42 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1914. 



The India Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



THE RUBBER TRADE AND THE WAR. 



AT the request of the editor, whose unexpected visit to 

 England on the abandonment of his trip to Java has been 

 a source of plea un to his many friends on this side, I 

 am devoting my space this month to comments on the effects 

 resulting from the European war in which we are engaged. 

 Speeial matters may conveniently be grouped under their 

 respective headings and the first paragraphs will contain brief 

 references to generalities not elsewhere receiving more detailed 

 ii. itice 



It goes without saying that the trade, more especially the ex- 

 port trade, is considerably disarranged, hut in this respect we 

 are by no means in so had a position as is the case with our 

 enemies and allies. The universal military service existent on the 

 continent has meant many factories being largely depleted of 

 their workers, including the technical and clerical staffs. In 

 Great Britain numbers of men and a limited number of officers 

 have been called from rubber works by the mobilization of the 

 territorial forces, hut in no case has the number of men with- 

 drawn from any particular plant led to the stoppage of the 

 works. 



The position of affairs among rubber manufacturers generally 

 is that while some firms are working practically round the clock 

 ■ implete government orders, others, who are not in the list 

 of government contractors, either because they do not make the 

 particular classes of goods required or because of their limited 

 size and status, are feeling the pinch of bad trade very severely. 

 The government orders given out comprise ground sheets to 

 form the tent floor, motor tires for transport wagons and 

 ambulances, bed sheeting, elastic bandages, pure rubber sheet, etc., 

 lor hospital use. as well as larger orders for goods on the 

 admiralty list, some of which are supplied to the government 

 dock yards direct ainl others to the private shipbuilding yards. 

 The goods mentioned above by no means include all which might 

 be enumerated hut they will suffice to show the trend of present 

 activity in our large works. 



As a set-off to this loss of export trade, we have the fact of 

 short time being general in the cotton trade and in engineering 

 establishments not supplying goods required in war. Again some 

 collieries have closed down temporarily and others are on short 

 time, owing to a decreased demand for coal for industrial pur- 

 es, is well as to a shortage of pit props, the arrival of which 

 from Scandinavia has been delayed. The waterproof garment 

 branch seems to be badly hit, houses in the trade working only 

 two or three days a week; though the depression here cannot be 

 attributed entirely to the war as it has been chronic for some 

 time. Even now when certain branches of proofing should be 

 busy from war demands there is great difficulty in getting the 

 particular textile wanted, as owing to bad trade generally many- 

 textile mills shut down for a time some weeks ago, and they are 

 not inchned to re-Start for transitory orders of what they consider 

 inc. msiderable magnitude. 



The rubber heel t'. baser sort has been very decidedly 



affected, as so much of the business was done with the Continent. 

 I am doubtful if there are any rubber goods, except perhaps rub- 

 ber s] ming from the Continent which cannot be supplied 

 at home. In the matter of hollow balls there is a convention 

 regulating the price. It is understood that contracts with Ger- 

 many and Austria are void, though opinion on the point is by no 

 means unanimous. Conventions as to prices, however, are a 

 and will probably continue in force. Anyhow, 



then- is no reason why British makers should seek to raise the 

 price, as rubber is plentiful enough, though one must not over- 

 look possible difficulties in the case of certain chemicals. 



A somewhat important article coming from Germany and 

 Austria is the high temperature sheet packing, first produced by 

 Klinger at Budapest and later made by himself at Berlin under 

 the name of Klingerite. There are now several makers of this 

 class of goods on the Continent with whom Turner Bros., of 

 Rochdale, England, are competing with their Permanite. The 

 foreign firms which have depots in England are, of course, in a 

 bad way, as they cannot get supplies. Moreover the general 

 public feeling against the purchase of German goods is such that 

 resumption on the conclusion of hostilities is hardly likely to he 

 attended with success. To enlarge somewhat on this issue it may 

 he mentioned that active steps are being taken by the Board of 

 Trade in conjunction with traders all over the country to de\ise 

 means whereby the German export of a variety of goods to Great 

 Britain can be more successfully met by home competition 

 Though a great deal has been written in the daily and technical 

 press with regard to various products I have not noticed any 

 reference to rubber goods, such as electric cable and tires. I 

 propose to revert to this topic on a future occasion at greater 

 length and will only remark that in our enthusiasm to reorganize 

 our business relations with the enemy, it should not be over- 

 looked that we send to Germany every year goods to the 

 value of 100 million sterling. 



PERSONALITIES AND THE WAR. 



As already mentioned, the ranks of rubber workers have been 

 depleted by the calling out of the Territorials and by those who 

 have enlisted in the new army. Pew statistics are available, but it 

 is stated that in the case of the Dunlop Rubber Co. the loss of 

 men from this cause amounts to about one thousand. Perhaps 

 sooner or later some account may be compiled of what the leaders 

 of the industry have done on the lines referred to in the following 

 paragraphs : 



Colonel R. K. Birley, C. B., of Charles Macintosh & Co- 

 Limited, retired territorial artillery, has taken over the position 

 of Director of Army Clothing for the East Lancashire Division 

 Territorials. 



Lieutenant-Colonel Fallows, of the Leyland & Birmingham 

 Rubber Co., Limited, is in camp with his battalion of the Lan- 

 cashire Fusiliers Territorials. 



Captain J. J. Shannessy, of the Midland Rubber Co., Limited, 

 Birmingham, is in camp with the Royal Warwickshire Regimen; 

 Territorials. 



Mr. Isidor Frankenburg has contributed £500 to the National 

 Fund for Relieving Distress. 



Mr. J. F. Moseley, of David Moseley & Sons, is on the list of 

 special constables for Manchester. 



Major Birley, R. A., whose name occurred among the Britisli 

 wounded in France, is a son of Col. R. K. Birley. 



RUBBER CHEMICALS AND THE WAR. 

 Many industries have been crippled owing to the stoppage of 

 chemical supplies from Germany and elsewhere. The rubber 

 trade comes in this category though it has not been affected to 

 anything like the extent experienced in other industries, as it 

 draws comparatively little of its requirements from the Continent. 

 Of the more largely used fillers oxide of zinc has been scarce 

 and has risen in price. The bulk of our supplies comes from 

 Liege, a town which has recently made history. Here the oxide 



