Si ill MBER 1. 191S I 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



681 



The Rubber Trade in Germany. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



WHEN the war broke out German busines 

 recognized that the extraordinary conditions it 

 created would have a far-reaching effeel on the com 

 mercial and industrial life of the empire. Bu1 there st.ll 

 seem to be a good manj people ... Germanj who have not 

 vel been impressed with the changed conditions, and among 

 them are quite a number of dealers in the rubber trade, 

 who complain verj loudly that the manufacturer does not 

 turn ou1 their orders as acceptably and as rapidly as he 

 would .n normal times. The rubber journals are ta 

 these complainers to task, and seeking to convince them 

 ,,,,, und er present trade conditions they should make all 

 Dro per allowances for the extraordinary difficulties under 

 which the manufacturer labors, and that they should not 

 ,, too insistent on immediate deliveries or on getting ex- 

 actly the quality at precisely the price mentioned ... their 



'Vhe Ulies' blockade is being felt more and more each 

 day and the list of rubber goods "no longer obtainable is in- 

 creasing constantly. Each day increases the inconveniences 

 created by the lack of raw materials, and the discovery or 

 even the pretended discovery of some new substitute, for 

 a scarce or "no longer obtainable" raw material is heralded 

 throughout the press. It was announced latelj that the 

 Kaiser had motored to the front ... a machine equipped 

 with artificial rubber ..re,. Immediately the press announced 

 that the great problem bad been solved, that artificial rubber 

 was at last practicable, .bat Germany would no b nger have 

 to rely upon foreign countr.es for her crude rubber supplies. 

 Rubber would now be home-made. It appears, however, now 

 that the much talked of artificial rubber tires of the Kaise. - 

 aut omobile were only experimental ones, produced at great 

 cost or a. least at a cos. .bat would prohibit their being 

 produced on a commercial basis, or even on a basis permit- 

 ting their use for the present military needs. 



\nother substitute that is receiving wide publicity in 

 Germany appears to offer greater possibilities. It is ^ known 

 as "textilose," and is to be used as a substitute for the jute 

 Germany formerly imported in great quantities from British 



"■Textilose is made by spreading paper on a fiber gauze and 

 cutting the product in strips, which are then spun into a 

 yarn and can be woven in a similar manner as other paper 

 'varus Two factories are said to be producing about 44,001) 

 Jounds of textilose bags per day. and it is also stated that 

 over 40,000,000 marks ($9,520,000) have been subscribed for 

 the promotion of the manufacture of this jute substitute both 

 in Germany and abroad. 



Speaking of textiles it is interesting ... give .be following 

 tab ie, which shows .be extent to which Germany was de- 

 pendent upon foreign lands for her supply 0< these aw 

 materials. These statistics are for 1913, which was the last 



complete statistical year: 



„ . . Value. 



Articles. 0ri K ,n '. SU9 777,400 



r „„„„ United States, India and Egypt.....; 0779s 200 



WIT :::\u-.rali.-,. Argentina and Cape Colon.es... —-•-„„ 



In..- Kast Indies .-■■ is. 



Flax Russia, Austria-Hungary [fl 



Hemp Russia, Italy 547.400 



Ramie China • ■• ■ ■ "" 4 



Manila hemp ....Philippine Islands 



Sisal hemp Mexico .. , ,.. 47,41m, nun 



Raw -ilk China, Italy 



When .be war broke OUt there was a very large supply 

 0{ eotton. and even after the beginning of hostilities, large 

 quantities of raw cotton from time to time reached Germany. 



Manufacturers used freel) ol this supply, with the result that 

 when the Allies tightened their effective bio kad« the supplj 

 ,„■ ,., lu cot ton was considerably depleted. Since August 1 



the manufacture oi cotton i Is has been absolutely prohrb.ted. 



. nm enfs order is far reaching and strikes all kinds 



Is mad.- of cotton or containing any of this staple. 



Without distinction it prohibits the manufacture ol all cotton 

 y arnSi cotton threads, fabrics, wearing api irel, bag-, belts 

 and all woven or knitted g Is containing cotton. Since 



\ugust 1 u has been legal to use cotton only in the manu- 

 facture of military requisites. Long before the governs 

 decided on these restrictions the pr.ee of raw ct.on bad rea, lied 

 fa alarmingly high price ol per pound. The efforts 



ldl t encourage the planting and harvesting ol hemp 

 and flax have not yet given any material rcM.lt-. 



Vnother government operation of great importance to 

 the rubber industry js the recent seizure of all supplies of 



sulphur Howuver, the seizure of the sulphur supplies is 

 considered an advantage to the rubber trade, for th. 

 ernment has promised to distribute sufficient quantities to 



answer the immediate needs of all. 



Lubricating oil is becoming so scarce and its price 

 high that onlj few rubber manufacturers can afford to 

 it for their machinery. Even graphite, which is used as a 

 substitute therefor is becoming rare and expensive. 



The Ulies' blockade has created such a rubber, gutta 

 percha and copper famine that the D. V. E. (Union of Gei 

 man Electrical Engineers), which fixes the standards fo. 

 rubber and gutta percha insulated wires, has been obliged to 

 modify its standards to make their observance possible under 

 present conditions. As far a- possible iron will be 

 instead of copper and rubber and gutta percha insulations 

 will be replaced b) impregnated paper wherever pr; 

 In cases where impregnated paper cannot be used, reclaimed 

 rubber will take the place of the usual insulator until normal 

 conditions are re-established. 



The war has increased .merest in farming lure, and 

 farmers, owing to lack of labor, are obliged to_i.se mod,,,. 

 machinery to a much greater extent than they formerly did. 

 This -reates an unusual domestic demand for mam rubber 

 mechanical articles, and especially for belts, in view of .he 

 fact that the use of leather for other than military pur- 

 poses is strictly forbidden. But, because of the high cost 

 of raw materials necessary for making these belts, it is al- 

 most impossible for manufacturers to make reasonable 

 profits in producing these necessities Of course 

 who had a large stock of belts On band are securing large 

 profits for farmer- are glad to lake what they can get and 

 are using all sorts of belts on their threshing machines and 

 other agricultural implements. 



Packings and the like that can easily be made O substi- 

 tute materials are giving but little trouble. The ho* m 



dustry generally speaking is dead. No orders orthcom 



tog; People Who use ho doing .be best they can by 



keeping their old hose in repair. 



Before the war. maritime as well as river navigation ol 

 fered a great market for all sorts of mechanical rubber 

 goods River navigation is at a standstill through lack of 

 freight and lack of hands: maritime navigation as far as 

 Germany i- concerned, is Stopped almost entirely by the 

 activities of the Allies' fleets. 



,„ a word, the rubber industry here IS badly affected b 

 the war. and were it not for government orders .or tire, and 



