from The India Rubber World in the current month's issue. 

 That article had already e-xcited considerable interest in the trade 

 here, and I beg to assure you that we are in hearty sympathy 

 with it. The whole matter was brought up at a general meeting 

 of our Association held here to-day, when it was unanimously 

 resolved that I should communicate the trade's opinion to you. 



Perhaps I may mention that immediately these very objection- 

 able articles appeared in "Truth" one of our committee communi- 

 cated with the Editor, contradicting the statements and the whole 

 basis of his offensive insinuations. No one here has anything 

 but severe condemnation for the baseless charges brought by the 

 financial journals against .American manufacturers. We, at all 

 events, thoroughly appreciate the high character and fair dealings 

 of these gentlemen, and we can only e.xpress our great regret that 

 papers here should lend themslves to such groundless and ob- 

 jectionable matter. 



If you can conveniently do so, we should be greatly indebtel 

 to you if you would convey the sense of this to your members, 

 as we consider it of great importance that they should realize 

 clearly how strongly we feel on the subject. This is not a time 

 when any possible misconception should be allowed to arise be- 

 tween us. Yours faithfully, 



For The Rubber Trade .Association of London. 



J. D. Johnston, Chairman. 



London, England, October 30, 1918. 



To the Editor of The India Rubber World: 



DEAR SIR— In the department headed "The Rubber Trade in 

 Great Britain," in your issue of October 1, 1918, we notice a 

 lew remarks with regard to rubber substitutes, which are, in our 

 opinion, somewhat incorrect, and are liable to cause your readers 

 to receive a wrong impression. 



As you are aware, we have been manufacturing india rubber 

 substitutes, both white and dark, for many years past, and since 

 the outbreak of hostilities have been supplying large quantities 

 of the finest grades for use in connection with government con- 

 tracts, and owing to the action of the Ministry of Food, Oils and 

 Fats Branch in restricting the use of vegetable oils for certain 

 specific purposes it was impossible for some months for any sub- 

 stitutes to be manufactured, and in this respect only, your cor- 

 respondent is correct. 



Owing to the demand for the india rubber substitutes, repre- 

 sentations were made to the Ministry of Food by ourselves and 

 several firms manufacturing these materials, and as a consequence 

 an association was formed called "The India Rubber Substitute 

 Manufacturers' Association," in order that the trade could be 

 rationed as far as supplies of vegetable oils were concerned, and 

 at a meeting between representatives of the association and the 



Induslrics Sub-Committee of the War Priorities Committee this 

 committee decided tliat an allocation of oils sufficient for all or- 

 ders, accompanied by Priority Certificates should be made, and 

 further, that an allocation up to 60 per cent, of the amount used 

 in the year 1917 should be made for civil work. The action of 

 this committee is therefore sufficient evidence to prove that the 

 material is required for work of national importance. 



Your correspondent further states that the amount of mineral 

 matter added to the substitutes shows a tendency to increase. As 

 far as we are concerned this is not the case. We have been man- 

 ufacturing several grades of both white and dark qualities, and 

 the finest of these contain very little mineral matter, but, of 

 course, it is possible to obtain cheaper grades containing fairly 

 large amounts of mineral matter. 



In our opinion, india rubber substitutes should be considered 

 more as compounding ingredients than as adulterants, because, 

 as is well known, india rubber substitutes are incapable of being 

 used by themselves, and further, in many cases the use of india 

 rubber substitutes is essential to obtain certain physical results. 



In conclusion we would like to add that before the war we 

 shipped very large quantities of india rubber substitutes, particu- 

 larly in white grades, to your country, which in itself is suf- 

 ficient to show that the india rubber trade in the United States 

 made use of this material to a large extent. 

 Yours faithfully, 



Typke & King, Limited. 



W. W. King, Director. 



RUBBER-PRODUCING PL^NTS IN SICILY. 



To THE Editor of the India Rubber World; 

 FA EAR SIR — For several years I have been studying, from a 

 '-•^ scientific and industrial standpoint, several rubber plants 

 and have found that some of them, which are indigenous to Sicily 

 and Libya, contain a good quantity of rubber for industrial use. 

 These plants are rather abundant in a w'ild state and can easily 

 be cultivated. 



But to make use of these plants, and control their possibilities, 

 I need adequate financial means, and would like to get in touch 

 with people who would be willing to associate themselves with 

 me in this undertaking. I am ready to furnish all necessary ex- 

 planations. 



I ask you therefore to communicate my wish to your readers 

 and thank you in advance. 



Giovanni Ettore Mattel 



Via Maestri d'.Acqua al Massimo 5, Palermo, Sicily. 



TIRE TALC AND GRAPHITE FOR INNER TUBES. 



Tire talc makes the best lubricator between the inner tube 

 and the casing. Caution should be exercised in its use, how- 

 ever, because if too much is used a quantity will collect in one 

 place, generating heat and forming a weak spot. The B, F. 

 Goodrich Co., Akron, Ohio, says that the talc should be dis- 

 tributed evenly over the surface; sifting on the tube when 

 revolving is a simple and efficient method. 



Graphite is an excellent lubricator for tires subjected to 

 extra heavy duty and excessive speeds. Racing drivers use 

 graphite, but only after sifting on to the revolving tube 

 through a sieve made of cheesecloth. This method is nec- 

 essary, otherwise several flakes of graphite might accumulate 

 in one point thereby causing deterioration — the oil in graphite 

 being a foe to rubber. 



For the average motorist who does not run his car con- 

 tinuously, day in and day out, the judicious use of tire talc is 

 recommended. 



