314 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1915. 



The First Month of the Embargo Suspension. 



WHEN it was announced, on January 8, that the British Gov- 

 ernment would suspend its embargo on the shipment "i 

 rubber from London ami other British ports in New i ork, 

 under guarantees from American importers and manufacturers 

 thai none of this rubber, either in crude or manufactured form, 

 should reach tin- enemies of the Allies, it was at once perceived 

 that here was a problem involving a good 'leal of detail in its 

 tive operation. 'The matter of arranging all this detail o as 

 to release London rubber to American purchasers as rapidlj as 

 i ossibl' ha reo ived unremitting attention during the last month 

 and is progressing verj satisfactorily. 



Sir Richard Crawford, connected with the British Embassy at 

 Washington as commercial attache for the special purpose of ad- 

 justing any difficulties that might arise under the British embargo 

 on rubber, wool and other articles, arrived late in January. The 

 Embargo Committee of the Rubber Club immediately got into 

 communication with him, and as a result he decided that the Rub- 

 In t Club would be the best agency for doing the detailed work 

 ssary in distributing English rubber to American users. The 

 tary of the club was able, therefore, on February 13, to send 

 an announcement to the trade containing the following para- 

 graph : 



"Through Sir Richard Crawford, the official representative of 

 the British Government, the rubber trade of the United States is 

 told that the Rubber Club of America has been appointed trustee 

 to guard the interests of the British Empire in enforcing the 

 agreement with reference to the import and export of crude rub- 

 ber and the export of manufactured rubber goods. Frankly and 

 airlj he puts us on honor to carry out the requirements of his 

 < iovernment." 



A RUBBER CONTROL COMMITTEE APPOINTED. 

 In order to take up this new work, with all the responsibilities 

 that it entailed, tin Executive Committee of the Rubber Club 

 onvened and appointed a special committee to be known as the 

 "Rubber Control Committee," which should have full charge of 

 this entire matter. The membership of the committee is as fol- 

 lows: Charles T. Wilson, of Charles T. Wilson & Co., Inc., 

 chairman; George B. Hodgman, of the Hodgman Rubber I o., 

 and president of the Rubber Club of America ; William E. 

 I'.ruyn, of L. Littlejohn & Co., and president of the Rubber 

 Trade Association of New York; Bertram ( i. Work, of The 

 B. F. Goodrich Co.; Henry Spadone, of The Gutta Percha 

 &• Rubber Manufacturing Co.; H. Stuart Hotchkiss, of the 

 United States Rubber < o., and William J. Kelley, with Arnold 

 & Zeiss. 



THE CLUB MOVES INTO LARGER OFFICES. 

 In this same communication the secretary announced the re 

 moval of the club's offices from 17 Madison avenue to the 

 Whitehall building, 17 Battery Place, where much larger and 

 more commodious quarters, with accommodations for the ad 

 ditional clerical force needed, were secured, in the immediate 

 vicinity of the rubber importing district. As it was necessary, 

 rder that this new Control Committee could do its work 

 m the most satisfactory way, that it should have the general 

 roval of the trade, the concluded the communi- 



a with the following appeal: 

 "The honor and integrity of the rubber industry of the L'nited 

 States is involved. If any manufacturer, importer, dealer or 

 hroker does not wish to lie hound by the restrictions imposed 

 by the British Government, he should, in fairness and justice 

 to himself and the whole trade, declare himself to the Rubber 

 llub of America, who in turn may disclaim any responsibility 

 for his actions. Anyone in the trade not heard from will be 



considered a- in full accord with and a partner to the obliga- 

 tion assumed 1 >> the Rubber Club of America and the Rubber 

 Trade Association of New York. 



"The members of the Rubber Control Committee have only 

 accepted the responsibilities of the position upon the under- 

 standing that they will have a free hand and enjoy the full 

 confidence of the various members of the trade. We bespeak 

 for them the hearty peration of everybody interested." 



In the meantime, in order that the members of the trade 

 might keep thoroughly in mind the conditions under which 

 they could secure shipments of rubber from London, the Em- 



M ;o Committee sent, on January 30, to the members of the 

 Rubber Club of America and the Rubber Trade Association of 

 .Yew York a communication giving a resume of all the con- 

 ditions contained in the guarantees required by the British 

 Government, which were printed in full on page 249 of the 

 February issue of this publication, and consequently need not 

 he repeated here. One point, however, was mentioned in this 

 communication which was not covered in the original guarantee 

 forms. It referred to plantation rubber from the Dutch East 

 Indies. On this subject the committee said: "We would 

 strongly advise, pending further information, that Dutch rub- 

 ber he regarded exactly the same as if it was plantation rubber. 

 Otherwise misunderstandings would almost surely arise and the 

 shipper would perhaps suffer cancellation of his permits pending 

 investigation." 



A VERY REGRETTABLE INCIDENT. 

 A very unfortunate incident occurred on February 15, when 

 it was discovered, by means of an X-ray expert connected with 

 the British Secret Service, that some 168 bales of cotton waste 

 delivered at pier 59 North River for shipment on the "Crettc" 

 to Mediterranean ports, contained small rolls of white sheet 

 rubber. The name of the shipper as it appeared on the mani- 

 fest was A. B. Newman, of Xevv Y'ork. However, the alert- 

 ness and energy shown by the Control Committee of the Rub- 

 ber Club in starting at once upon a thorough investigation of 

 this matter, convinced the British officials that the club would 

 do everything in its power to maintain the reputation of the 

 American rubber trade for honesty and square dealing with the 

 British (iovernment. 



FORMS TO BE I'SEH IX THE SALE OF MANUFACTURED GOODS. 

 As a good many members of the trade were somewhat puz- 

 zled when selling goods to domestic purchasers, as to what 

 procedure they should take to prevent these purchasers from 

 shipping the goods contrary to the guarantees, the Rubber Con- 

 trol Committee sent a communication, on February 19, to mem- 

 bers of the chili, giving a form of preliminary letter which, with 

 possibly a few changes, every manufacturer could send out to 

 his customers, ami also a form which could be used, either in 

 the shape ..I a rubber stamp or a printed slip, to be attached 

 io acknowledgments of orders and invoices. This has undoubt- 

 edlv proved of great assistance to manufacturers who wished 

 to live up to their obligations religiously hut were in a quandary 

 tn just how this could he done after their goods left their 

 possession. 



Another question which naturally arose under the existing 

 conditions concerned the proper method of procedure in making 

 a certification of guarantees. To cover this situation the Rub- 

 ber Control Committee sent to the whole rubber trade of the 

 country, including importers, dealers, brokers and manufac- 

 turers, a circular giving the regulations for fulfiling guarantees, 

 which, because of its importance to the trade, is given on the 

 following page in full: 



