October 1, 1914. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



43 



is produced by the Vieille Montague Co. by the combustion of 

 metallic zinc. The zinc ore which at one time was largely pro- 

 duced in Belgium now comes mostly from the company's mines 

 in Sardinia, Sweden. England, etc. The principal producers of 

 in. ore and metal are Germany and America, and a business ar- 

 rangement to control prices by limitation of output has now for 

 some Mars luen in existence between these countries. As zinc is 

 a constituent of brass its export has been forbidden by the 

 belligerent countries, the present stock in England being under 

 i In control of the government. This does not apply to the oxide 

 French zinc oxide manufactun has made great strides in recenl 

 owing i" the anti white lead agitation, and this oxide has 

 found its waj into many rubber works ill competition with the 

 Belgian. ["he production ol one oxide in the chemical treatment 

 of complex zinc-lead ores is now a large industry in America, 

 but somehow or other the product has not found favor with 

 British rubber manufacturers. The present situation may prove 

 i if unlit \ to American interests though, as our present supplies 

 do not come from Germany, 1 am not disposed to be enthusiastic 

 over America's prospects. 



I am in much the same frame of mind with regard to anothei 

 important rubber chemical, sulphur, to wit, which in the crude 

 form comes to us so largely from Italy, or Sicily to be more 

 definite, a country whose neutrality has meant more to us than 

 has that of America. Unfortunately for the rubber trade sulphur 

 is contraband of war and supplies from Sicily have been seriously 

 delayed, leading to a shortage in England and to a considerable 

 rise in price. America is now. of course, a large producer of sul- 

 phur by the Herman Frasch process from underground deposits, 

 and I have heard the topic of American supplies discussed. I 

 believe, however, that tin' contraband of war difficulty arises here 

 also. All the private gunpowder works in England are now 

 taken over to some extent by the government, and it is hardly 

 likely that rubber works can augment their stocks from this 

 source. A fair quantity of sulphur is produced in England as a 

 by-product from alkali ammonium sulphate and gas works and 

 no doubt this will be drawn upon to a greater extent than is cus- 

 tomary in normal times. There are also sulphur deposits in 

 Spain which with some more capital and energy might make 

 more noise in the world than they have done in the past. T may 

 add with regard to sulphur from Sicily that shipments have been 

 vetoed by the Italian government, though the ship owners were 

 cpiite willing to carry parcels already on board. 



With regard to other chemicals the great majority are made 

 in England and the imports from Germany can easily be dispensed 

 with. The requirements in carbonate and oxide of magnesia, for 

 instance, can be easily filled by English makers. It is only close 

 competition from German makers that lias led t" the by no means 

 large import of the foreign made article. Again, as regards red 

 sulphide of antimony the original makers of this chemical for the 

 rubber trade arc still in business and no doubt the two or three 

 British firms wdiich specialize in this can easily fill all require- 

 ments. Barytes has been coming to us from the Continent, but 

 both the carbonate and sulphate arc mined in large quantities in 

 the United Kingdom. The litharge which has been coming from 

 Germany can easily be replaced by the home product. Carbon is 

 contraband of war, and I don't know what the position is with 

 regard to the high quality carbon black which comes from abroad, 

 chiefly from America. The heavier vegetable blacks are obtained 

 from British works. 



Generally speaking the dependence of the rubber trade upon 

 Germany is very insignificant compared with some Other trades, 

 and no stoppage of work need be apprehended. The laboratory 

 will be affected, however, as so many chemicals and a consider- 

 able amount of apparatus came from Germany, and the chemical 

 dealers are filling orders very sparingly from stock. There is 

 plenty of rubber available, but as zinc oxide has been fetching 

 £45 per ton no doubt certain goods will be advanced in price. 



i mil HON OF EXPORTS 



By a proclamation of August 5 the exportation of warlike 

 stores from the United Kingdom is prohibited to all ports in 

 Europe and on the Mediterranean and Black Sea, with the ex- 

 ception of the ports of our allies. The list of substances is a long 

 one, but the rubber trade is only directly concerned with the 

 following, \ bestos, telegraph and telephone cables, articles of 

 camp equipment, vulcanized india rubber sheet, engine and boiler 

 packings and uniform clothing and military equipment. The 

 india rubber sheet no doubt refers to that used by the admiralty, 

 though, of course, military ground sheets would come in this 

 category as well as in that of camp equipment. I have not heard 

 of any case where business has been done contrary to this 

 proclamation, though it is conceivable that errors of judgment 

 might arise through ignorance of what particular goods go to 

 make up camp and military equipment. Under these wide head- 

 ings nn dnubt we have riding mackintoshes, "gum" boots, surgical 

 and druggists' goods, cycle and motor tires, aeroplane fabric, etc., 

 etc. Though Spain is not among our allies, the prohibition is not 

 extended to its ports, so that if desired business in the above 

 goods may he done with that country. 



In addition to the above proclamation another one has been 

 issued having reference to trading with the enemy, any new 

 transactions being prohibited. Some orders from Germany which 

 came in during August were promptly refused by Rritish firms, 

 though some little difficulty has been experienced in finding out 

 whether orders from Holland are really intended for Germany. 

 With regard to reclaimed rubber, in normal times we export a 

 good deal to Germany but take very little from her, while a 

 good deal of reclaimed comes from Russia and France. The 

 general position is that while the export business for our re- 

 claimers has declined or, more accurately, vanished, the home 

 business has increased owing to the failure of foreign competition 

 from the Continent. 



INCREASED USES OF RUBBER. 



\tnnng the principal objects of study by rubber specialists in 

 the earlier part of this year were various schemes for the ex- 

 tended utilization of rubber. Prominent among these was the 

 plan of Messrs. Dessau and Morrison, of London, for the laying 

 of rubber pavement, with a view to eliminating the noise of 

 city traffic Previous to the commencement of the present hostili- 

 ties an English patent was secured for the system in question. 



Under the auspices of the Rubber Growers' Association of 

 London a company was formed with a proposed capital of 

 $150,000 for the purpose of exploiting this patent on the basis of 

 plantation companies participating in the venture. It was 

 proposed for them to furnish annually without charge during 

 five years one-fifth of one per cent, of their output, in addition to 

 a like further quantity at one shilling a pound. An aggregate 

 output of 20.000 tons a year would have been sufficient to supply 

 40 tons free and 40 tons at the price named. 



The financial situation has been changed by recent events, but 

 the project will doubtless be taken up again later. 



EXPECTED ADVANCE IN ENGLISH FACTORY PROPERTY. 



Active measures are being taken by many English manufac- 

 turers to prepare for increased trade owing to the disturbed 

 conditions on the continent. The fact is being recalled that the 

 passing in 1907 of the English Patent and Designs Act was 

 followed by marked activity in factory property, and similar 

 conditions are anticipated as a result of the present complications. 

 Reports from England state that firms in many branches of trade 

 there are seeking factories in which to establish industries, from 

 the operation of which they have in the past been excluded by 

 the low quotations of foreign manufacturers. 



