584 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



I ^.ugusi 1, 1915: 



The introduction of the aeroplane in large numbei - 

 in military operations is a matter of genuine impor- 

 tance to the- rubber industry, for rubber enters into 

 tlie construction of this sort of era It in many way-. 

 as was set forth in detail in an article "n this subject 

 which appeared in the April issue of this journal. To 

 he Mire, if the requirements of the United States 

 army and navy were fully met by the construction of 

 2,000 of these flying machines, the demand on the rub- 

 ber industry would hardly he noticeable. But in view 

 of another statement made by Mr. Wright, namely, 

 that the average life of an aeroplane in active service 

 is only seven hours, it will he seen that the construc- 

 tion of the initial number of necessary flyers is only 

 the beginning, and that once engaged in active opera- 

 tion-, they would require continuous replacing. This 

 would mean aeroplane construction on a scale that 

 would certainly open up a considerable field for the 

 further consumption of rubber. 



ONE REASON WE IMPORT GERMAN RUBBER 

 GOODS. 



' I '1 1 K rubber manufacturers of the United States pro- 

 duce a much larger yearly output than those of any 

 other country. In fact they equal the product of all 

 foreign manufacturers combined. It is natural to assume, 

 operating on this great scale, that their factory equipment 

 miM be superior to that of plants in other parts of the 

 world, but, to keep well within the hounds of moderation, 

 it is certainly sate to say that American rubber factory 

 equipment is quite as good as that to be found anywhere. 

 If this mechanical equality — not to claim any 

 superiority — were not sufficient to insure a home market 

 for American manufacture-, there is a duty on the im- 

 ports of rubber goods ranging from 10 to 35 per cent. 

 And vet. in the face of this. Germany manages, or did 

 up to the outbreak of the war. to market a considerable 

 quantity of rubber goods in this country. The question, 

 therefore, naturally arises how it is, in view of our 

 manufacturing capacity and the double handicap of the 

 expense of transportation and the payment of duties, 

 that Germany can compete in the American market. 

 The answer will be found in some tabulations that ap- 

 pear on another page in this issue, taken from a report 

 recentlv issued by the German Factory Workers Union, 

 which in 1913 made a thorough investigation of the 

 conditions under which German rubber worker- are 

 employed. This tabulation -how- in great detail the 

 wages earned in the different departments of the Ger- 

 man rubber factorie-. 



The investigation covered 86 plants and a general 

 average was made of the lowest wages and also of the 

 highest wages paid for each sort of work. Omitting all 

 mention of the lowest wage-, we find that the average 

 highesl wages for a week consisting of 55^ hours in 

 these i lerman rubber plant- run as follows: For washers, 

 $5.64 a week; for mixers. $6.58; for makers of inner 

 tube-. $5.66; for footwear makers, $0.07. The comb 

 polishers seem to fare the worst, the average maximum 

 wages for this work being S4.So. while makers of hard 

 rubber insulation receive $8.33 ; the general average of 

 the best paid skilled workmen in these factories being 

 about $6.50. In the German mills the women practically 

 do every sort of work that is done by the men — they are 

 employed as mixers, in the making of hose, inner tubes. 

 casings and insulated goods and also in the preparation 

 of crude materials. But citing only the one class of 

 work which is quite universally done by women in this 

 country — the making of light rubber footwear — we find 

 in the German mills the best paid women shoemakers 

 get $3.33 a week; which is about the average wages for 

 women in the various manufacturing department-. 



Comparing American wages for the sort of work re- 

 ferred to above, we find that washers get $14 a week ; 

 mixers, about $18 a week; boot makers and tire makers 

 engaged on piece work, from $18 to $30, or, say. an 

 average of $22 a week : while the women shoemakers 

 get from $10 to $12 a week. 



If we were to make parallel columns of these wage 

 s:ales, we should find that the workers in American 

 rubber mills get about three and a half times the wages 

 paid for the same class of work in Germany. It i- not 

 particularly difficult to see. therefore, how it is that, 

 notwithstanding the double disadvantage of transporta- 

 tion costs and imposts, Germany has been able to -ell 

 some of her rubber manufactures in the American 

 market. 



WILL THERE BE ANY RUBBER MEN? 



SECRETARY DANIELS ha- applied to the officers of 

 eight scientific societies asking each of them to 

 -elect two representatives for membership in the Bureau 

 of Invention which is to co-operate with his department. 

 The societies appealed to comprise organizations of elec- 

 trical, mining, civil and mechanical engineers, chemists. 

 aeronauts, inventors and a mathematical society. All of 

 these men of science, including the miners and the 

 mathematicians, will undoubtedly be helpful in devising 

 ways to do up the enemy; but where are the rubber men? 



