November 1, 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



97 



of lime, is always referred to as whiting. One of the largest 

 exporters of the latter, by the way, though a British firm, has its 

 works situated on the French coast. It is stated that most of 

 the magnesia used in the United States is imported from the 

 neighborhood of the Balkans. The actual locale is the island 

 of Euboea in Greece, but what is exported from there is the hard 

 magnesite rock, which has to be converted into the light powdery 

 hydrated carbonate of magnesia before it can be used in rubber 

 manufacture. Presumably this is done in American chemical 

 works. In British manufacture, although the Grecian magnesite 

 is used to some extent, the more common raw material is il" 

 dolomite limestone, which occurs in bulk in certain districts and 

 is a double carbonate of lime and magnesia. 



Referring to Britain, there is a brisk demand for rubbei 

 chemicals, while prices generally are now much what they « i 1 1 

 before the war, the shortage of sulphur which was acute for a 

 time having now been rectified. 



PAVEA RUBBER. 

 What news there is about this so-called synthetic rubber is 

 entirely of a negative character, and it certainly looks as if the 

 bubble had burst. It is hinted in more than one quarter that 

 people prominently connected with the project are not altogether 

 surprised at the condition of affairs, but I feel certain that there 

 are others who supported the project financially who are now 

 much upset at the turn of events. \s nothing is now being done 

 at the large building rented at llandforth, it was proposed to 

 utilize it as a barracks for a battalion of the newly formed 

 Manchester City Regiment, but it has been taken over by 

 the War Office as a camp for German military prisoners. 



WILLESDEN CLOTH. 

 This material is now in large demand for officers camp equip- 

 ment, portions of bedding, buckets, bath, etc., being made of it. 

 Xo rubber enters into its composition, which consists of a stout 

 cotton twill rendered waterproof by an organic salt of copper. 

 It has long been used by the Post Office Department for mail 

 bags and is always recognizable by its bright green color. I 

 understand that the patent has now run out so that there is no 

 monopoly in the manufacture. 



DR. CARL W. THIEL. 

 Dr. Carl W. Thiel, who returned from Germany to Messrs. 

 Reddaway's works at Manchester on an agreement for a term of 

 years, went back to Hamburg at the close of the period. 



RUBBER FLOORING. 

 The rubber flooring laid in the Stephen Ward of Guy's Hos- 

 pital, London, by the Rubber Growers' Association, was presented 

 to the hospital on October 6 by Lady French, wife of the Field 

 Marshal at the moment so much in the limelight. Numerous 

 invitations to the ceremony and afternoon tea were issued to 

 rubber men and others by the president and governors of the 

 hospital. The flooring was made and laid by the Lcyland & 

 Birmingham Rubber Co., Ltd. Mr. McEwan, chairman of the 

 Rubber Growers' Association, in the course of a speech, said that 

 about 170 rubber companies had contributed, also stating the as- 

 sociation had presented 1,000 hot water bottles made of plantation 

 rubber to the British Red Cross Society. 



fund every four weeks as long as may be necessary. Since the 

 commencement of the war about one-fifth of the male employes 

 of the company of suitable age have left for military service. 



BRITISH TRADE NEWS NOTES. 



SILVERTOWN RUBBER WORKS EMPLOYES AID THE ALLIES. 



Voluntarj subscriptions by employes of the Silvertown works 

 of the India Rubber, Gutta Percha & Telegraph Works Co., Ltd.. 

 to a war relief fund of their own organization amounted in four 

 weeks to £100. half of which sum was donated to the National 

 or Prince of Wales Fund and the remaining half divided equally 

 between the British Red Cross Society and the Belgian Relief 

 Fund. The intention is to send similar sums, at least, to each 



""THE North British Rubber Co., Ltd., whose plant at Castle 

 *■ Mills, Edinburgh, is said to be the largi ei manufac- 



turing plant in the British Empire, is paying half wages to all 

 married employes engaged in activi and to those of 



the unmarried men similarly engaged who have relatives depen- 

 dent upon them. In addition, positions will be kepi open for these 

 employes until the close of the war. 



\. Schrader's Son, Inc., ol Brooklyn, engaged in the manu- 

 i.i, mi oi tin valves and tire pri iges, has opened a 



Factory branch in London, at 14-16 Dorset place, following 

 ^int arrangements made before war broke out. This branch, 

 in charge oi V\ 1 1 . < ole, is expected to bi in operation during 

 the present month. 



Forty im members of the office and works staff of Messrs. 

 David Bridge & Co., Ltd., rubber machinists, Castleton, Man- 

 chester, have joined the British colors. Weekly allowances are 

 being made to thus,, dependent on them 



Two of the plans for the introduction of rubber tiling in 

 London for use as hospital flooring have been carried into effect. 

 In both cases the plantation rubber used was donated by 

 the Rubber Growers' Association. Stephen Ward at Guy's Hos- 

 pital lias been paved with rubber tiling manufactured by the 

 Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Co., Ltd., while a second gift of 

 flooring has been made to the Children's Hospital, Great Ormond 

 street, London. 



St. Michael's Church, Cornhill, London, has been paved with 

 rubber tiling, which is said to have much improved the acoustic 

 properties of the edifice. 



Complaints are heard from England that the sporting goods 

 trade is in a condition of unprecedented depression as a result of 

 the number of customers drafted for combative purposes. Reduc- 

 tion of staff or suspension of production has been threatening the 

 activity of large concerns. Men of advanced years now form the 

 bulk of those still adhering to golf and other outdoor sports. 



The contractors supplying the Birmingham Corporation have 

 been notified that all German and Austrian goods will in future 

 be strictly excluded from the supplies to be furnished to that 

 body. Rubber articles for surface cars, ebonite and vulcanite for 

 electrical purposes, asbestos and other insulating substances are 

 among the goods thus affected, as well as a large quantity of 

 mechanical fittings. As to rubber erasers and elastic bands, 

 British manufacturers have for some time past taken this business 

 from their Austrian rivals, while in the latter article there has 

 been keen competition from America. This municipal business in 

 the van. ms sections of the rubber industry is of importance and 

 merits the attention of American manufacturers. 



The Won India Rubber Co., Ltd., of Melksham. Wiltshire, is 

 contributing toward the Prince of Wales Relief Fund 2s. for 

 every dozen Avon golf balls sold, a sum which is said to prac- 

 tically absorb the profit on the sale. About 20 per cent, of the 

 employes of this companj joined the colors within a month of 

 the declaration of war. 



!, mi 200 employes of Messrs. Charles Macintosh & Co., 

 Limited. Manchester, have joined the ranks of the British army, 

 relief being given their dependents by the company. Some sixty 

 Wood-Milne hands have offered their services, special allow- 

 ances being made their families, in addition to the contributions 

 of the concern's workmen who are still employed. 



