544 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1919. 



GERMANY FEARS AMERICAN TRADE PREJUDICE. 



Germany's prospects uf rtsiimiiig commercial relations with 

 the United Slates are dealt with in a statement which the Ger- 

 man paper, "Der Konfektionar," attributes to Arthur Dunning, 

 general secretary of the American Chamber of Commerce in 

 Berlin, who is quoted as saying that while business relations 

 cannot be resumed as long as the Trading with the Enemy Act 

 remains in force, the time has come to make preparations for 

 futune trade. Me believes the best foundations exist for the re- 

 sumption of business relations, as German warehouses are empty 

 and the credit of the hard-working German business man stands 

 high. American commissions, he points out, are visiting Hol- 

 land, Denmark and Scandinavia to examine into the opportuni- 

 ties for American export, and similar commissions and trade 

 experts will enter Germany immediately after the conclusion 

 of a preliminary peace and the raising of the blockade. Prob- 

 ably two or three years will have to elapse before the anti- 

 German feeling still prevailing among the masses of the Ameri- 

 can people will be transformed into a mutual understanding and 

 cooperation. Meanwhile, German industries will hardly be strong 

 enough to supply foreign markets to any large extent, and as 

 extraordinary difficulties will be thrown in the way of permits to 

 enter America during the next few years, German business men 

 will do well to allow their business to be conducted by the 

 American Chambers of Commerce and other official channels 

 shortly to be organized for this purpose. 



COMMUNITY TO BENEFIT BY WAR FUNDS. 



At the close of its war work, the War Service Union, Jeannette, 

 Pennsylvania, of which Seneca G. Lew^is of the Pennsylvania Rub- 

 ber Co. is president, had $15,000 on hand, while the Chamber of 

 Commerce had $10,000. It was decided to use the money for 

 the erection of a combined municipal and community building, 

 containing an auditorium, reading rooms, gymnasium, swimming 

 pool, etc. This will provide a town club of which every resident 

 of Jeannette is to be considered a member. 



HISTORY OF RUBBER PRICES DURING THE WAR. 



A history of prices during the war, and covering the period 

 from the beginning of 1913 to the end of 1918, is being published 

 by the Price Section of the War Industries Board. It will con- 

 sist of 57 bulletins which are now in press and will be issued 

 piecemeal as rapidly as possible. The first seven are of general 

 character and will be followed by 50 bulletins, each devoted to a 

 single important branch of industry. Bulletin No. 30 will deal 

 with rubber and rubber products. The history has been prepared 

 for the information of business men and may be had on ap- 

 plication. 



AMERICAN OFFICERS IMPROVE SPARE TIME IN FRANCE. 



The following letter from a former employe of The B. F. Good- 

 rich Co., Akron, Ohio, now a lieutenant in the American Expedi- 

 tionary Forces, still in France, which has been received by F. IV. 

 Jones, manager of clothing sales. 



Nantes, France. 

 pvEAR "CHIEF": 



■'-' I was pleased to find your letter of April 14 on my desk 

 when I returned from a week's trip — partly business and pleas- 

 ure — to Paris, Chateau-Thierry, Reims, Argonne, Meuse Sector 

 and Verdun. For the past month I have been very busy here, 

 as we emptied and filled the embarkation area several times. At 

 present the 79th Division is here. 



My trip up along the old front with Captain Bliss, my Wash- 

 ington friend, was a wonder. We explored miles of trenches, 

 dug-outs, No man's Land, forts, etc. There are still a number 

 of unburied German and French dead ; it was a common oc- 

 currence to pick up a boot with a leg or foot left in it. Our 

 own American boys have all been well taken care of and laid 

 to rest in well-kept cemeteries — thanks to our Graves Regiment 

 Service. Verdun (which the French consider the Waterloo of 

 this war) is certainly a great military stronghold with its sur- 



rounding forts. The citadel, or underground fort in Verdun 

 itself is capable of holding 40,000 troops and is a complete 

 military camp — hospital, bakeries, etc. 



.\ly leave to visit points in Italy was granted for May 5, but 

 since the break at the Peace Conference, Italy has been closed 

 as a leave area for the A. E. F. I think the Captain and I 

 will substitute an extended trip through France, visiting Lyons, 

 Marseilles, Nice, Monte Carlo, Mcntone, Nimes, and down into 

 the Pyrenees mountains and Spanish border to Pau, Bayonne 

 and Biarritz. We shall probably be able to get over into Italy 

 by automobile for a day or so, but Spain being neutral, about 

 one fool will be all we can get over the line there. 



I am hoping to sail in July if possible. We have lost our 

 colonel here, so I am not sure just what to expect from the 

 present Commanding Officer. Our old colonel was certainly a 

 regular fellow. My brother sailed on the 19th— S. S. Mercury, 

 and is in the United States by now, I think. He is very for- 

 tunate, as he can be in business by June 1, O. K. I should like 

 to be back by that time, but it is doubtful if I return before 

 August 1. I'll not mind it so much if I succeed in getting to 

 London and into Scotland and Ireland before I return. I am 

 rather disappointed regarding my Italian trip, because I wanted 

 to see Venice and Rome and Mt. Vesuvius. 



Conflicting reports continue to reach us over here regarding 

 business conditions. I am enclosing a couple of clippings from 

 Syracuse papers which seem to look good for central New 

 York as a patriotic commercial center. I am very proud of 

 my home city. 



Before returning home I expect to see France become sensible 

 and open the door so the much-needed American products can 

 play the part they should in the early reconstruction work. The 

 French work in a peculiar way; instead of returning to their 

 ruined homes or business places and blasting out and rebuilding 

 anew, as we would do, they come back, select one room that has 

 met with the least disaster, roof and wall it up with tar paper, 

 etc. They start in part by part to clean up and rebuild over 

 the parts still standing. 



Cordially yours. 



Tip Goes. 



FAIR AT BRUSSELS TO END WAR ABUSES. 



The municipal government of Brussels will hold a commercial 

 fair in September, with the object of putting an end to the abuses 

 brought about by the war, lowering the prices of foodstuffs, and 

 bringing about normal conditions, at the same time attracting 

 world trade in competition with German fairs. This fair will 

 offer the manufacturers and producers of allied and neutral 

 countries an opportunity of meeting and coming into direct 

 contact with the buyers. 



Only a moderate charge will be made for space sufficient, it is 

 hoped, to meet expenses, and preference will probably be given 

 to Belgian exhibitors, in consideration of the condition of the 

 commerce and industry of that country at present. The Belgian 

 people look forward to this fair being even more successful than 

 those held during the war at Lyons, Basel, and Utrecht. 



RUBBER EXPORTS AND IMPORTS FOR MADAGASCAR. 



Madagascar, French East Africa, and its dependencies exported 

 only 70,547 pounds of crude rubber, value 127,468 francs, during 

 1917, as compared with 220,460 pounds, value 348,530 francs, 

 during 1916, During 1917 it also imported from America only 

 947,978 pounds of rubber goods, value 1,451 francs, as compared 

 with 1.082,458 pounds in 1916, value 1.784 francs. The extension 

 of American trade with Madagascar has been greatly hampered 

 because of lack of transportation facilities. 



Don't wait to get that large sum for investment. Put ai.i. 

 the little hits in Thrift Stamps and War Savings Stamps and you 

 will soon have a large sum invested. 



