January 1, 1919.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



209 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN AKRON. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 

 'T'HE convention of the Ohio Automobile Trades Association 

 *■ opened in Akron on December 5, 1918. About one thou- 

 sand delegates were in attendance. 



jMayor I. S. Myers opened the session and A. 0. Wood, 

 president of the Summit County Dealers' Association, also wel- 

 comed the visitors. Several addresses and papers by rubber 

 men vi'ere features of the program. 



W. O. Rutherford, general sales manager of The B. F. Good- 

 rich Co., spoke on "Organization." He declared the war was 

 shortened by the organization of industry and said the War 

 Industries Board was the most powerful commission ever 

 created. He advocated looking beyond the boundaries of this 

 country in the organization of commerce, and expressed the 

 opinion that the countrj- will soon be a power in world trade. 

 He discussed the importance of the motor truck as a means of 

 transportation, and declared the development of a good road 

 system is as important a factor in reconstruction as the railroad 

 was to former eras. 



A paper written by H. S. Firestone, president of the Firestone 

 Tire & Rubber Co., was read by C. M. Hamel, his secretary, 

 Mr. Firestone being unable to attend. Rubber, Mr. Firestone 

 maintained, is the mc^t 

 important commodity m 

 the world. In 1917, ht 

 said, $189,000,000 worth . i 

 rubber products wei 

 manufactured; the figure 

 this year will amount to 

 $800,000,000. He declared 

 that the rubber mdustr\ 

 is bound to grow. Aside 

 from the growing demand 

 in this country, he said, 

 Germany must buy rubber. 

 A section of a tire from a 

 captured German airplane 

 was e.xhibited, showing it 

 to be made from rubber 

 scrap and rattan. 



F. A. Seiberling, president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber 

 Co., who was to have spoken on the subject "After the War — 

 What?" was unable to reach the city in time. In his place, 

 Harry Quine, advertising manager of the Goodyear company, 

 spoke. He read a telegram from Mr. Seiberling, declaring that 

 Akron is ready for prosperity and that labor and materials alone 

 are needed. 



Mr. Quine advocated a Highway Department in the Presi- 

 dent's Cabinet. He said the road system of the state will be 

 a powerful factor in future transportation because of the grow- 

 ing popularity of the motor truck as a freight and e.xpress- 

 hauling medium. 



Resolutions were passed advocating the repeal of the Sherman 

 anti-trust law; to indorse the standardization of tires as an 

 economy measure; to indorse all other economy measures advo- 

 cated during the war by the Council of National Defehse; to 

 reinstate in their former positions all returning soldiers ; to 

 appeal through the state organization for the elimination or 

 correction of all unscrupulous dealers, and to urge the creation 

 of a highway board whose function shall be to boost good roads. 



Confidence in the outlook for a prosperous period of recon- 

 struction, and advocacy of more complete organization of the 

 factors of the automobile trade, seemed to be the key-notes 

 of the convention. 



The delegates were taken in trucks to the various rubber fac- 

 tories of Akron and shown through the plants. 



The General Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, held its annual sales 

 convention December 4-5, 1918, at which approximately 150 

 salesmen and distributers from all over the country were present. 

 Intensive sales plans for the coming year were discussed and a 

 comprehensive national advertising campaign laid out. 



"The New Opportunity" was the subject of an address by 

 W. C: D'Arcy, president of the Associated Advertising Clubs 

 of the World. 



The entertainment included special lunches served at the com- 

 pany's plant, a lake dinner at Young's Hotel, theatre parties 

 and the annual banquet at the Akron City Club. 



The company is building a new three-story structure to house 

 its olifices, a new power-house, and other additions to its plant. 



C. J. Hazen has been placed in charge of advertising and 

 publicity for The General Tire & Rubber Co. 



The B. F. Goodrich Co., Akron, has recommended to its 

 employes a home-purchase plan similar to its group plan of life 

 insurance. Suggestions are being received by The B. F. 

 Goodrich Co. for a memorial to be erected in memory of 

 the 31 Goodrich employes who have be^n killed or died 

 in service. 

 James W. O'Meara, of the News Bureau of The B. F. 

 Goodrich Rubber Co., 

 Akron, has been mustered 

 out of service and re- 

 turned from Camp Tay- 

 lor, where he entered the 

 last Officers' Training 

 School. 



The Miller Rubber Co., 

 Akron, has converted 

 $3,000,000 worth of its au- 

 thorized first preferred 

 stock into 8 per cent 

 second preferred stock, of 

 which $2,000,000 has been 

 underwritten. The com- 

 pany has completed all of 

 its building operations. 



QUET OF The General Tire & Rubber Co.'s Salesmen. 



The Mason Tire & Rubber Co., Kent, at its annual meeting 

 on November 25, 1918, reelected all of its directors, as follows: 

 O. M. Mason, D. N. Mason, D. M. Mason, M. B. Mason, R. W. 

 MacKinnon, J. H. Diehl, and W. A. Cluff. 



The report of the company for the fiscal year ended October 

 31, 1918, shows gross sales of $2,324,144.19 in 1918 against 

 $1,200,000 in 1917; net profit of $203,406.47 in 1918 against 

 $104,457 in 1917; and declared dividends of $132,861.16 in 1918 

 (including 6 per cent payable on common stock during 1919) 

 against $48,486 in 1917. 



John H. Diehl, general sales manager and one of the directors 

 of The Mason Tire & Rubber Co., Kent, has been elected vice- 

 president, in charge of sales. 



The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. held its annual meetings 

 of stockholders and directors, including several thousand em- 

 ployes, at the Firestone Club House, Akron, on December 16, 

 1918. H. S. Firestone, president of the company, presided, and 

 stated that the sales for the year had amounted to $75,801,506.79 

 against $61,587,219.29 during the preceding year, an increase of 

 $14,214,287.50, or 23.7 per cent. The profits for the year, after 

 allowing for depreciation, losses, taxes, etc., were $8,320,442.26, 

 which included $2,610,000 paid in dividends. 



During the year the company's plant known as No. 2 was 

 completed and used exclusively for government work, but this 

 work has now been practically completed. 



