January 1, 1919.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



207 



Colonel Samuel P. Colt. 



VAST PEACE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AMERICAN 

 RUBBER INDUSTRY. 



IN a recent press interview, Colonel Samuel P. Colt, chair- 

 •^ man of the board of the United States Rubber Company, 

 New York City, outlined at some length the vast opportuni- 

 ties awaiting the American rubber industry on the coming of 

 peace. Extracts 

 from his state- 

 ment follow: 



AMERICAN RUB- 

 KER INDUSTRY 



DEPENDENT ON 

 FOREIGN COUN- 

 TRIES. 



The rubber 

 manufacturing in- 

 dustry in America 

 stands about 

 fourth or fifth in 

 the value of its 

 products. It is 

 dependent wholly 

 upon crude rub- 

 ber produced in 

 foreign countries, 

 largely by foreign 

 capital. The en- 

 tire automobile 

 industry rests 

 upon the rubber 

 industry, as that 

 in turn is built 

 upon the steady flow of crude cultiv.ated rubber from the Far 

 East. There is probably no other industry in the United States 

 so dependent upon foreign countries as the rubber industry. 



The United States has always been the largest manufac- 

 turer of rubber goods. The value of rubber manufactures 

 in the United States for the year 1917 was nine hundred 

 million dollars. This is approximately seven times as much 

 as the value of rubber manufactures in the next largest manu- 

 facturing country and more than twice as much as the rest 

 of the world put together. In ten years the United States 

 has increased its consumption of crude rubber from 24,000 

 tons to 177,000 tons, while Great Britain, the next largest 

 manufacturer, increased from 14,000 to 26,000 tons. While 

 Great Britain was doubling her consumption we multiplied 

 ours by nearly seven and a half. • 



AMERICAN MANUFACTURERS SHOULD PRODUCE CRUDE RUBBER. 



The great bulk of the capital invested in rubber plant:itions 

 is British and amounts to about $400,000,000. Some American 

 manufacturers have made a start in growing rubber for their 

 own uses in the Far East, but American investments in that 

 direction amount to less than three per cent, of the total 

 capital that has been put into the industry. It would seem 

 that one of the lines of future development of the American 

 rubber industry should be in the direction of production of 

 crude rubber by the American manufacturer. 



FUTURE TRADE OUTLOOK PROMISING. 



The outlook in the rubber industry for the reconstruction 

 period, aside from the development that may be necessary 

 in American-owned rubber plantations, ^is most encouraging. 

 Business has been good after all wars and this should be no 

 exception. There is a good deal of money in the country 

 and it is more widely distributed than ever before. Every- 

 thing points to a huge demand, and the rubber manufacturers 

 at least should look forward to a largely increased volume of 

 business. In some lines of rubber goods, notably tires, the 

 factories will be taxed to capacity to supply the home 

 demand. 



The adjustments necessitated by various restrictive meas- 

 ures and the specialization of production for war needs will 

 be accomplished with little difficulty, and such products as 

 are adapted to foreign markets will be pushed there, but in 

 many cases it will be some time before the greatest foreign 

 markets will be in a position to receive and pay for American 

 goods. In the meantime, the far-seeing producer will make 

 his plans for the great development of foreign business that 

 awaits the American manufacturer. 



GOODYEAR TIRE MACHINE PATENT INVALID. 



FIRESTONE WINS IN UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS. 



ly^ILLIONS of dollars annually will be saved by automobile tire 

 ■^"•^ manufacturers by virtue of the decision handed down by 

 the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, at Cincinnati, on De- 

 cember 13, 1918. In 1914, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 

 through its president, F. A. Seiberling, started litigation against 

 the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. for infringement of alleged 

 basic patents protecting the Goodyear tire-finishing machine, the 

 patents being the one granted to Seiberling and Stevens, in 1904, 

 and the one granted to W. C. State, in 1909. 



The infringement suit was tried in the District Court of Cleve- 

 land, Ohio, both the Goodyear tire machine and the Firestone 

 tire machine being set up in the court-room and operated in 

 order to demonstrate the manufacture of the casings to the 

 presiding judge, John M. Killets. Some twelve months later the 

 Court decided the case in favor of the Goodyear company, giv- 

 ing the patents referred to such a comprehensive meaning that 

 all tire manufacturers would have had to pay tribute to the 

 Goodyear company in the shape of royalties if the verdict had 

 been sustained. 



The Firestone company appealed the case, furnishing bonds 

 higher than any we have ever before recorded in patent litiga- 

 tion. After the appeal had been argued in the higher court, 

 early in 1917, but before a decision had been rendered, new evi- 

 dence was introduced relating to a patent granted to an in- 

 ventor named Mathern in Belgium in 1906. In the basement 

 of the Cincinnati Postoffice the Goodyear and Firestone ma- 

 chines were again set up and also a reproduction of the 

 Mathern machine, using framework and many parts loaned by 

 the Hood Rubber Co., of Watertown, Massachusetts, they hav- 

 ing bought this machine from Mathern in 1909. The full bench 

 of judges adjourned court to the basement to witness the work- 

 ing of the machines and then took the case under advisement 

 for a year. 



They have now pronounced the alleged basic patents to be 

 invalid for want of invention, as well as for lack of combination. 

 The Firestone company is freed from all charge of infringe- 

 ment, the decree of the District Court is reversed, and the 

 record is remanded to the lower court with instructions to dis- 

 miss the bill. 



DIVIDENDS. 



The Apsley Rubber Co., Hudson, Massachusetts, has declared 

 its regular semi-annual dividend of three and one-half per cent 

 on preferred stock, payable January 1, 1919, to stock of record 

 December 31, 1918. 



The Archer Cord Tire & Rubber Co., Minneapolis, Minne- 

 sota, has declared a stock dividend of ten per cent, payable 

 January 1, 1919, to stock of record December 20, 1918. 



The Canadian General Electric Co., Limited, Toronto, Ontario, 

 Canada, has declared its regular quarterly dividend of two per 

 cent, payable January 1, 1919, to stock of record December 

 14, 1918. 



The Kelly-Springfield Tire Co., New York City, has declared 

 a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share on its six per cent 

 preferred stock, payable January 2, 1919, to stock of record 

 December 16, 1918. 



