September 1, 1919] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



719 



The Oregon Tire Co., 61 First street, Portland, Oregon, has 

 been assigned the Portland territory for McGraw tires. 



The Deaton Tire Co. of Seattle has been appointed agent for 

 the distribution of the Oldfield Tires for Kings County and 

 has opened a salesroom at 1211 Pine street. 



The Rubber Service Co., 1023 East Pike street, Seattle, Wash- 

 ington, has been appointed distributer for the Mohawk tire and 

 will carry a large stock of casings and tubes. 



The Jensen-King-Byrd Co., 320 Riverside avenue, Spokane, 

 Washington, has been appointed distributer of Mohawk tires 

 in its territory and will carry a complete stock. 



Pacific Coast representatives in Congress have been especially 

 active in promoting the National Highways movement and many 

 of the two score bills before that body have been sponsored by 

 the statesmen from the Western slope. It is interesting to 

 note in analyzing the proposed road measures that the demand 

 comes from all sections of the United States, showing that the 

 movement for national highways is a genuine growth and that the 

 road question has passed beyond the sectional stage. 



NEW ERA FOR INDUSTRY IN SOUTHERN 

 CALIFORNIA. 



"W/hen Fr.nnk a. Seiberling, president of The Goodyear Tire 

 "^ & Rubber Co., drove the first pick into the ground on 

 the site of the great rubber plant to be erected in Los Angeles, 

 'he gave an impetus to a project which is a result of the free 

 industrial policy of that city. Whether other eastern manu- 

 facturers will follow in his footsteps and take advantage of the 



r Los 



opportunities that Los Angeles offers for growth untrammelled 

 by the interference of labor agitators, remains to be seen. 



"We chose Los Angeles," said Mr. Seiberling, "because we 

 thought that here was not only an adequate supply of labor, 

 but an adequate supply of free labor capable of being trained 

 into the skillful occupations that are required in our industry. 

 That was one of the controlling factors in our decision." 



Summarizing the reasons for building a Goodyear plant on 

 the Pacific Coast, and for selecting Los Angeles as the site, 

 Mr. Seiberling continued : 



"We are handling, from Akron, business on this coast ap- 

 proximating $13,000,000 annually. The raw materials from which 

 if is made are crude rubber and cotton, the two main factors. 

 The rubber comes from the Far East to these western shores, 

 is transported by cars to Akron, manufactured into product. 



and shipped back to the coast. The cotton grown in the Salt 

 river valley is earied in cars to Goodyear, Connecticut, and 

 from there to the plant at Akron where it is manufactured into 

 product and shipped back to the Pacific Coast. In other words, 

 the two main factors loop across the United States, in railroad 

 transportation, making an unnecessary and wasteful cost. That 

 is sufficient justification to bring us to the coast. 



"By a process of elimination we got down finally to Los 

 Angeles. The main factors in a rubber factory are cheap fuel, 

 an abundance of water and cheap power. You must have trans- 

 portation facilities for gathering raw materials and for distribut- 

 ing your product. All these factors should be as nearly ideal 

 as you can get them. 



"When we came to survey the coast we found that Los Angeles 

 had the cheapest power on the Pacific Coast where used in large 

 quantities and that Los Angeles had the only supply of fresh 

 water sufficient for our needs." 



Regarding the advantages of the company's plan in establish- 

 ing a system of homes for working men in connection with the 

 new plant, Mr. Seiberling said : 



"Our workingmen have all the comforts that I have in my 

 home without the frills and the burdens. A workman work- 

 ing in our factory receives wages as high as are paid in the 

 art anywhere. What more can he ask for? 



"What has that done for us? It has established conditions 

 in the factory and given us a body of men that have an interest 

 in our business, that have their future in it; and they are 

 not thinking of Bolshevism, I. W. W.-ism, or the other isms. 



"The pohcy of getting workmen, heads of families, men of 

 character, to buy the homes that we build, will be continued 

 in Los Angeles. We shall assist them in every degree in our 

 power to have them acquire homes that will be sold on long 

 payments and easy terms. As the result we believe that we 

 will obtain the same conditions in Los Angeles as we have 

 in Akron." 



President Seiberling predicts the greatest future development 

 for Imperial valley cotton. 



"This year, California and Arizona will produce 150,000 bales 

 of the best cotton produced. Less than 5,000 bales is made up 

 here on the Pacific Coast. When the Goodyear cotton mill is 

 running its 33,000 spindles in Los Angeles you will then be 

 making but one three-hundredths of the cotton used in this 

 country. You have one-twentieth of the population living and 

 consuming cotton products on the Pacific slope, that is using 

 the cotton of 1,500,000 spindles. So, you see the opportunity 

 you have for developing cotton mills to manufacture the cotton 

 which is grown here, instead of shipping it East and then send- 

 ing it back in manufactured form." 



The plans of the Goodyear plant have so far developed that 

 it has now been decided to produce 7,500 instead of 3.000 tires 

 daily. The cotton mills will have 33,000 spindles instead of 

 22,000. A giant aeronautic plant will ahn lie built as part of 

 the Goodyear establishment. 



The ceremony of the ground breaking brought a large number 

 of Goodyear officials and prominent citizens of Los Angeles 

 to the site at Ascot Park. In the party which assembled, in- 

 cluding Mr. Seiberling, were Paul W. Litchfield, F. L. Landon, 

 C. Slusser, D. J. Koouce, William Hunkin. George Bellis. Henry 

 K. O'Melveny, W. H. Daum, George C. Griffin. W. A. Quine, 

 M. E. Morris, R. G. Kreitler and John Breen. 



The Motor and Accosiiry Alanufacturcis' .\s50ciation will 

 hold a convention September 11 and 12 at the Hotel Lafayette, 

 Buffalo, New York. .Mthough this will be primarily a credit 

 convention, subjects of importance to the entire automotive 

 industry will be discussed. 



