8 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1914. 



garden hose, stoppei eti , that had been aforetime purchased 

 in Germany. Finally we embarked, and except for the bad air 

 down on deck "D." were comfortable. As for dangers, there 

 were nom in spite oi hrouded lights and top speed. 



The talcs of war experiences on the part of other travelers 

 are many, and have been told and retold in the daily press. 



The Campania Crowded with Americans. 



One thing was patent, however, and inascd the judgment of ail 

 f English 



— the i German ] were mighty good to Americans arid the re- 



[ French 

 cipients of courtesies believed that they would win. 



SOME LIGHTS ON THE WAR. 



' 1 ' J II-. editor of The India Rubber World talked with many 

 * in the trade during his recent stay in England. Some of 

 the views are embodied in the following paragraphs: 



The head of an English firm who sold supplies to rubber com- 

 panies on the Continent, said 



"Two months ago 1 had an income of £30,000 a year. Today 



1 am .ait of business. My factories are shut down and I cannot 



pay my clerks. Thousands and thousands of pounds owed me 



i! the Continent are absolutely lost until the war is over, and 



no assurance of abilitj to paj even then. 



"If I were young enough I should enlist to light the Germans, 

 or, rather, the German military idea. I know that at heart my 

 many friends among the German manufacturers are not my 

 country's enemies. This war was not of their seeking. It is a 

 terrible setback for the rubber industry." 



Another said : "1 am running day and night shifts getting out 

 truck and ambulance tires. .Most of the good motor buses 

 and motor trucks in England, as well as many motor cars, have 

 landeered by the government. They took over all the 

 slocks of tires that were in sight, English, French, German and 

 American, hut that was not half enough. So we are striving to 

 up the deficiency." 



Still another said : "My best men have enlisted, but as orders 

 are slack we get along running about half time. Hope the war 

 is a short one; else we shall lose heavily." 



Still another said : "We are busy, but are nevertheless helping 

 our men to enlist. Numbers of us belong to a Trade Associa- 

 tion, and we guarantee the following to men who are eligible 

 for the army or navy : 



"(1) A minimum of four weeks' full wages from the date of 

 leaving; (2) re-engagement on return guaranteed; (3) half-pay 

 during absence from duty for married men from date when full 

 pay ceases; (4) special arrangements with single men who have 

 relatives entirely dependent upon them; (5) after war, all Terri- 

 torials to be given three weeks' holiday, provided that two weeks 

 are spent in camp. The response has been quick and satisfactory, 

 and already several hundreds have expressed their intention of 

 enlisting, and the numbers are rapidly growing." 



A young aviator who was for some time a rubber worker sent 

 home the following from France, as an accurate summing up of 

 the relatire efficiency of French and German types of dirigibles : 



"French airships have U-en doing excellent work, and have so 

 far escaped unscathed, although often under lire. One of them, 

 starting from Maubeuge, llew over Treves and beyond, returning 

 lafelj to its shed. On the other hand, we have bagged several 

 Zeppelins. 



"The reason for this apparent invulnerability of the French 

 airships is simple. Bj reason of the elasticity of our gasbags 

 we can safely maintain a very high altitude, beyond ordinary 

 nil range. This is impossible with the rigid shell of the Zep- 

 pelin, which cannot bear the expansion of gas, more particularly 

 in this hot weather; so the French have a distinct advantage in 

 airships." 



The cancellation of Gi rman patents was thought a good move 

 li> most, but one cable manufacturer said: 



"We own the British rights for an important German patent. 

 Now I wonder if that will be cancelled. And if it is, what can 

 we do about it? We paid thousands of pounds for it. I fancy 

 there will be many such cases." 



Regarding the cargoes of seized ships the Foreign Office pub- 

 lishes in the "Supplementary London Ga ette" as full a list as 

 may be. The Government is also soon to publish a list of those 

 detained in Belgian, French and Japanese ports. Seized ships 

 are brought before the regular prize courts, and those interested 

 in the cargoes are represented by attorneys at these courts. 

 If the goods are not contraband they are speedily released. 



A British manufacturer wrote to the "London Times" this re- 

 garding the great Siemens Cable Works : 



"According to Somerset House, the great and old-established 

 firm of Siemens Brothers (Limited), of Woolwich, has a paid-up 

 capital of £600,000 in 120,000 £5 shares, and of these 120,000 shares 

 no fewer than 70,782 are held by members of the Von Siemens 

 family in Berlin, the address being 'Verwaltungsgebaude Siemens- 

 stadt bei Berlin' (Administration Building, Siemenstown, near 

 Berlin.). That is to say, Messrs. Siemens Brothers (Limited), of 

 Woolwich, are absolutely controlled by the immense Siemens and 

 Halske concern in Berlin. Out of 49.000 odd shares held in this 

 country, about 39,000 belong to two gentlemen whose affiliations 

 are certainly German. The 70,000 odd shares held in Berlin 

 probably represent a steady drain of somewhere about £35,000 a 

 year from this country to Germany from one firm alone, and 

 without a solitary countervailing advantage. 



"That is a sufficiently serious matter, but the interesting point 

 to which I think public attention should be drawn is that it is 

 stated in technical circles in London (with what truth I know 

 not) that the British Government has given large orders for war 

 material to Messrs. Siemens Brothers because the Government 

 cannot help itself. It must have the war material, and the big 

 British firms are working night and day on Government orders 

 and can do no more. In other words, a considerable portion of 

 the profits from British orders for war material to fight Germany 

 will go to Germany to help Germany to fight us." 



In the same issue appeared a list of other German-owned 

 firms, among which were: The Continental Tyre and Rubber 

 Co. (Great Britain), Limited, with a capital of £25,000, £24,000 

 of which is held in Germany ; 



The British Ceresit Waterproofing Co., Limited, capital £5,000, 

 £4,950 held in ( iermanj . 



Calmon Asbestos and Rubber Works, Limited, £30,000. all 

 held in Germany ; 



Armaduct Manufacturing Co., Limited, capital £6.651, £5,252 

 held in Germany. 



Regarding debit and credit accounts between belligerents the 

 managing director of Nicholson's Raincoat Co., Limited, offers 

 the following: 



"According to figures extracted from Whitaker, the imports 

 from Germany to this country for the year 1913 were £70,000.000, 

 and our exports to Germany £59,500.000: therefore we may assume 

 that we are debtors to Germany on balance by about £10,500.000. 



"Further, if we allow an average of two months for settlement 

 of accounts, it would appear that one-sixth of the annual turn- 

 over of £130,000,000 is constantly owing. Therefore there is in 

 suspension at the present time probably £21.000.000 debtor and 

 creditor between Great Britain and Germany alone. By the 

 proposed scheme this sum could be quickly liberated, to the im- 

 mense benefit of commerce and industry in our own country. 



"In the case of my firm, we are creditors to a considerable 

 amount and if we could receive this sum from firms who are 

 debtors, through the medium of a clearing-house, it would enable 



