M mi ii 1, 1915. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



313 



the cruiser "Bliicher" was sunk in the .North Sea bat- 

 tle in January the members of the crew leaped into the 

 water and remained floating there until picked up by 

 the English boats, when it was discovered that the 

 < iermans were equipped with what might be called an 

 inflated rubber chest protector attached at the waist 

 to a cork belt and fastened on the shoulder. 



To a very large extent these simple and inexpensive 

 rubber devices worn by the members of the English 

 and German navies are able, if not to nullify, at least 

 to mitigate the deadly wmk of the sub sea monsters. 



BREATHING GOOD AIR AMID DEADLY FUMES. 



THE RUBBER-TIRED BUS DISTURBS THE 

 TROLLEY. 



AX official of a Los Angeles street railwa) company 

 recent!) stated to a committee of the California 

 legislature that it would only lie a short time hefore the 

 auto-bus would drive the trolley car out of business. He 

 is not alone in entertaining this apprehension. Within 

 a few days the mayor of Seattle has opposed a move- 

 ment for municipal ownership of the street car lines on 

 the ground that the auto-bus would --non supersede 

 them, and the complaint comes from a number of cities, 

 particularly in the West, that street car traffic, and con- 

 sequently street car profits, have been very much re- 

 duced since the advent of the big motor-driven stages. 



It is hardly likely that the motor-bus will entirely dis- 

 place the trolley, for in some lines of service the trolle} 

 has great advantages, especially in inter-urban service, 

 where the continuous runs cover a distance of several 

 miles, and also in the -mailer cities where there is no 

 elevated road nor subway, and where the morning and 

 night flow of the population to work and home must be 

 taken care of quickly and in large volume. But the mo- 

 tor-bus undoubtedly will prove a disturbing rival to the 

 trolley in solving certain parts of the city transportation 

 problem. It has this great advantage that it requires 

 neither track nor large and extensive power plant. Tt 

 also can cover many sections of the city where the trol- 

 ley could not be introduced profitably. It i- also ver\ 

 convenient for the shopper, who can take it at the near- 

 est corner and alight at the store door. And it serves 

 the sightseer pleasantly in taking him through attractive- 

 streets where the trolley has not been permitted to enter. 



And the auto-bus, with its great weight of 3 to 4 tons 

 and its capacity for 35 to 45 passengers, representing an 

 additional weight of 2 to 3 ton-, ha- been rendered pos- 

 sible, of course, onlv by reason of the rubber tire. 



HPIIL Januarj number of this publication contained an 

 *■ illustrated article on the wonderful deep-sea sal 

 work recentl) carried on at the mouth of the St. Lawrence 

 in connection with the ill-fated "Empress of Ireland." this 

 work being conducted at a depth of 160 feet below the 

 surface. The apparatus used was described in detail and 

 the fad brought out that rubber formed not only a verj 

 considerable part of it- construction but was absolutely 

 indispensable to it- successful operation. Several p: 

 of this issue are devoted to a description of the safety 

 equipment nm-t generall) used in working in dense smoke 

 or in noxious fumes. This equipment, though so com- 

 pact and light as to be worn without discomfort across 

 the chest, enable- the wearer to continue respiration com- 

 fortably and without am subsequent ill effect-, in 

 the deadlie-t atmosphere. Like the diver's outfit, 

 this equipment also depend- for its efficacy on its 

 rubber parts. 



The recent accident in the Xew York subway, in which 

 several hundred passengers were rendered unconscious by 

 the fume- of burning insulation, and where one death en- 

 sued, not only has awakened the Xew York fire depart- 

 ment to the urgent necessity of adding to its resource- an 

 adequate equipment for this sort of re-cue work, but has 

 called attention anew to the vital need of smoke helmet' 

 in some form wherever there i- a possibility of the gen 

 eration of suffocating gases in place- nol freely open to 

 the air. 



OUR GERMAN CONTEMPORARY'S CREDITABLE 

 RECORD. 



IX a paragraph which appeared in the January issue 

 of this publication regarding the effect of the war 

 on our European contemporaries it was remarked that 

 the publication of the "Gummi-Zeitung" was inter- 

 rupted only for the four August issues. It is a pli 

 ure to state that there was in reality no interruption 

 whatever and that, notwithstanding the disturbed 

 condition- of the empire, this German publication, 

 which entered the field of rubber journalism twenty- 

 nine year- ago, was able to adhere to its regular 

 schedule. The non-arrival of the August numbers, 

 which have since come to hand, was not attributable 

 to any suspension of regular publication, but simply, 

 a- subsequently developed, to the temporary derange- 

 ment of tbe German postal facilities. 



