244 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1, 1915. 



The Rubber Industry in France. 



IT is to a Frenchman that the civilized world owes its earliest 

 knowledge of india rubber and the peculiar properties to 

 which its value in the arts and industries is due. In 1735 

 Charles Marie de la Condamine, a French military officer, vis- 

 ited South America for the purpose oi making a I ob 

 servations Having concluded his work in Peru, he determined 

 turn to the east coast by way of the \mazon River. This 

 he did, traveling 

 overland to the 

 Mi luntains 

 and following the 

 course of the 

 various affluents 

 of the Mai. hi. n 

 and A m a z o n 

 across the then 

 unexplored conti- 

 nent, lie re- 

 turned to France 

 in 1743. and in a 

 paper that forms 

 part of the his- 

 tory of the Royal 

 Society of France 

 for 1745 gives 

 an interesting ac- 

 count of his tra- 

 vels. He refers 

 particularly to 'S 

 "cahuchu." the 

 modern rubber, 

 and describes the 

 bottles, syringes, etc., 

 substance. 



In the history of the Academy for 1751, there is published 

 another paper by M. de la Condamine. devoted entirely to rub- 

 ber, in which he gives further particulars in regard to "caout- 

 chouc" and describes the travels and researches that led to the 

 discover} of the trees from which the South American natives 

 extract the gum, in the French colony of Guiana. Illustrations 

 of the tree, its foliage and fruit and of the method of tapping 

 it, accompany this paper. 



While thus, from the scientific standpoint, a leading place in 

 the history of the rubber industry belongs to France, the name 

 "caoutchouc" being in itself a reminder of the fact, the growth 

 of the rubber manufacturing industry in that country has been 

 slow compared with its progress in other lands. This may be 

 in part ascribed to the tendency of the French manufacturers 

 to specialize in certain lines, thereby neglecting or losing sight 

 of opportunities offered in other fields. Small articles, such as 

 toys, tobacco pouches, article- of female apparel, elastics, etc., 

 have largely occupied the attention of the French manufac- 

 turers, whose pre-eminence in their production i- reflected in the 

 character of their exports. For the more serious lines of me- 

 chanical rubber goods, the army and navy and the great rail- 

 road corporations have been the largest customers, private buy- 

 ers, such as manufacturers and others, preferring the products 

 of foreign countries, notably of Germany and England. The 

 production of hard rubber articles, on the other hand, has been 

 brought to a high degree of perfection in France. Paris carry- 

 ing on tin- business extensively, especially in connection with 

 scientific and surgical instruments, mouthpieces for pipes, toilet 

 . e 1 1 



The importation of crude rubber affords a practical criterion 



A Typical French Fai roRi 

 the natives made from this remarkable 



a- t.i the growth of the French rubber manufacturing industry. 

 In 1836, I ranee imported 7_'.00(l pounds "f nude rubber, in 1862 



the quantity entered bad increased to 1,800,000 pounds, in 1870 

 ii was 2,500,000 pound-, and in 1890 upwards of 4,000,000 pounds. 

 In the year 1900 the import- of crude rubber were 6,285,314 

 pounds, and while some of this was re-exported in an unmanu- 

 factured state n was for the greau-r part used in French factories. 



The manufac- 

 ture of rubber 

 ;fVj goods was estab- 

 lished in France 

 aMMKsm^^ as an industry 



in 1828. the Mi- 

 chelin rubber- 

 goods factory at 

 Clermont - Fer- 

 rand, dating from 

 that year, being 

 the oldest in that 

 country. This 

 concern was also 

 a pioneer in the 

 manufacture in 

 France of rubber 

 tires and rubber 

 goods for flying 

 machines. For 

 the reason above 

 stated and be- 

 cause there was 

 less call for rub- 

 ber goods in 

 France than in many other countries, the progress of the indus- 

 try has been gradual, and it has never attained the same im- 

 portance as in England and Germany. 



An important factor in the encouragement of the rubber manu- 

 facturing industry in France was the prominence given to rub- 

 ber at the great exhibition held in London in 1851. The ex- 

 hibit of Charles Goodyear, who had shortly before perfected his 

 process of vulcanizing rubber, consisting of household furniture, 

 decorative objects, jewelry, culinary and household utensils, 

 toilet articles, clothing, footwear, etc.. attracted wide attention 

 and served to show the infinite variety of purposes for which 

 rubber could be used. The accompanying illustration shows the 

 Goodyear exhibit at the following international exposition, held 

 in Paris in 1854, which was similar to the first in character and 

 comprehensiveness. 



One of the lines that early engaged the attention of the French 

 manufacturer was that of rubber boots and shoes. In some 

 parts of France — Brittany for instance — the prevalence of rainy 

 weather led to a steadily increasing demand for rubber foot- 

 wear and waterproofs. To supply a deficit, rubber boots and 

 shoes were imported and the American article, owing to its su- 

 perior fit, style and wearing properties, speedily won the favor 

 of buyers. This resulted in a growing importation of the Amer- 

 ican product which finally attracted the attention of Hiram 

 Hutchinson, who, having established a small rubber manufac- 

 turing plant at New Brunswick, New Jersey, subsequently took 

 part in the formation of the Newark Rubber Co. He visited 

 France to arrange for the purchase and exploitation of the Good- 

 year vulcanization patents on the continent In 1853, while in 

 Paris, he prospected for an eligible site for a rubber goods fac- 

 tor} and finally decided on a place about three hours' journey 

 from the capital, now known as Langlee in Chalette, near Mon- 



