386 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April 1, 1919. 



PLAN FOR COLLECTING RUBBER INDUSTRY STATISTICS. 

 M.\ncH 24, 1919. 

 To the linn members of The Rubber Association of America: 

 The statistics on the rubber industry collected by our War 

 Service Committee in 1918 were of value not only to the Govern- 

 ment but also to the individual members of the industry. They 

 presented, for the first lime in the history of the rubber trade, 

 a complete picture of the industry — its size, the amount of rub- 

 ber consumed in total and by classes of articles, the value and 

 qiiantily of output, and stocks of crude rubber on hand and in 

 transit at various periods. 



The unquestioned value of these statistics suggests the desira- 

 bility of our continuing to collect them in 1919 and thereafter, 

 under conditions which would insure proper secrecy for the re- 

 turns from separate manufacturers, and which would provide 

 for the publication of total figures only for the entire industry 

 and the distribution of these totals to manufacturers who co- 

 operated by making returns for their plants. The value to the 

 Government, as well as to the industry, of a continuation of the 

 statistics is indicated by the following quotation from a letter 

 from the Honorable W. C. Redficid, Secretary of Commerce : 

 "I deem it of importance to the country and of value 

 to this department to ha\ e the collection of rubber in- 

 dustry statistics continued. I earnestly hope the work 

 will go on, and we shall lie more than glad to have the 

 privilege of using the statistics when they are. gathered." 

 It is assumed by your directors that if proper means may be 

 provided for insuring the secret custody of the individual re- 

 ports, the main objection to rendering such reports — if any — 

 may be obviated. To this end negotiations have been taken up 

 wilh one of the lartresl trust companies in the country, and it 

 will be possible to arrange for all questionnaires to be sent to 

 them and tabulated by them as to the end-figures for distribu- 

 tion to the trade. To start with, we will not ask for question- 

 naires at more frequent intervals than semi-annually. 



Would you be willing to continue making returns of the sort 

 suggested herein, provided. 



(1) That manufacturers representing approximately 

 90 per cent of the industry (based on volume of busi- 

 ness) agreed to cooperate in furnishing the statistics? 



(2) That publication of the information given confi- 

 dentially should be only of total figures for the entire 

 industry, and this data should be distributed only to 

 nianufacuirers who aided in collecting it, by furnishing 

 the necessary statistics? 



We are enclosing herewith a blank which we hope you will 

 be willing to sign and return to the Secretary in the enclosed 

 stamped envelope. 



The Secretary. 



CALENDERED RUBBER CLOTHING SECTION FORMED. 



The Calendered Rubber Clothing Section of the Rubber Cloth- 

 ing Manufacturers' Division of The .Rubber Association of Amer- 

 ica, Inc.. was formed at a meeting held at the office of the United 

 States Rubber Company, 130 Essex street, Boston, Massachusetts, 

 on March 4, 1919, with the following officers: N. Lincoln 

 Greene, chairman ; George G. Bryant, vice-chairman ; Harry S. 

 Vorhis, secretary. Executive Committee: N. Lincoln Greene, 

 chairman. United States Rubber Co.; George G. Bryant, Chi- 

 cago Rubber Clothing Co. ; S. T. Hodgman, Hodgman Rubber 

 Co. ; William M. Tenney, Clifton Manufacturing Co. 



The membership of the section is as follows : Apsley Rubber 

 Co. ; Archer Rubber Co. ; Boston Woven Hose & Rublier Co. ; 

 Cambridge Rubber Co.; Chicago Rubber Clothing Co.: Clifton 

 Manufacturing Co. ; The B. F. Goodrich Co. ; Hodgman Rulilier 

 Co.: United Slates Rubber Co. 



STANDING COMMITTEES RECENTLY APPOINTED. 



\'oM I N'.\T 1 XG Com m ittee. 



Bertram G. Work, chairman, The B. F. Goodrich Co., New 

 ^■ork City. 



Harvey S. I'ireslone. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Akron. 

 Ohio. 



George B. Hodgman, Hodgman Rubber Co., Tuckahoe, New 

 York. 



Frederic C, Hood, Hood Rubber Co., Watertown, Massa- 

 chusetts. 



FTenry C. Pearson, The Indi.v Rupber World. New York Citv. 



The above are the last U\e past-presidents in the order named, 

 and the Executive Committee expressed the hope that this prece- 

 dent would be followed in succeeding years, as the last five past- 

 presidents w^ould be best qualified to nominate directors of the 

 Association. 



Legisl.xtive Committee. 



Charles Xeave, chairman, general counsel, The Rubber Asso- 

 ciation of America, Inc., New York City. 



F. C. Van Cleef, The B. F. Goodrich Co., New York City. 



Ernest Hopkinson, United States Rubber Co., New York City. 

 Auditing Committee. 



Edward E. Huber, Eberhard I'aber Rubber Co., chairman, 

 Brooklyn, New York. 



W. J. Kelly, Poel & Kelly, New York Cily. 

 Outing Committee. 



Francis R. Henderson, chairman, F. R. Henderson & Co., New 

 York City. 



A. A. Garllnvaitc, Lee Tire & Kuliber Co., New York City. 



L. P. MacMichacl, L. P. MacMichael, New York City. 

 /Vrbitr.^tion Co .mm ittee.' 



Horace DeLisser, Ajax Rubber Co., Inc., New York City. 



Andrew H. Brown, Meyer & Brown, New York City. 



"Two members to serve three years to sxicceod tliose whose terms ex- 

 pired at the last annual meetirig. 



THE MID-SUMMER OUTING. 



The Outing Comiriittee held a meeting late last month and 

 completed arrangements for a mid-summer outing of The Rub- 

 ber Association to be held some time in June. 



TRANSPORTATION IN SINGAPORE. 



The commissioners of the municipality of Singapore have 

 appointed a committee to report on means for improving the 

 city system of transportation, with particular reference to the 

 introduction of a municipal motor-transport service. The pres- 

 ent tramway system is a private enterprise, the franchise under 

 which it operates still having 19 years to run, but the service is 

 already considered unsatisfactory and inadequate. In addition 

 to the tramway route covering about 16 miles, there are operated 

 approximately 9,000 jinrikishas and 468 hackney carriages, in- 

 cluding over 200 motor vehicles for hire, besides 90O private jin- 

 rickshas. The tramways alone carried about 13,000,000 passen- 



RUBBER PRODUCTION IN BRITISH GUIANA DURING 1917. 



The United States Commerce Reports give some interesting 

 figures concerning rubber and balata production in British 

 Guiana during 1917. Twenty new balata licenses were issued, 

 making a total of 629 at the end of the year. The amount of 

 balata produced from licensed tracts amounted to 1,291,241 

 pounds, as against 1,483,449 pounds in 1916. The number of 

 laborers employed was 4,061 and the value of the balata ex- 

 ported amounted to $1,024,176. 



On the other hand, the amount of rubber produced decreased, 

 the amount for 1917 being 14.781 pounds, as against 15,586 

 pounds in 1916. 



It was hoped that the early rapid growth of the Para rubber 

 planted in the colony would continue, but in recent years the 

 trees have been attacked by a leaf disease which has retarded 

 their growth and even proved fatal in some cases. It is believed, 

 however, that this disease will be conquered and that plantation 

 rubber will become an important article of export. 



Pounds. Value. 



1,575.502 $848,541 



15.586 8.289 



Pounds. Value. 



.729.057 $1,024,176 

 14.781 8.349 



